Introduction

Private schools around the United States have begun formulating strategic plans to maintain viability throughout the future. The strategic plan criteria are based upon statistical evidence gathered by the companies hired to oversee the plans. As a database manager for a school district that is currently undergoing the strategic planning process, I have a vested interest in the statistical tests and findings used by other school districts across the United States.

Collecting data and aggregating various statistical reports throughout the years have allowed me to postulate trends and correlations that affect the viability of private education in my region. Private schools have flourished in regions with a history of poor public education standards, as an alternative for those who are willing to make financial sacrifices. As the government increases performance standards for public schools, private schools must also now raise their standards to maintain academic superiority.

Approach and Purpose

I began by researching other statistical reports and various scholarly articles on the subject. Information gained from my research and knowledge learned within my capacity as database manager, I found private schools throughout the United States share similar internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. These similarities can therefore explain similar outcomes found within various statistical studies of private education across the country. I observed a number of variables that consistently and significantly correlated to average test scores within private schools across the United States.

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that significantly contribute to lower academic scores within the private elementary schools in my district. I am focusing the study to look at the following variables that I postulate have the highest impact on Grade 5 average test scores.

Total student enrollment Student household income Percentage of minority students

Data Aggregation

I will use the most current data collected from our private elementary schools. The data is provided by the school principal on a yearly basis and is used to aggregate several yearly reports required by the state and non-public school standards. The income data was taken from the Census Bureau IRS Individual Master File, Statistics of Income, June 2011. As previously noted, I will focus my study on enrollment, household income and minority percentage data as they have consistently been shown to