When it comes to getting a good education, apparently, there's no place like home.
When homeschooling first came into prominence in the late 1980’s many viewed it with skepticism, but it has proved itself over and over the past two decades.
Whether the average homeschooled student is getting as good an education as the average public school student is no longer a question. The verdict is in. The results of numerous studies show the average homeschooler is receiving a better education than the average public or private school student.
In a 1997 study, Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Brian Ray examined a sample of over 5,402 homeschooled students. On average, they scored 30 to 37 percentile points higher than the average public school student in all subjects.
A separate test done in 1991 by the Home School Legal Defense Association in conjunction with the Psychological Corporation found that a sampling of 5,124 homeschooled students across all grades scored 18 to 28 percentile points higher on the Stanford Achievement Test than the average public school student.
Finally, the 7,858 students who declared themselves to be homeschooled on the 2004 ACT scored an average of 1.7 points higher, on a scale of 1-32, than the national average.
The academic success of homeschooled students is impressive and, no doubt, attributable to the hard work these students put into their education; but the hard work put in by their parents (many of whom do not even hold a bachelor's degree) is equally impressive. Parental involvement is key and appears to outweigh factors such as race and government regulation on one's education at home.
The success of homeschooling is breaking down the cultural barriers that once restricted the efforts of parents to educate their own children. Most people now have a friend or relative who teaches their children at home. The number of homeschoolers in the United States is currently estimated at over 2,000,000 and growing. The reasons parents choose to homeschool are varied, but they generally center on the belief that they can provide their children with a better academic education, a safer environment, or a stronger set of moral values.
One of the most commonly-raised objections to homeschooling is that children who are homeschooled will not have opportunities for socialization. This objection, however, is contradicted by the facts. Homeschooled students tend to be very involved in a myriad of activities (including community service, service in their church, sports programs, and groups such as the Boy Scouts and 4-H). Moreover, studies show that adults who have been homeschooled are more likely to participate in community service, vote, and succeed in college. Dr. Gary Knowles at the University of Michigan polled a sampling of adults who were homeschooled and found that 94% said that their education "prepared them to be independent persons," and 79% said that "it helped them interact with individuals from different levels of society." Continue >>
Comments
Our son was homeschooled from kindergarten through the 8th grade and he was anything but socially insecure, if anything he was just the opposite. He went to a very closed school system for high school, these kids had been together for all their school life and initially he was pushed in with the down and outers. But he broke out of that quickly and developed friendships within just about every group in the school and participated in many school activities, but mainly music and drama. Even when he was little people were amazed how he could carry on a meaningful conversation not only with his peers, but with teens and adults as well. On achievement test he always scored in the top percentile as did most of the kids who we knew were being homeschooled and in fact when he was in high school he continued to score well. But the most interesting thing of all was when he came home for winter break his freshman year of college and profusely thanked his Mom and I for homeschooling him those first nine years. He shared that his high school did little if anything to prepare him for college and he had to rely heavily on what he was taught those first nine years in order to make it through his first semester of college. By the way the high school he went to in Vermont was supposedly one of the best in the state.
I do think homeschooled kids are smarter academically. However nearly every homeschooled kid I've met is incredibly insecure socially. They do to become more confident once they go to college and/or spend more time around people. I think 4H and scouts are fine, but 2 hours a week versus 8 hours a day is a huge difference. Some other cons with homeschooling is that kids don't have the opportunity to work in groups (like for band/orchestra, & collaborative projects) where they could learn new things. Working in groups also introduces people to new ideas and see different viewpoints. I don't mean morally, but just things like how cool googie architecture is and how funny Roald Dahl is, things they may not learn at home with just one viewpoint & experience. I do think homeschooling is a good thing, but there's nothing bad with spending time learning with other kids your age, either...