Homeschooling Study

It has been 10 years since any major research has been done on this homeschooling topic. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of homeschooled children has grown tremendously from 850,000 to anywhere from 1.5 to 2 million. This test shows homeschoolers are continuing to excel above their public school counterparts.

Dr. Brian D. Ray conducted this study nationwide through the National Home Education Research Institute. It covers their educational background as well as their demographics and attempts to discover any impact these might have on the level of accomplishment homeschooling has on children.

Here is a question I always get. Does it matter that you don't have any certification as a teacher? According to this study...test results prove that homeschooled children that have one or both parents with teaching certificates averaged a core score of 87%. Children taught at home without any parent holding a teacher's certificate had an 88% on their tests as a core score. WOW! That bodes well for us. No difference.

"Is there a correlation between student scores and parent education?" The answer is funny to me actually. Neither parent holding a degree scored an 83% on their test. One parent having a degree gave an 86% and both parents having a degree gave students the advantage by only 4%, raising the scores to a 90%. The funny part is that public school teachers that ALL have a degree, their students  scored 50% across the board. WOW, that is enlightening as well. So for those of you who say, "I would homeschool IF I was qualified," there is good news for you...YOU ARE QUALIFIED!

Oh, this question is a classic. "What kind of government accountability is there for you as a homeschooler?" Well, this test question doesn't exactly answer this per say, but it does offer insight as to whether or not there should be ANY supervision by the government. Here is the study question. "Is government regulation necessary for high achievement?" The answer is that in states with low regulation, children scored an average of 87%. In a state with medium regulation, the children score an 88%, and in a state with HIGH regulation, the children score the same as a state with low regulation at an 87%. I liked what the Homeschool Legal Defense Association says about these findings. "That's a good reason for the state governments to redirect scarce funds from regulating homeschooling to where the money is actually needed." Well said!

The academic achievement scores on the test across the board were as follows:

In total reading, homeschooled students had an 89%. Public school students had a 50%.
In total language, HSS had an 84% while PSS had a 50%. In total Math, HSS averaged at 84% and PSS averaged at 50%. In Science, HSS got an 86% and PSS got a 50%.In Social Studies, HSS averaged an 84% while PSS averaged 50% again. This gives a composite score of 86% to homeschooled students and gives public schooled students a 50%.  Notice how the public school system shoots to be average. I am not interested in my kids being average. They were created to attain so much more. My prayer is that I can indeed accomplish that in my children. God has called me to raise my own children. He has called me to spend more time with them each day than anyone else. He will equip me to mold them into young men and women that have strong character, brilliant intelligence and a desire to keep learning!

Did you know that America spends more on education per child than any other industrialized nation? Last I heard, we ranked 25^th.  Even after all the dollars spent, we still are hardly competing.

In homeschooling, a parent that spent over 600$, their kids scored an average of 89% on their tests. If a parents spent under 600$, their kids scored an average of 86%. For the PSS who have $9,963.00 spent on them each year, scored 50%. Our tax dollars are not accomplishing a whole lot. I spend about 4-500 dollars on my kids total in curriculum each year. I spent 100 dollars on field trips this year and I know that it can be done A LOT cheaper. I just haven't figured that all out yet. However, I spent 400 dollars on just Embu the first year and have since added 2 more children to the mix and have only increased my spending by 100 dollars. So, things are starting to make sense to me.

A few more tests were done like the income the family makes which was more of the same. The families that make under 35,000 scored 85%, the families that make 35-70 thousand, made an 86% and families that made over 70 grand scored 89%.

Also, if you were a boy, you scored 87% and if you were a girl you scored 88% on average. This proves my age old idea that girls are smarter than boys. I am just kidding!!! I don't really believe that. My husband is WAY smarter than me! Anyway, there have been studies that showed in the Public school arena, boys score less than girls. I have heard that this is because of the way boys learn, not because they are dumb. However, you will see that in homeschooled students, they were pretty much the same through every grade level. If your son is struggling in school, it is may just be that  his brain is wired differently than how students are taught in a class setting. At home, the parent can teach to their learning styles and overcome this obstacle in learning.

In conclusion, these statistics are so encouraging to homeschooling parents. Be encouraged if you feel the opposition closing in on you. YOU are doing a marvelous thing. You are making your child's education a priority and you will take them to a level they could not achieve otherwise. JUST KEEP SWIMMING as that fish Dori always says in Finding Nemo.

Thanks to the HSLDA for this report.