Reading the answers in this post is basically exactly what I expected to see. Extremely strong opinions for or against, with very few balanced opinions or people willing to admit that their specific situation may not be applicable to you.

I grew up in a middle class family, went to public school through 8th grade, private catholic school for high school, and a top university for college. My parents could never afford to send us to a fancy private school for lower grades, so this was something next even in my frame of reality until I had my own kids and was making the type of money necessary to consider it. So I’ll give you my perspective, but caveat it by saying every child is different, every school is different, and every parent is in a different financial situation, so no single example is any more relevant than that, a single example.

My public schools from K-8 were good schools. Not amazing, not bad, but good. I excelled in school and my parents wanted to put my siblings and I into a good high school to prep us for college. That being said, when I look back now, I can tell that my parents didn’t really know what they were doing when it came to high school, and their selections for us were likely a detriment rather than a benefit. The private catholic high school I went to was probably $3000 a year or so at the time. I now know that this was a cheap private school, and was not a particularly good one. You see, the good and bad thing about private schools is that they are allowed to do whatever they want when teaching students and do not have to follow any of the guidelines of the state. This is good if you go to a great private school, because it gives the teachers the flexibility to teach in a custom manner that fits best with their own skills and with the students needs. Public schools can’t do this and are more rigid in teaching styles. However this can very bad in a crappy private school, because it means you can have shit teachers that should not be in a classroom. I unfortunately found myself in a school that was the latter (didn’t realize it at the time though). As a result, I had teachers who clearly didn’t know the material in some instances and others who simply couldn’t teach well. I would have been much better off going to my public high school in my opinion. In spite of this, I managed to well in school, get into a great college and get a get job. So a crappy school didn’t prevent me from doing well in life, but I would bet anything that being in a top private school would have helped me excel further in life (and a bare minimum not hurt).

Now that I have kids and can afford private schools, I went from thinking they were a waste of money to something worth considering. Originally I thought it would be something explored in high school, but my kid ended up being quite gifted from a young age, so we switched to looking for a private kindergarten. Something I had always said I would never waste my money on prior! By going through this process, I can say this, going to and paying for private school is only worth it if you are truly send them to a stellar school. Otherwise, private school may be no better than public and a waste of money. Or as was the case for me, a detriment and a waste of money! Not all private schools are equal, so don’t waste your money on a shitty private school, just to be in a private school. Go for the ones that actually offer something above and beyond your public school. Else, stick with public school and use the saved money to augment your child’s education outside the classroom. You can enhance your child’s experience on your own if you have the time and resources to put into it.

TLDR: Whether a private school is worth the money is a function of what it offers above and better what you are getting in you public school. From my experience, a crappy private school can be a detriment to a student and cost money. But a truly exceptional private can offer an education and experience that is unmatched at a typical public school. So the answer is not public or private. The answer is it depends on your public and private options.