Control and Differentiation in the Structure of American Education

The report by Coleman, Hoffer and Kilgore on public and private schools is criticizedfor failing to consider alternative explanations of school effectiveness and for drawing narrow policy implications. We use student body composition to account for public and private school effectiveness as an alternative to the explanation of external constraints on school authorities implied by Public and Private Schools. We also emphasize the need to consider school admissions practices, which are overlooked in Public and Private Schools, in evaluating educational policy alternatives.