Class Size

I recently had an interesting conversation with a friend. She went to private school and is sending her children to private school even though she lives in an area where the schools are 'rated' quite well. When I asked her about her decision, she said that she "doesn't understand the public school system and doesn't think anyone can learn if their class is so big". I asked her if she had looked at the local public schools and she had not. I asked her if she knew how the schools are rated in her town or how big the average class size was in her town's public schools and she did not have any of that information. I think it is fascinating that she has decided (not to mention that she has the option to decide!) to spend nearly $20,000 a year on each of her children's education without doing any research. The public schools really seem to get a bad 'rap' from people who don't have any information.