As more and more families realize that they have a choice about how their children are being educated and as more and more families become disengaged with their local school districts the appeal of homeschooling continues to rise. Since the late 1990s, the number of homeschooling children has made a huge increase of 75%. Today about 4% of all school children in America are homeschooled. Overall, the number of kids whose families choose homeschooling is growing seven times faster than the number of
kids enrolling in K-12 every year.As any homeschooling parent can tell you, concerns by those who are unfamiliar with the homeschool lifestyle can be put to rest for some people by checking out the consistently high placement of homeschooled kids on standardized assessment exams. Accordingly, www.educationnews.org, data shows that those kids from homeschooling families typically score between 65th and 89th percentile on assessment exams, while those attending traditional schools average on the 50th percentile (DUH). Furthermore, the achievement gaps that have long been plaguing school systems around the country, aren’t present in homeschooling environment, as test show no difference in achievement between sexes, income levels or race/ethnicity.
Www.EducationNews.org goes on to report that recent studies laud homeschoolers’ academic success, noting their significantly higher ACT-Composite scores as high schoolers and higher grade point averages as college students. Yet surprisingly, the average expenditure for the education of a homeschooled child, per year, is $500 to $600 (or less!), compared to an average expenditure of $10,000 per child, per year, for public school students.
College recruiters are quick to recognize homeschoolers’ achievements. Homeschoolers tend to
attain a four-year degree at much higher rates than their counterparts
from public and even private schools. Homeschoolers are actively
recruited by schools like MIT,
Harvard University, Stanford University and Duke, to name a few prestigious universities. Alternative and smaller tertiary schools are also attractive to homeschoolers who have learned independence and self-determination.Is there a problem with socialization for homeschoolers? On the contrary, those educated at home by their parents tend to be more socially engaged than their peers, and according to the National Home Education Research Institute survey, demonstrate “healthy social, psychological, and emotional development, and success into adulthood.” While I am not a particular fan of NHERI, I appreciate their effort to find accurate and supportable statistics.
And statistics are fine. Great even. But in the end, it always comes down to what is right for your family. Many families have found public and private schools to be wonderful venues for the education of their children. If you are one of those families who have not been satisfied with traditional schools, know that homeschooling is a great alternative!
Some Text and all Statistics courtesy of www.educationnews.org or Progress Academy
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