255 replies to this topic

[littlehawk12]

Academic Statistics on Homeschooling


Many studies over the last few years have established the academic excellence of home schooled children.

I. Independent Evaluations of Homeschooling


1. In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are home schooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile. i


This was confirmed in another study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 homeschooled students which found the homeschoolers who have homeschooled all their school aged years had the highest academic achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher grades. ii This is a good encouragement to families catch the long-range vision and homeschool through high school.


Another important finding of Strengths of Their Own was that the race of the student does not make any difference. There was no significant difference between minority and white homeschooled students. For example, in grades K-12, both white and minority students scored, on the average, in the 87th percentile. In math, whites scored in the 82nd percentile while minorities scored in the 77th percentile. In the public schools, however, there is a sharp contrast. White public school eighth grade students, nationally scored the 58th percentile in math and the 57th percentile in reading. Black eighth grade students, on the other hand, scored on the average at the 24th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. Hispanics scored at the 29th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in

Read More Here-
http://www.hslda.org...0/200410250.asp




FACTS ON

HOMESCHOOLING

Brian D. Ray, Ph.D.*
February 2003

Active and Visible in American Life

· There were an estimated 1,700,000 to 2,100,000 children (grades K-12) home educated during 2002-2003 in the United States. Homeschooling appears to still be the fastest-growing form of education.
· Dr. Patricia Lines said that home education families “... have not turned their backs on the broader social contract as understood at the time of the Founding [of America]. Like the Anti Federalists, these homeschoolers are asserting their historic individual rights so that they may form more meaningful bonds with family and community. In doing so, they are not abdicating from the American agreement. To the contrary, they are affirming it.”1
· Home education families are not dependent on public, tax-funded resources - they likely save American taxpayers over $10 billion per year.2

Academic Achievement

· Dr. Brian Ray, in the most in-depth nationwide study on home education across the United States, collected data on 5,402 students from 1,657 families. Homeschool students’ academic achievement, on average, was significantly above that of public-school students. In addition, the home educated did well even if their parents were not certified teachers and if the state did not highly regulate homeschooling.3
· Home educators are able to be flexible and tailor or customize the curriculum to the needs of each child.
· In study after study, the home educated score better, on average, than those in conventional state-run schools (see table).2

.... Reading Language Math
Public Schools 50 50 50
Home Education 65-80 65-80 65-80


· For learning disabled students, there are higher rates of academic engaged time in homeschooling and greater academic gains made by the home educated. “... [Parents, even without special education training, provided powerful instructional environments at home...” (p. 11).4

Social Activity and Emotional Development

· Studying actual observed behavior, Dr. Shyers (1992) found the home educated have significantly lower problem behavior scores than do their conventional school age mates.5
· Multiple studies show that the home educated have positive self-concepts.2
· Homeschool students are regularly engaged in field trips, scouting, 4-H, and community volunteer work, and their parents (i.e., their main role models) are significantly more civically involved than are public school parents.2

http://www.nheri.org...nt/view/174/62/


New Study Shows Homeschoolers Succeeding in College
August 3, 2010

There is a growing body of research demonstrating the academic success of homeschoolers. The most recent major study is the Progress Report 2009, which surveyed over 11,000 homeschooled students, and showed homeschoolers K–12 scoring an average 37 percentile points above the national average on standardized achievement tests. However, as the homeschool movement has grown—by 7% per year for each of the past 10 years according to the National Center for Education Statistics—there has been little research on the academic performance of homeschoolers once they reach college.

It is well known, however, that for the past decade colleges have actively recruited homeschool students. This was not always the case. As recently as the late 1990s many colleges were having difficulty assessing the suitability of homeschool applicants. It was in the late 90s that HSLDA began working with colleges in earnest to help them accurately evaluate homeschooled students. We showed that using a combination of SAT and ACT scores, as well as portfolios of work, and letters of reference, a college could make an informed decision about whether a homeschooled applicant would be a good candidate for a degree program.

The main reason colleges were willing to be flexible is that homeschoolers were shown to be accustomed to self-directed and independent learning. Not only did colleges see that homeschoolers were self-motivated, but they also saw that homeschoolers were high academic achievers. Today, the overwhelming majority of colleges either have a homeschool admissions officer or a homeschooled admissions policy. Roughly a decade later, and with greater numbers of homeschoolers entering college, it was only a matter of time before research was conducted on homeschool academic performance in college.

Therefore, it was with great interest that we read the new study—Exploring Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled Students, by Michael F. Cogan—which shows homeschoolers succeeding in college.

