<p>If you think one school is “better” for your particular kid, and you have the ability to send him there, you will do so. Whether public or private. Problem solved.</p>
<p>In cases where it seems a close call, most people here go public. Because, y’know, it’s a lot of money otherwise, there has to be a reason to spend it. That’s why proportionally more (but by no means all) people of means in the NYC suburbs with “good” school systems send their kids to the public schools. The schools are considered either good enough, or arguably even “better” in some cases, for some people, than the available privates there. And at the level of splitting hairs a greater proportion conclude it just isn’t worth the money.</p>
<p>In actuality, the private schools my family attended, both in NYC and in the midwest, were “better” than the suburban public schools my kids attended (at other times). But for the last two kids, at some point we no longer had that kind of discretionary money, and those public schools were good enough.</p>
<p>Why were they better? smaller classes, more tailoring to your kids’ ability and progress level, classmates of more homogeneous academic capabilities and closer to your own level so class moves accordingly, etc.</p>