Most parents send their children to private schools expecting they will get a good grounding in education fundamentals, greater accountability and smaller class sizes, not to mention better facilities, teachers and extras they won't find in the public system.

Anne-Marie Kee, executive director of the Canadian Educational Standards Institute, talks to students in Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ont. The CESI accredits private schools and evalutes them every seven years.

Anne-Marie Kee, executive director of the Canadian Educational Standards Institute, talks to students in Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ont. The CESI accredits private schools and evalutes them every seven years.

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Yet with a patchwork of regulation and accreditation among private schools across Canada, none of this is guaranteed.

There are wide variations in government oversight of private education, from provinces that require independent schools to cover the set curriculum to others that are almost entirely hands-off. Beyond that, private schools can be governed by institutional affiliations or adhere to strict accreditation guidelines on everything from managing their finances to hiring teachers.

It's largely up to parents to ensure that the private school they are considering is up to snuff, says James Christopher, executive director of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS).

The organization represents 80 private schools across the country that operate as non-profit organizations under boards of trustees.

"It's a buyer beware situation," he says. "In some places anyone can hang a shingle outside and call themselves a school."

Mr. Christopher says that, in particular, parents who are new to the world of private schools find it difficult to know what they are getting into, incorrectly making the assumption that paying a hefty price for education means "you're getting better quality than something that's free."

Some parents realize over time that the school they have chosen doesn't provide the basic curriculum, for example. "They get to the next level and find out their children don't have the skills to move on."

CAIS requires its members to provide a guarantee of quality through government certification, oversight by professional bodies, or accreditation by third parties.

In provinces that partly finance independent schools through government grants, such as Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, the schools must follow provincial curriculum and adhere to standards in areas such as teacher qualifications.

However, in Ontario, which provides no funding for private education, private schools are considered private businesses and only need to register with the province.

Patricia MacNeil, a spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of Education, says the ministry inspects only those private schools that choose to offer credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, which amounts to about one-third of the province's 885 registered private schools. Ms. MacNeil said the ministry looks at these schools every second year in terms of their standard of instruction, but not other issues such as health and safety or staffing.

Only those secondary private schools offering the Ontario Secondary School Diploma are required to deliver the province's curriculum. For elementary private schools, following the curriculum is entirely optional. Teachers in the province's private schools are not required to be members of Ontario College of Teachers.

Ms. MacNeil says provincial law requires only that children be in a "learning environment" up to the age of 18 or graduation.

Complaints about the business practices of private schools can be made to the consumer services bureau of the Ministry of Government Services.

CESI evaluations

Perhaps the greatest oversight within the private system comes from the Canadian Educational Standards Institute (CESI), which evaluates schools' performance based on rigorous educational and operational standards. A voluntary, non-profit organization that started in 1987, CESI has accredited 60 private elementary and secondary schools in Canada as well as two in Bermuda and is recognized by the National Association of Independent Schools, an international body.

Anne-Marie Kee, CESI's executive director, says each accredited school is evaluated every seven years through a collaborative process that includes the school's own year-long "self-study" of its programs and operations and a peer review by a visiting team of 14 volunteer CESI members. That review generates 40 to 80 recommendations that the school must follow up on within 18 months. She says accreditation by CESI provides a "reasonable assurance" that a school lives up to its stated mission.

Among the CESI standards is a "commitment to continuous improvement," she notes, especially important given the fact that "demographics can change very quickly with schools" and they can find themselves with problems in terms of admissions and finances.

A range of areas such as schools' academic programs, administrative practices, security and fiscal management are looked at. New issues that affect schools continue to be incorporated in the process, such as risk-management for those that send students on far-flung trips.

"Schools need to continuously look at what they're doing and how they can improve," Ms. Kee says.

One of the CESI-accredited schools, Upper Canada College in Toronto, which is undergoing its next peer review at the end of the month, continues to make improvements through the accreditation process, says Jim Power, the principal of the college.

"It's helpful to have people from the outside come in and validate what you're trying to do," he says.

Mr. Power has also been a volunteer member of a number of CESI peer-review committees and has found it beneficial to see the approaches taken by other schools. "The whole notion of renewal, reflection and trying to get better makes sense."

James Christopher of CAIS says parents should ask questions about the standards, curriculum and results of schools they are considering.

"Make sure you get a clear answer and preferably something in writing," he advises. "Don't make any assumptions."

Speaking of money

$2.7-billion: Total revenues of Canadian private schools in 2002-03

56%: Portion of revenues derived from fees ($1.5-billion)

25%: Portion of total revenues derived from government sources ($697-million)

Source: Statistics Canada

Special to The Globe and Mail