$420/year per student. $99 Chromebook required.
Posted on 10/07/2026 10:29:30 AM PDT by Pete Dovgan
Home-educated students do notably better on standardized academic tests on average than those in institutional schools, according to a powerful new study reviewing available data.
For years, parents struggling with the decision of how to educate their children have wondered if homeschooling really provides as strong of an academic base as a conventional school. In the last 50 years, homeschooling has gone from being perceived as a fringe experiment to a form of education serving around six percent of American school-age children; that is about 3.4 million K-12 homeschool students.
This mainstreaming of homeschooling has led to a lot of questions regarding the effectiveness of home education — especially whether children are really learning.
National Home Education Research Institute chief Dr. Brian Ray, widely considered the nation’s top academic in this field, sought to answer this and other questions.
Groundbreaking New Study Just this summer, Dr. Ray published one of the largest nationwide studies of its kind on the subject. It is the first national academic-achievement study of home education in more than 15 years.
The results were clear and overwhelming: Home-educated students continue to perform well, scoring 25 to 29 percentile points above the national average.
The average student is at the 50th percentile. Dr. Ray found that the average homeschool student is scoring in the 75th to 79th percentile range.
This study used numerous tests and examined reading, language, math, science, and social studies.
Although standardized tests are not a perfect way to measure the likelihood of success, they are still a meaningful metric that deserves to be looked at when evaluating academic abilities, Dr. Ray said.
Similar studies have been done in the past, although more than 15 years ago. Over the last 15 years, homeschoolers have continued to stay ahead of the norm
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...
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In my northeast city - city schools spend close to $30K per student. Of course, they have the ghetto students, lots of migrants of all stripes, and very powerful unions. Its not just a school, its an entire welfare eco-system, from daily feeding, to therapy, to social-services, to medical. its a recipe for failure and bureaucratic bloat
But even the suburban public schools spend $20K per student.
This has been true all along.
That homeschoolers outperform both public and private school students on standardized tests has been reported for years. I don’t know what makes this particular study special, but its findings are consistent with long term assessments.
There is, of course, a big self-selection thumb on the scales. Homeschooling requires a significant commitment of time, energy and money from the parents. It will tend to be the most committed parents who give it a try.
If homeshooling is not working out well for one’s child, the obvious alternative is to give up and enroll the kid in the public schools for free. Or put them in a local private school, which is probably less expensive than the imputed cost of homeschooling if one accounts for parental time.
The kids who are homeschooled long term are those who, with their parents, made it work. The homeschool failures have probably moved along in a couple of years, and they go fail somewhere else.
This is totally unfair—the home schooled kids have the best genes from smarter parents than everyone else.
Lol.
Doesn’t matter. Education is not the purose of government schools. The purpose of government schools is to force teachers into teachers unions and force them to pay union dues so the dues can be transferred to Democrat politicians as “political contributions.”
My niece was a homeschooler from kindergarten and participated in a vast assortment of tremendously interesting and flat out fun adventures and trips and excursions. There was even a separate survival and exploration / land living club like the Scouts for boys and girls. Where boys learned how to be men and girls learned how to support their men and be strong for them and their children. Above all, recognizing the Sovereignty of Almighty Loving God.
She sped through her studies like a bolt of lightning and graduated a full two years ahead of anyone in indoctrination high despite the vaunted ‘honor’ bunch.
She was an honor student as a homeschooling curriculum student connected to the entire of the U. S. network.
She’s continued in 3-D printing, has worked as a civil and government employee as myself, and now is working as a training co-manager of a large grocery store chain. And very very happy with her hours and pay.
So very proud of her and her mom and dad.
Please pray for her dad, who is a double-stroke survivor, he’s back eating again after not being able by mouth. Mom is his caretaker in chief.
Prayers for healing, beloved.
I think dropouts outperform those in government schools too.
And water is wet.
$420/year per student. $99 Chromebook required.
Another problem is the number of parents who use government schools for daycare. Now they’ll have to set up free government programs for that. Just switch from pretending to be Learing Centers to pretending to be Daycare Centers.
OLD news...
They are far easier to teach and learn from than the modern junk.
In NH we had to have our students tested annually by an accredited teacher.
They always tested a year ahead of their grade level.
It paid off very well.
Actually it’s $300 per year if you book the entire year.
“For years, parents struggling with the decision of how to educate their children”
I don’t believe that statement. For years it’s been common knowledge that public schooling is inferior to all other methods. The conclusion would be that he parents just do not care that much.
Homeschoolers at Harvard:
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/10/homeschool-harvard/
Homeschoolers at MIT:
https://mitadmissions.org/apply/parents-educators/homeschool/
Homeschoolers at Tufts:
https://rise.as.tufts.edu/home-to-school/
It can be done!
Sorry, I do NOT believe in education by AI! In many if my interactions with AI, this program has proven to be woefully deficient!
Homeschooling is different! The only problems that when both parents work, it becomes very difficult to carry out.
However, public schools are a disaster area. Back in the day, my public high school in Tucson sent me to MIT (with AP credits in general chemistry and calculus), and two of my classmates to Smith College and Princeton, with most to the University Arizona. The U of A has an Honors program.
Nowadays, my former high school’s college admissions results are abysmal. There is a special, small and selective “University High School” in the same location, that does a lot better.
This illustrates what students and parents are up against. And many colleges are poorer (and woker), too.
“Sorry, I do NOT believe in education by AI! In many if my interactions with AI, this program has proven to be woefully deficient!”
Well, that’s a shock. /sarcasm
When I ask AI any question about my own life, or those of my friends and associates, it always flubs! That even applies to friends and associates who achieved some degree of fame or notoriety.
Did your niece use AI in premed organic chemistry? Doe she use it in med school molecular biology? Uh-oh!
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