STATISTICS
The following information is found in Home Education: Is It Working from the Handbook for Texas Home Schoolers:
An extensive study of home education programs in Los Angeles found that the home schooled students scored higher on standardized achievement tests than did their counterparts in Los Angeles public schools. Impressive results were also noted in the areas of maturation and social growth among the homeschooled children.
Research conducted by Imperial Tutoring and Educational Services over a 15 year period involving more than 2,000 home schooled students from various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds indicates that the majority of students experience significant academic progress and improvement in attitude and motivation. The greatest progress was in the areas of language arts and reading.
Testing over a 5 year period of approximately 1,300 home schooled students in the Centralized Correspondence Study Program administered by the Alaska Dept of Ed shows that the homeschooled students consistently score higher (up to 16% points higher) than their counterparts in the public schools on standard achievement tests. These results are particularly significant since the same curriculum is used in both the CCS Program and in the public schools.
The Arizona Department of Education reported that homeschooled children in Arizona perform at above average levels on nationally standardized achievement tests.
The Hewitt Research Foundation, an internationally recognized education research organization, studied several thousand home schooled children across the US and found that home schooled children have often been performing in 75% to 95% in Stanford and Iowa Achievement Tests. Frequently these children are taught by high-school educated parents no more than an hour or two a day.
The academic achievements of home schooled children have been obtained largely without state-certified teachers. There is NO evidence which would suggest a correlation of academic performance and teacher certification.
The self-concept of home schooled children is significantly higher than conventionally schooled children (Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale). Researchers attribute these findings to the one-on-one tutoring environment in the home and to higher levels of parental interest and peer independence.
An extensive study of home education programs in Los Angeles found that the home schooled students scored higher on standardized achievement tests than did their counterparts in Los Angeles public schools. Impressive results were also noted in the areas of maturation and social growth among the homeschooled children.
Research conducted by Imperial Tutoring and Educational Services over a 15 year period involving more than 2,000 home schooled students from various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds indicates that the majority of students experience significant academic progress and improvement in attitude and motivation. The greatest progress was in the areas of language arts and reading.
Testing over a 5 year period of approximately 1,300 home schooled students in the Centralized Correspondence Study Program administered by the Alaska Dept of Ed shows that the homeschooled students consistently score higher (up to 16% points higher) than their counterparts in the public schools on standard achievement tests. These results are particularly significant since the same curriculum is used in both the CCS Program and in the public schools.
The Arizona Department of Education reported that homeschooled children in Arizona perform at above average levels on nationally standardized achievement tests.
The Hewitt Research Foundation, an internationally recognized education research organization, studied several thousand home schooled children across the US and found that home schooled children have often been performing in 75% to 95% in Stanford and Iowa Achievement Tests. Frequently these children are taught by high-school educated parents no more than an hour or two a day.
The academic achievements of home schooled children have been obtained largely without state-certified teachers. There is NO evidence which would suggest a correlation of academic performance and teacher certification.
The self-concept of home schooled children is significantly higher than conventionally schooled children (Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale). Researchers attribute these findings to the one-on-one tutoring environment in the home and to higher levels of parental interest and peer independence.
From Strengths of Their Own, by Brian D. Ray, PH.D., a study by the National Home Education Research Institute:
In early March, Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. of the National Home Education Research Institute released the findings of the most recent study of home educated students. The purpose of the Institute is to conduct research to enhance the use of home and family in educating children. The purpose of this specific study was to examine the academic achievement and social activities of home educated students and the basic demographics of their families, to assess the relationships between student achievement and selected student and family variables, and to describe and explore certain longitudinal changes among home educated students and their families.
The target population was all home schooling families in the U.S. Data were collected on 1,657 families and their 5,402 children: 275 of the families participated in the authors’ 1990 study. These families, with 3.3 children and 98% being headed by married couples, were much larger than the U.S. average. Ninety-five percent of family income was earned by the fathers; 34% of them were professionals and 11% were small business owners. Eighty-eight percent of the mothers were homemakers/home educators and only 16% of the mothers worked outside the home. A wide variety of religious affiliations was evident; about 90% of the parents were Christians. The parents had higher than average educational attainment; 45% of the fathers had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 42% of the mothers had the same. These families’ median annual income of $43,000 was a little lower than the median for all married-couple families in the U.S. The parents spent, on average, $546 per child per year for home education.
