The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

Research Writing 193 of shape and form. With that being said, it would be equally as erroneous to assume that no difference in literacy exists between these three types of schooling: public, private, and home based. It seems prudent, therefore, to examine these differences in an objective manner that will accurately reflect the reality of literacy among these institutions. Objectively measuring the literacy of a school body is easier said than done. Numerous variables must be controlled in order to make the comparisons be fair. It would be a mistaken, fruitless endeavor to take a lad from a well-to-do family who is studying at the premier school of his area and compare him with the local Oliver Twist. Religion, ethnicity, wealth, gender, age—these are but a handful of the numerous variables that may affect the literacy of a child. As such, the evidence shown in this paper has, to the utmost of its ability, controlled for these variables so reliable results may be obtained. Controlling for external variables is one part of accurately reflecting literacy in school, but a second part of the equation must be considered—by what standard do we evaluate an individual’s literacy? It must be noted here that it is practically impossible for one statistic to perfectly reflect the literacy of an individual, let alone an entire school body. However, with careful control of external variables and a quality collection of data, an accurate generalization can be reached. That generalization is realized primarily in the form of reading and writing test scores, though other data may be considered to aid the process. This allows for a standard, quantitative method of evaluation, which is an ideal setup for objective comparison. The intention of this essay is not to condone or condemn any form of schooling but to inform and provide facts. It should also be noted that this paper is not primarily concerned with causation (though some factors may be included to offer clarity) but rather the outcomes. Here I offer a statistically- oriented evaluation of national reading and writing literacy rates among private, public, and home schooled individuals among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with a focus on the United States. Public and Private School Literacy Rates