HOME SCHOOL STATISTICS

Bob Jones University Press Testing and Evaluation Service, the largest home school testing service in the nation, provides Assessment services to home school students and private schools on a fee-for-service basis. In Spring 1998, 39,607 home school students were contracted to take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS, grades K-8) or the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP, grades 9-12). Both the ITBS and TAP are published by Riverside Publishing Company and were developed after careful review of national and state curricula and standards.

BJUP certified the test administrators, many of whom were the students' parents. Students were given an achievement test, and their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire entitled "Voluntary Home School Demographic Survey." This questionnaire, designed by the researcher and staff of Home School Legal Defense Association, was significantly shorter than previous survey instruments. It posed all questions in an objective format, rather than a constructed response format. National Computer Systems was commissioned to publish the questionnaire on computer scannable forms, removing the need for manual data processing.

Parents returned the completed tests and questionnaires to BJUP. The tests were then bundled and sent to Riverside Publishers for machine scoring, and the questionnaires were bundled and sent to National Computer Systems for scanning.

Unlike previous studies, the parents did not know their children's scores before agreeing to participate in this study.

Electronic copies of 23,415 test results and 23,311 questionnaire results were then sent to Dr. Lawrence Rudner. A total of 20,760 students in 11,930 families provided useable questionnaires with corresponding achievement tests. The achievement test and questionnaire results were combined to form the dataset used in this analysis. The resulting report, Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Policy Analysis Archives (http://epaa.asu.edu).

Dr. Lawrence M. Rudner is with the College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland in College Park. He has been involved in quantitative analysis for over 30 years, having served as a university professor, a branch chief in the U.S. Department of Education, and a classroom teacher. For the past 12 years, he has been the Director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation. ERIC is an information service sponsored by the National Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education, which acquires and abstracts articles and manuscripts pertaining to all aspects of education; builds and maintains on-line databases; publishes articles and books; and provides a wide range of user services. Dr. Rudner holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (1977), an MBA in Finance (1991), and lifetime teaching certificates from two states. His two children attend public school.

Home school students do exceptionally well when compared with the nationwide average. In every subject and at every grade level of the ITBS and TAP batteries, home school students scored significantly higher than their public and private school counterparts.

Because home education allows each student to progress at his or her own rate, almost one in four home school students (24.5%) are enrolled one or more grades above age level. It should be noted that home school scores were analyzed according to the student's enrolled grade rather than according to the student's age level. In other words, a 10-year-old home school student enrolled in 5th grade would have been compared to other students in the 5th grade, rather than to his age-level peers in the 4th grade. Thus, the demonstrated achievement of home schoolers is somewhat conservative.On average, home school students in grades 1-4 perform one grade level higher than their public and private school counterparts.

The achievement gap begins to widen in grade 5; by 8th grade the average home school student performs four grade levels above the national average.

Another significant finding is that students who have been home schooled their entire academic lives have the highest scholastic achievement. The difference becomes especially pronounced during the higher grades, suggesting that students who remain in home school throughout their high school years continue to flourish in that environment.

Differences were also found among home school students when they were classified by amount of money spent on education, family income, parent education, and television viewing. However, it should be noted that home school students in every category scored significantly higher than the national average.

No meaningful difference was found among home school students when classified by gender. Significantly, there was also no difference found according to whether or not a parent was certified to teach. For those who would argue that only certified teachers should be allowed to teach their children at home, these findings suggest that such a requirement would not meaningfully affect student achievement.

The home school community is undoubtedly a unique segment of American society. Far from being a cross-section of the American public, home schoolers stand out in several areas beyond the obvious distinction of their educational choices.The background questionnaires returned for this study reveal that, on average, home school parents have more formal education than parents in the general population, with 88% having continued their education beyond high school compared to 50% for the nation as a whole. Furthermore, almost one in four home school students (24%) has at least one parent who is a certified teacher.Home school families have a higher median income ($52,000 in 1997) than the median income of all American families with children ($36,000 in 1995). Home school families also tend to be larger than the national average; the majority (62.1%) have three or more children, while most American families with school-age children (79.6%) have only one or two children.