The mother did 88% of the formal teaching of the children while the father did 10% of the teaching. The large majority of these children were not being taught by professionally trained and government-certified teachers. On average, the children had been taught at for 5 years since age 5, 85% were in grades K through 8, and their parents planned to home educate them through their secondary school years. Parents hand picked curriculum materials- rather than purchasing complete programs: 71% of the students. The social activities of these were quite varied; for example, 47% were involved in group sports, and 77% participated in Sunday School.
These Students scored, on the average, at high percentiles on standardized academic achievement test: (1) total reading, 87th, (b) total language, 80th, ( c) total math, 82nd, (d) total listening, 85th, (e) science, 84th, (f) social studies, 85th, (g) study skills, 81st, (h) basic battery [typically, reading, language, and mathematics], 85th, and (k) complete battery [all subject areas in which student was tested], 87th. [The national average is the 50th percentile.]
Several analyses were conducted to determine which independent variables were significantly related to academic achievement. There was no significant relationship between achievement and (a) whether the father was a certified teacher, (b) whether the mother was a certified teacher, ( c) family income, (d) money spent on education, (e) legal status of the family, (f) time spent in formal instruction, (g) age formal instruction began, and (h) degree of state regulation of home schooling.
Achievement was statistically significantly related, in some cases, to father’s education level, mother’s education level, gender of student, years home educated, use of libraries, who administered the test, and use of computers. The relationships were, however, weak and not practically significant. This and other studies indicate that very few background variables (e.g. socio-economic status of parents, regulation by the state) explain the academic achievement of the home educated. It is possible that the home education environment has an improving effect on variables that are typically considered a detriment to students. A variety of students in a variety of home education settings have performed very well in terms of academic achievement.
In early March, Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. of the National Home Education Research Institute released the findings of the most recent study of home educated students. The purpose of the Institute is to conduct research to enhance the use of home and family in educating children. The purpose of this specific study was to examine the academic achievement and social activities of home educated students and the basic demographics of their families, to assess the relationships between student achievement and selected student and family variables, and to describe and explore certain longitudinal changes among home educated students and their families.
The target population was all home schooling families in the U.S. Data were collected on 1,657 families and their 5,402 children: 275 of the families participated in the authors’ 1990 study. These families, with 3.3 children and 98% being headed by married couples, were much larger than the U.S. average. Ninety-five percent of family income was earned by the fathers; 34% of them were professionals and 11% were small business owners. Eighty-eight percent of the mothers were homemakers/home educators and only 16% of the mothers worked outside the home. A wide variety of religious affiliations was evident; about 90% of the parents were Christians. The parents had higher than average educational attainment; 45% of the fathers had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 42% of the mothers had the same. These families’ median annual income of $43,000 was a little lower than the median for all married-couple families in the U.S. The parents spent, on average, $546 per child per year for home education.
The mother did 88% of the formal teaching of the children while the father did 10% of the teaching. The large majority of these children were not being taught by professionally trained and government-certified teachers. On average, the children had been taught at for 5 years since age 5, 85% were in grades K through 8, and their parents planned to home educate them through their secondary school years. Parents hand picked curriculum materials- rather than purchasing complete programs: 71% of the students. The social activities of these were quite varied; for example, 47% were involved in group sports, and 77% participated in Sunday School.
These Students scored, on the average, at high percentiles on standardized academic achievement test: (1) total reading, 87th, (b) total language, 80th, ( c) total math, 82nd, (d) total listening, 85th, (e) science, 84th, (f) social studies, 85th, (g) study skills, 81st, (h) basic battery [typically, reading, language, and mathematics], 85th, and (k) complete battery [all subject areas in which student was tested], 87th. [The national average is the 50th percentile.]
Several analyses were conducted to determine which independent variables were significantly related to academic achievement. There was no significant relationship between achievement and (a) whether the father was a certified teacher, (b) whether the mother was a certified teacher, ( c) family income, (d) money spent on education, (e) legal status of the family, (f) time spent in formal instruction, (g) age formal instruction began, and (h) degree of state regulation of home schooling.
Achievement was statistically significantly related, in some cases, to father’s education level, mother’s education level, gender of student, years home educated, use of libraries, who administered the test, and use of computers. The relationships were, however, weak and not practically significant. This and other studies indicate that very few background variables (e.g. socio-economic status of parents, regulation by the state) explain the academic achievement of the home educated. It is possible that the home education environment has an improving effect on variables that are typically considered a detriment to students. A variety of students in a variety of home education settings have performed very well in terms of academic achievement.