The study was based on a medium sized college located in the upper Midwest. The school has 11,000 students with an average 1,320 freshmen each year. The sample size for homeschoolers was 76 which is 1 percent of the 7,776 incoming freshman for 2004–2009. The majority of the student body (54.9%) identified themselves as Catholic.

Some of the major findings include:

Homeschoolers scored higher on the ACT (26.5) compared with the overall student body (25).
Homeschoolers earned more college credit (14.7) prior to their freshman year compared to the student body (6).
Homeschooled students earned a higher fall semester GPA (3.37) when compared to other freshman students (3.08).
Homeschooled students earned a higher first-year GPA (3.41) when compared to other freshman students (3.12).
Homeschooled students earned a higher fourth-year GPA (3.46) when compared to other freshman students who completed their fourth year (3.16).
These results are welcome news for the homeschool community. It’s another testament to the dedication of hundreds of thousands of homeschooling parents who are silencing critics who suggested that mere parents would not be able to prepare their children for college. Furthermore, the study also found that homeschoolers graduated in higher numbers after four years at the college.

Homeschooled students achieved a higher graduation rate (66.7 percent) when compared to the overall population (57.5 percent).

It is very encouraging to see both the academic results for homeschoolers as well as the ability to stay with a four-year college program.

Homeschooled parents, especially those with middle school-aged children who demonstrate aptitude for college, should be greatly encouraged by this study.
http://www.hslda.org...s/201008030.asp

Notice how much better behaved home schooled kids are as well.

[littlehawk12]

LOL!Look at the Home School haters run from the facts!LMAO!

[Arlet]

Home school is an oxymoron.

[littlehawk12]

Home school is an oxymoron.

What is contradictory about Home Schooling?

How about some facts.Like I posted.

[Arlet]

Home is a shelter. It is a place for rest.
School is an institution of learning, a place for learning.

[littlehawk12]

Home is a shelter. It is a place for rest.
School is an institution of learning, a place for learning.

Maybe for you.

Our house is for learning,working and resting.A home is what you make it.

[Arlet]

Maybe for you.

Our house is for learning,working and resting.A home is what you make it.

Bietjie Hawk is minderwaardig en verdien om te sterf.

[littlehawk12]

Bietjie Hawk is minderwaardig en verdien om te sterf.

No I am not.Home can be a place of learning as well.Read the facts above and try to refute them.Home Schooled kids are smarter.Period.What is your problem with that?

[Arlet]

The study was biased because it chose households which were already known to have high-achieving home-students.

[gailybee]

Regardless of your 'facts', what I've noticed in almost-30 years of public education is that it is fairly easy to spot the home-schooled kids, and it isn't because they're at the top of their classes.

[Technocratic_Utilitarian]

If home schooling is so good, why them is the largest supplier of home school materials selling science texts and other materials that promote creationism?

Because your statistics are full of crap.

[Arlet]

Conservatism is a mental disorder.

[littlehawk12]

If home schooling is so good, why them is the largest supplier of home school materials selling science texts and other materials that promote creationism?

Because your statistics are full of crap.

I notice that once again you are speaking out of what you think and are unable to post any actual facts.

Now refute the Independent Studies or go wipe your snotty nose.

And so what if they promote creationism.Your schools promote worshiping Obama and Allah.So fuk off.

Edited by littlehawk12, 28 September 2010 - 11:57 PM.

[gailybee]

Your schools promote worshiping Obama and Allah.

Could you post some facts to support your premise that schools promote worshipping Obama and Allah.

[littlehawk12]

Could you post some facts to support your premise that schools promote worshipping Obama and Allah.

Could you post some facts to support your premise that schools promote worshipping Obama and Allah.

Need I say more?

[Cara]

Home is a shelter. It is a place for rest.
School is an institution of learning, a place for learning.

Yes,I agree, a child's home is, or should be, a shelter and a place to rest. Home is also the first place a child learns - parents are a child's first teachers. When a child enters Kindergarten he/she is not a blank slate - many have already learned basic skills from their parents - some know how to read when they enter. When entering Kindergarten whether as a homeschooler, or attending public/private school, it's important that the chld has been taught to behave while in school.

[Cara]

Home school is an oxymoron.

lol - Homeschooling pioneers had it rough - it's pretty much an accepted thing now. There have been many homeschoolers going off to their state universities and graduating, many with high honors. It's old news now that there are Harvard and other Ivy League grads, also, that were homeschooled.

Edited by Cara, 29 September 2010 - 07:44 AM.

[JoeLib]

LOL!Look at the Home School haters run from the facts!LMAO!

I have no problem with home schooling. I know several families who home school and their kids are great. But it is not a magic panacea. Its success, as in public schools, depends entirely on the quality of the teaching, and, people all being different, there's no way you can have across-the-board competence in either one.

