"If this were an option, parents would be much more critical."
I seriously doubt it. Just look at all the sham private colleges that exist right now. Also, I think the problem with our kids isn't the school system, but a culture that doesn't value hard work and education.
Are you aware that the Ivy League[1] schools are all private? So are the most prestigious high schools (the latter was attended by Zuckerberg, for example):
Can those private high schools deny problem kids? Are they a non random selection of students? Think about it.
Edit: You are also being selective in your examples. Why not compare Berkley to the University of Phoenix? You have to consider the entire range of private schools, and the overall output. But I'm not as concerned with higher education, I think that is a different system with a different goal.
Primary schools need to educate everyone, as a minimal level of what our society needs to move in a positive direction. Private schools would be incentivized to abandon problem kids that hurt their bottom line by screwing up their average scores and what not. This is even happening in public schools with some of the stupid testing schemes we've implemented, but it would be far worse imo with private schools.
Uh, it's not like "problem kids" are necessarily getting a good deal from the public system. Special ed kids are forced to learn "academic" style knowledge rather than the practical life skills they actually need... and behavior problem kids use way more resources than they deserve and harm all the other kids in the process.
Sadly, many kids in special ed programs and many behavior problem kids would not have problems in a different type of learning scenario... but the entrenched K-12 classroom, 30 students one teacher, hour long periods, boring books, exercises, silence, etc., is just a horrible fit for them.
You completely missed the point. Comparing a single private school, or some subset of them, which has selective admittance with public schools which have to educate everyone is not sound.
I seriously doubt it. Just look at all the sham private colleges that exist right now. Also, I think the problem with our kids isn't the school system, but a culture that doesn't value hard work and education.