Using the 1992 National Education Longitudinal Survey data set, this study assessed the effects of students attending religious schools on the academic achievement of those children. The results indicate that those children attending religious schools performed better academically than those who did not. Students from religious schools included all private religious schools examined in the study. Students who did not attend religious schools included students attending public schools and nonreligious preparatory or other private schools. Results also indicate that Black and Hispanic students as well as children of low socioeconomic status performed better academically in religious schools than in nonreligious schools. These results suggest students attending religious schools in general perform better academically than do students attending nonreligious schools. The significance of these results is discussed as it relates to school choice and learning from the religious school model.
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