The Tilted Basketball Court

   A few months ago I wrote a column which detailed the unlevel playing field created when private high schools are allowed to compete with our public high schools in all sports. The piece was written after the conclusion of football season, so only football was researched as to the inordinate percentage of private school teams which were successful - as compared to public school teams. Data analysis revealed that 47% of public schools made the playoffs, while 82% of the private schools did. If competition between private schools and public schools is fair (level), the percentage of success for each should be roughly equal. Many public school advocates say that the success ratio difference can be attributed to unfair advantages enjoyed by private schools, such as the ability to recruit only the best athletes, offer scholarships (sponsorships), allow only the best athletes to enroll, and afford the best athletic facilities. Private school advocates often attribute the success differential to harder working athletes (more heart) and better coaches.
   A more revealing statistic is perhaps the football academic state champions for each classification in 2015-2016. Of the five football classifications (A thru 5A) which have private schools competing, three were won by private schools, while two were won by public schools. This fact alone illustrates that private schools enjoy advantages which public schools do not have. Some public school advocates say that private schools only allow the top students to enroll, and reject others.
   With the conclusion of Oklahoma high school basketball season, more data can now be analyzed to either discount the private school advantages, or to reaffirm the systemic tilted basketball court. In classes A through 4A, approximately 300 public schools participated in both girls and boys high school basketball, while 18 private schools participated. Of the 18 private schools, 10 made the state basketball tournament (55%). Of the 300 participating public schools, 54 made the state tournament (18%). Many public school experts believe the discrepancy in winning percentages between publics and privates cannot be explained by chance alone. There must be contributing factors besides better teachers and harder working athletes which explain the extraordinary level of success enjoyed by private schools.
   In addition to the athletic championships awarded to both public and private schools, the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Athletics (OASSA) awards academic state titles to schools participating in sports. The high school teams with the highest grade point averages are recognized as "academic state champions" or receive "academic achievement awards" for each sport and classification. Of the 318 schools starting the basketball playoffs in 2015-2016, 189 public school basketball teams received academic recognition (59%) while 20 private schools received accolades for academic achievement (near 100%).
   All of these startling facts indicate that a "tilted playing field" or "basketball court" exists when public schools compete against private schools. Unfair advantages for private schools also exist when academics are compared between publics and privates. Of course, public schools do win state titles, and I will brag a little at this time. The Blanchard Boys Basketball team just won the class 4A State Academic Championship last week at the Big House! They had the highest average grade point average of all 4A teams which entered the playoffs. Congratulations to all the public school athletic teams receiving academic recognition, as they've overcome the private school advantage in doing so.