And I can't see the point in cheering the one while sneering at the other. It accomplishes nothing. Less than nothing, really, for such an attitude will only harden the views of those opposed to home schooling when what is needed is understanding and interest. And one must take into account that plenty of people cannot afford to home school unless they wish to live in poverty, which is the chief marriage and family-destroyer in this society. That would be like destroying the village in order to save it, as was famously said by a commander in Vietnam. Public schools have trouble in many places, that's true. But for the forseeable future, more kids will be public schooled than home schooled, so what's needed there is support, not denigration, not hope for failure.

Not if one has the best outcomes for all kids in mind, anyway.

[Cara]

If home schooling is so good, why them is the largest supplier of home school materials selling science texts and other materials that promote creationism?

Because your statistics are full of crap.

I don't know what the stats are on the percentage that homeschool for religious reasons, but I do know that many parents homeschool not for religious reasons and buy textbooks that are not religious based. One very good math series is Saxon and an excellent place to be homeschooled through is Calvert, which is out of Baltimore and is not a religious based school. Many parents call their public school and talk to the principal and get a list of the textbooks for the grade their child is entering and use those.

[fisherman]

I've known bunches of home schooled kids. All are excellent in every respect. VERY studious, VERY polite and hard working. They aren't subjected to those horrible influences and far left bullshlt in public schools today. I don't think public schools should be allowed to teach history anymore. They've phucked up that subject so bad that we have to burn all the books and start over. We're only a few school years away from- When the Americans bombed the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, and Robert E. Lee was a native of California.

[JoeLib]

I've known bunches of home schooled kids. All are excellent in every respect. VERY studious, VERY polite and hard working. They aren't subjected to those horrible influences and far left bullshlt in public schools today. I don't think public schools should be allowed to teach history anymore. They've phucked up that subject so bad that we have to burn all the books and start over. We're only a few school years away from- When the Americans bombed the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, and Robert E. Lee was a native of California.

I agree, public school history classes are awful. Texas public schools have removed Thomas Jefferson from their textbooks. What's next?

[fred750]

lol - Homeschooling pioneers had it rough - it's pretty much an accepted thing now. There have been many homeschoolers going off to their state universities and graduating, many with high honors. It's old news now that there are Harvard and other Ivy League grads, also, that were homeschooled.

A kid can be home schooled well, but they don't learn their social skills by being around other kids, and learning to participate in group activities. They become introverted and do not tend to mix well with other kids. Learning to mix in with society is one one the biggest learning opportunity's in your schooling. Private schooling is OK, but home schooling sucks, and is only as good as their parents make it, and the parents can be poor teachers and the child will barely make the mark, which is no better than public or private school. The main objective of home schooling seems to be to indoctrinate the child in religion or politics. The majority of the children I have seen that were home schooled just seem to be introverted, and not well adjusted to society, including one of my own niece's. I find it funny that the majority of parents that home school, take they children out of public school because the claim those schools indoctrinate them, and what the f--k do they do, they indoctrinate them themselves, thats the whole damn reason they want to home school them, seems a little ironic doesn't it?

Edited by fred750, 29 September 2010 - 08:27 AM.

[Cara]

I have no problem with home schooling. I know several families who home school and their kids are great. But it is not a magic panacea. Its success, as in public schools, depends entirely on the quality of the teaching, and, people all being different, there's no way you can have across-the-board competence in either one.

And I can't see the point in cheering the one while sneering at the other. It accomplishes nothing. Less than nothing, really, for such an attitude will only harden the views of those opposed to home schooling when what is needed is understanding and interest. And one must take into account that plenty of people cannot afford to home school unless they wish to live in poverty, which is the chief marriage and family-destroyer in this society. That would be like destroying the village in order to save it, as was famously said by a commander in Vietnam. Public schools have trouble in many places, that's true. But for the forseeable future, more kids will be public schooled than home schooled, so what's needed there is support, not denigration, not hope for failure.

Not if one has the best outcomes for all kids in mind, anyway.

