Private schools provide an alternative to public education.  Private schools include grades ranging from pre-K to 12 and rely on tuition payments and funds from non-public sources such as religious organizations, endowments, grants, and charitable donations. Since these schools do not rely on public tax dollars for funding, they have the option to select from among students who apply for admission. Private schools may be coed or single sex. About 25 percent of the elementary and secondary schools in the United States are private.

Independent schools are private, nonprofit schools that are governed by elected boards of trustees. The Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW) services and accredits a network of 84 non-profit independent schools in the Washington metropolitan area.  The AIGW member schools agree to practice nondiscriminatory policies.  The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools provides information on the meaning of accreditation, accreditation standards, and the importance of secondary school accreditation.

The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) provides an overview of the accreditation process for independent schools, including standards of accreditation and the role of the accrediting associations.  NAIS describes how school accreditation may help in selecting a school.