Home Schooling Statistics
The “No Child Left Behind Act” initiated by President Bush has affects the entire United States educational system as a whole. This act increases accountability for schools, teachers, and students. The educational needs of students are not being met. This has increased demand in alternative choices to the public school system.
Private schools, Charter Schools, and home schooling have surfaced as viable alternatives. The number of children participating in home schooling in the United States has risen from 850,000 students in 1999 to nearly 1.1 million in 2004 – National Center for Educational Statistics. This home schooling statistic is likely to increase each year with the availability of online and governmental resources.
Class size in the public school system has increased due to the current teacher shortage and growing population of school aged children. A child in home schooling has one-on-one training which can be very effective compared to a 30:1 student to teacher ratio.
A 1998 study cited in the Educational Policy Analysis Archives assessed the academic achievement of home school students in Iowa. The home school students took the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency. It was found that the home school students tested high with a median in the 70 and 80th percentiles. It was also found that 25% of home school students were in grades one or more higher than their public school counterparts.
It must be pointed out that these statistics should not necessarily be used to compare to the public school system. The parents of home school children were found to have a higher educational background and socioeconomic status. Therefore, these home school students may achieve at a similar level in a public school setting.
Home schooling is an option to consider and its support network is growing every day. The effectiveness of home schooling depends on the individual family and specific circumstances. Check out the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov for more information.
For more information about home schooling visit: Why Home School?
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