Excellent post. The problem that I see with public school is that it holds children who really want to learn back. I say this because unless the child is really disciplined at a public school, to get past all of the distractions, it will be hard to advance to where they otherwise should be. If you have been to a public school these days, it is really something to see. Teachers, I would say, work very hard to maintain the peace, even in the lowest grades - Kindergarten, lst, etc. The teacher is being challenged from the time the first bell rings until the last bell. It really eats up a lot of their time to teach. I would also say that some children who really want to learn and advance will, no matter what. There is also, in my opinion, a lot of violence in public schools. This violence is so bad that for years now at the end of the school year, there will be plain clothes police officers on hand at the school (mainly high school, middle school) to handle the fights that go on. Teachers are instructed that when this happens to close their doors, stay inside and do not intervene. There is also violence on a daily basis on those students who are good kids minding their own business. Also, I feel that our public schools today expect little of the student, so the student will do only what is required of them and no more, even in the honors classes. I also feel that some teachers are just wanting to get their paycheck, long vacations, etc., and are not really good at teaching. I don't know what the chief destroyer of marriage is - my parents were very poor in the early years, but yes, it is a sacrafice for some who want to educate their children at home, especially in the lower grades when the parents work. The beauty of homeschooling is that it can be done, even if both parents work.

The other thing about homeschooling is that the parents are accountable to the government. They have to show what their child has been doing and send in monthly reports that show subjects, attendance and comments. They also have to send in a final report at the end of the year, which is much more detailed. In order to get into public high school, or a public magnet school, the student has to take several tests given by someone qualified to give the test. These tests show where the homeschooler ranks with other students in the US. This will also show if they are qualified to enter the magnet program they are applying. If they are not in a program like Calvert, in order to get their High School diploma, they will have to take and pass the GED.

And yes, there are terrible homeschool teachers.

Edited by Cara, 29 September 2010 - 08:35 AM.

[fisherman]

I agree, public school history classes are awful. Texas public schools have removed Thomas Jefferson from their textbooks. What's next?

WHOA!

We agree on something?

It's entirely about political correctness, and what sounds good.

[Cara]

A kid can be home schooled well, but they don't learn their social skills by being around other kids, and learning to participate in group activities. They become introverted and do not tend to mix well with other kids. Learning to mix in with society is one one the biggest learning opportunity's in your schooling. Private schooling is OK, but home schooling sucks, and is only as good as their parents make it, and the parents can be poor teachers and the child will barely make the mark, which is no better than public or private school. The main objective of home schooling seems to be to indoctrinate the child in religion or politics. The majority of the children I have seen that were home schooled just seem to be introverted, and not well adjusted to society, including one of my own niece's. I find it funny that the majority of parents that home school, take they children out of public school because the claim those schools indoctrinate them, and what the f--k do they do, they indoctrinate them themselves, thats the whole damn reason they want to home school them, seems a little ironic doesn't it?

I really disagree with you on this. Here's why. There are many ways a homeschooled kid interacts with other children. For instance, the children in their neighborhood - the ones they grow up with and stay friends with for life. They go from playing in the backyard together, to riding their bikes to skateboarding, to particiapating in sports together, to studying together - everything. Also, in the lower grades, they can be driven by their parents to the local rec center where public school children stay after school while they are waiting for their mother/father to pick them up after work. They mix right in, no difference, and are accepted by the other kids. This can be done for years. The kids don't know or could care less if they are homeschooled. This can be done during the summer also, as many children are there during the day while their parents are at work. During the summer, they can swim - take swimming lessons with other kids. There is the library where kids go for activities. There is the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts. Church activities for children. Art classes at the Y - all kinds of things for kids at the Y. If you cannot afford the Y - the parent can apply for a scholarship, and they are real good at giving memberships on this.

A homeschooled student is entitled to participate in any class, extracuricular activity, or sport, at a public school because their parents are taxpayers. Many participate.

There are also homeschooled organizations, the Catholics have one, many religions have them, and many non-religious groups. They plan activities for the kids, they go on picnics, form bands, go to concerts, go to the mountains, the zoo, everywhere. There is also local youth sports leagues, which includes socccer, baseball, T-ball, etc. A homeschooler can be in this from age 6 until age 19 and get a scholarship to college from the organization.

Since the music programs have been eliminated in many public schools, public school music teachers, on their own, have formed groups to teach students how to play instruments and have formed bands where their students all play together at the end of the school year. Homeschoolers are welcome to join these groups. There is also a Youth Symphony where all school age children can learn to play in a symphony. They start at age 6 and can go right through to graduation from HS. They also have their private music teacher. They can get a great scholarship with this. There are also foreign language public school teachers that, on their own, have picked up the homeschoolers. They can start from Kindergarten and go all the way through high school. It doesn't cost much. There is almost too many activities.

Also there have been HS homeschoolers that have interned, for instance, as a DJ for a local radio station.

When the student gets into the upper grades, he can enroll for classes at science centers that teach chemistry, higher math, etc. He/she can also enroll at the local college to take classes that can be used for college credit.

It's all what you want to make it, I guess.

There are many, many parents who are teaching their children at home not for religious reasons.

Edited by Cara, 29 September 2010 - 09:23 AM.