Well here are my experiences:

I was in private school K-2nd and then public 3rd-12th. I was too young to notice the difference between private and public, but according to my mom my second grade teacher just about ruined the entire year for me. She was a terrible person and teacher and that's why I was moved to a public school. I did fine through public school and have had no issues with colleges or careers due to my base education.

I've had a few friends do home school and I personally wasn't too impressed with the work they had to do. It seemed more of a joke to them than anything else. I think for K-6 home school would be fine, or with the proper parent. However, what I saw from my three friends was that the parents didn't really teach and the students didn't really learn. They're doing fine now, but had to work a bit harder at junior college than I did to keep up.

My brother went to private school from K-6th and then public school from 7th-12th. He was offered scholarships in multiple fields from many different colleges. He has earned many degrees including his PhD. He teaches at the university level and receives grants on a regular basis for his research and written journals. He's only 29.

So I guess the best way to sum up the examples is that it depends more on the school and staff than on the actual category that it falls into. I'm sure home schooling is the right answer for some. For others private school might be the best, but in my situation it almost set me behind a year because of a bad teacher (edit - I wasn't the only student that had issues due to this specific teacher ) For others public school is just as good if not better than the other options. Who knows, maybe a mix of all or some is the right way to go.

There is good and bad in everything, and I think it is up to the parents to do the research and determine what the best option is for their children.