"the Lubienskis discovered that after holding demographic factors constant, public school students performed just as well if not better than private schools students on standardized math tests"

What I've gathered is that based on the same socioeconomic factors, public schools in well-heeled neighborhoods do just as well if not better than private schools in well-heeled neighborhoods. And now thanks to NCLB they are basing their curriculums around state exams, and some do really well on them!

As a public school alumni, I've seen really poorly run and well run private schools. For most things they stack up equally to public highschools. The difference in parent involvement makes a hell of a difference. When it's your own money on the line it takes on a different aspect than dropping junior off at the gate.