The overwhelming majority of home schooling parents are married couples (97.3%), compared to only 72% of families with school-age children nationwide. Furthermore, 76.9% of home school mothers do not work for pay, while 86.3% of those who do work, only work part-time. Nationwide, in 1996, only 30% of married women with children under 18 did not participate in the labor force.

The home school students who participated in the study were proportionally younger than the general American school population. Only 11.4% of home school students were in grades 9-12, compared to 30.3% of all students nationwide. This could be due to the relative newness of the home school movement, early graduation from high school, the desire of some students to attend a public or private high school, or simply the fact that some older students do not take achievement tests, opting instead for SAT preparatory testing.

The home schooling community contains a smaller percentage of racial minorities (6%) than public schools nationally (32.8%). The religious preferences of home schooling mothers who participated in this study are most often Independent Fundamental (25.1%), Baptist (24.4%), Independent Charismatic (8.2%), Roman Catholic (5.4%), Assembly of God (4.1%), Presbyterian (3.8%), or Reformed (3.4%). In 93.1% of families, the religious preference of the father was the same as that of the mother. (Home school leaders believe the high numbers of mothers and fathers reporting evangelical preferences is likely skewed in favor of religious home schoolers, since the families obtained the tests through a religious supplier. However, there is no known reason to believe that secular home school students perform at a lower academic level than religious home schoolers.)

Another distinguishing characteristic is that home schooled children tend to watch significantly less television than do average American children. On average, only 1.6% of home schoolers in the 4th grade watch more than three hours of television per day, compared to nearly 40% of 4th graders nationwide.

The median amount of money spent in 1997 on educational materials for home school students was $400. When we consider this relatively small expenditure in light of the high scholastic achievement of most home school students, we can reasonably conclude that it does not require a great deal of money to home school successfully.

Without a doubt, the Rudner study demonstrates that home schooled students are doing exceptionally well. The question why? , however, is one that this study cannot sufficiently answer. Home school students typically come from families where income is relatively high, marriages are intact, and dedication to education is strong. We do not know how these children would have performed had they been placed in public or private school, nor can we say that this study proves the superiority of home schooling over other educational choices. The answer to these questions lies not in statistics, but rather in individual stories.

Many times over the past two decades, important legislative, legal, and policy decisions have been made, in part, based on the perceived or actual academic performance of home educated students. It should not be necessary, nor is it really possible, to prove that home education is better than institutional schools. It is clear that the average home school child performs significantly higher than the average public school child. Given the demographic distinctions between the groups under comparison, it is only safe and fair to conclude that home education works well for those who are choosing this form of education. Without needing to criticize other forms of education, we can confidently assure policy makers that this system delivers solid academic results.

With this in view, it would be contrary to the evidence to suggest that public school regulatory measures are justifiably imposed on home schoolers. Specifically, this study found no valid correlation between teacher certification and student achievement. It would be a misuse of this study to suggest that teacher certification is not valid in public schools. By the same token, it would be a lapse in common sense to believe that imposing certification on home school families is necessary for good academic results.

Another noteworthy fact uncovered by this study is that home school achievement tends to improve the longer a child has been taught at home. This distinction is especially great in the higher grades. Clearly, home education is not just a quick fix for problem cases, nor is it only for young children. It is a valid educational option, creating students who love learning and young adults who are well prepared for a bright future.

The only theoretical way to perform a perfect experiment to determine if home schooling is better or worse than public or private schools is to use a randomized control design. A large number of children would be randomly selected and required to attend home school. Another group of children would be randomly selected and required to attend public or private school. Clearly that is not possible. But even that "pure" design would have a major flaw. It fails to consider one factor that clearly contributes to home education's success--parental motivation. Because home schooling, by its very nature, is practiced only in families where parents are strongly motivated, it is undetermined what would happen if unmotivated parents were randomly assigned to home educate their children.

This study does not enter the theoretical domain. It simply measures the families who are motivated to home school and concludes that they are doing very well. The most telling demonstration of home education's success, however, will be the individual lives of young people who grow up and go out to impact the nation and the world. We look forward in great anticipation to the Patrick Henrys, John Quincy Adamses, and Thomas Edisons of the modern home schooling movement.

Sorry, meant to post my last to xzins

Also, xzins it's not that I'm doubting you but I am a homeschool father myself who is taking distance learning courses and I am required to go to campus for 12 of my total hrs. Also they only take something like 12-15 credits for clep.

76.9% of home school mothers do not work for pay, while 86.3% of those who do work, only work part-time. Nationwide, in 1996, only 30% of married women with children under 18 did not participate in the labor force.

Did you read that part? That's also an amazing stat.

Pinging you!

Thanks for the ping tiggy. xzins, this sentence needs correction.

"we can reasonably conclude that it does not require a great deal of money to ~~home~~ school successfully."

More money for education will not solve problems. Billions are spent and children are still graduating uneducated. I have debated liberals for years who believe we need to spend more money on education. It won't do any good.

"Intact families, higher income, high regard for education."

I question the higher income statistic. I don't know very many well off home schooling families. We're all struggling trying to live on one income, making many big sacrifices. Tiggy, do you agree with me?

Guess I'm nit picking. Sorry. My point is, you don't have to be well off to home school. You could do it for free if you wanted.

"I've also met some severely closed-minded and ill-educated home schoolers, too."

Isn't that any where in life though? There are severly closed minded, ill-educated people teaching in public schools just the same. There are severly close-minded people all over the place.....and I'm not so sure that's such a bad thing. I'll NEVER "open" my mind on some issues. Ever, ever, ever! Period!!!!

"Parents who want to isolate their children from corrupting influences and ensure that they have the exact same social, political and religious beliefs that their parents have, do a terrible job."

What's the problem with this? I do not want my children to have social, political and religious beliefs different than mine. Should I feel ashamed?

Spook, my take on it is this. It's a matter of averages.

Homeschoolers would tend to be middle economic or above.

Public schoolers were tend to be lower economic or above.

Why do I think homeschoolers are middle economic and above? Gut feel.

A bump for homeschoolers-on-a-shoestring-budget.

I don't think we can afford to test right now! Maybe that's why the "less affluent" homeschoolers are underrepresented in these stats? I know we'd rather spend our limited funds on solid resources than testing.

Well, I guess since so much of our money goes to taxes, I don't see very much of it, therefore, I feel poor all the time. LOL

Home schoolers (not us) tend to have more children which tightens the budget as well.

All the home schoolers in our co-op are pretty broke. We trade curriculums or buy it used for a couple of $$$. I know very few people who spend hundreds (or thousands) on new curriculum. We role pennies, cook from scratch, buy our clothes at thrift stories, etc.

But hey.....we're the happiest we have ever been as a family because we're TOGETHER, so I'm not complaining.

I know what you mean! Many of our HSer's around here live frugally.

Our science books were donated this year. I loaned my neighbor my Five In A Row books to use with her daughter. The only thing I spend much $$ on is math books, we use consumables. The kids prefer it, and it's easier on me :-)

On balance, the kids seem to love being home. When they finish their work they are FREE, not stuck another few hours doing busy work. Right now, half the kids are watching a Star Wars Video, others are playing word games on the computer, and the baby is drawing (on paper this time) :-)

There's also another missing statistic. Home shooling families have a high percentage of kids with behavioral and developmental problems. This is because so often the public schools fail to serve these kids, preferring to drug them or mainstream them with incompetent and expensive one-on-one assistance to getting a group with similar problems to a specialist.

Thanks for posting this! I think a significant piece of data is the one showing that achievment test scores of boys and girls are identical!!

There have been so many studies done lately about how boys are falling behind in schools because of the push to make education better for girls left them out in the cold! It is great to see the confident young men who come out of homeschooling, as well as the young women!!

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