Posted on 09/30/2003 7:12:41 AM PDT by SLB
In the years before she started home schooling her children, Annette Bramsen, a chatty whirlwind of a mom, was a major skeptic. But after more than a decade of teaching her kids at home in rural St. Charles, she is a convert -- and one armed with powerful ammunition.
Sarah, her 17-year-old daughter, was recently named a National Merit Semifinalist, putting her among the top 1 percent of Illinois seniors who took the Preliminary SAT.
She's part of a growing number of home-schooled kids cracking this elite group. Since 1997, their ranks have grown by about 180 percent, from nearly 100 to 266, including four in the metro area this year.
The number awarded National Merit Scholarships, the top prize, has jumped by more than 500 percent since 1995, from 21 to 129.
"I knew my abilities already, but it's nice for people who think home schooling won't work," said Sarah, whose eldest brother won a scholarship, one of about 8,000 awarded nationally. Another brother earned a commendation for scoring just below the semifinalist level.
"It gives us something to show them," said Sarah, as she flipped through her log of daily lessons -- including two chapters of calculus, three of the book Brave New World and four Bible chapters -- in the family room of her classic New England-style wood home.
The number of home-schoolers is up dramatically, with the National Home Education Research Institute estimating between 1.7 million and 2.1 million last school year, up from 1.2 million in 1996. Their ACT college admission scores are also consistently above the national average (22.5 vs. 20.8 in 2003), and an education institute study of 5,400 home-schooled kids found scores on standardized exams consistently above national averages in 1995 and 1996.
Many parents in this unconventional group embrace convention, when it comes to standardized tests -- to prove to doubting relatives, neighbors and friends they haven't gone off the deep end.
"It makes parents feel more comfortable," said Laura Derrick, president of the National Home Education Network. "If they can see where their child is in relation to the other kids, they know they're not ruining them."
About half the nation's home-schooled children live in states where an assessment is required by law, but many who live in states that don't, such as Illinois, test anyway. They often use national exams, such as the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills or the Stanford Achievement Test.
"We tried to use the test to see what Sarah still needed to learn," said Annette Bramsen, who gave her kids Stanford exams when they were younger. "My job isn't based on how she does. The test isn't a threat for us, it's an opportunity."
As their kids approach college, though, the tests take on more importance. Even those families that have shunned testing have to conform to land a university spot.
"It does feel good to see how I stacked up," said Mona Luxion, a 17-year-old Chicagoan who was named a semifinalist. Her family follows an "unschooling" philosophy, a child-directed model that doesn't try to recreate school at home. Before the PSAT, Mona had never taken a standardized test.
"The scores were sort of a surprise and a validation of home-schooling," she said. "Home-schooling has made me a better person. It gave me a love of learning. But I felt the good scores also showed that I had a quantitative measurement of what I'd learned."
College admissions officials are accustomed to seeing home school applications by now, but admit they scrutinize the SAT or ACT scores more closely.
"You'll look for validation in the testing in a way you wouldn't at a traditional high school," said Nanette Tarbouni, director of admissions at Washington University in St. Louis.
Or, as Sarah, a slight brunette in worn jeans and house slippers, put it: "The colleges can't just look at your grades -- they might be suspicious of an A your mom gives you."
Cute thing for her to say. But unfortunately you might also be suspicious of an A that a public school teacher gives.
Most public school peers of this young lady wouldn't even understand what she said in this paragraph. Proving once again, that homeschooled kids are significantly more adept in language skills. I think it is safe to say that most graduates of public high school today cannot speak, write, read, or comprehend correct standard English.
Amen.
Or, as Sarah, a slight brunette in worn jeans and house slippers, put it: "The colleges can't just look at your grades -- they might be suspicious of an A your mom gives you."
They should see the kind of grading I do. If my kids get an A from me, that means it's perfect, right down to the penmanship.
Really dumb question, but wat does that stand for?
I know full well, and say on my website, that home schooling ranks at the top of all measures of academic achievement, whereas the standard public schools rank at the bottom.
Cordially,
Congressman Billybob
This is only our 3rd yr. of homeschooling, and we are just loving it! Our household is so much more relaxed, and the best part is that we have so much time to spend with our kids and get to know them. They're in 8th and 10th grades, and I'm so glad they haven't been getting an overdose of the 'I hate my parents' and 'My parents are idiots' talk from the typical middle and high school kids! Our kids don't think it is strange to actually want to be with us and do things with us! It also helps that they have other teenage homeschooling friends who share the same attitudes.
I believe that there are excellent public schools...great and commited to what they do. My local public school is supposedly excellent and is used by realtors in order to get people to buy a house in this school district.
But it is irrelevant to me.
I homeschool because I want to. Because I personally believe that the main part of a my children's life should be under the direct instruction of my husband, or myself. For us, it is purely a personal decision that we are thankful we have the freedom to choose.
Now, after typing all this...I hope I didn't make a typo! LOL
Our two youngest (7th grade and a "sophomore") are still being home schooled. I just called home from work for a lunch hour update. They mixed PE, spelling and scripture memory together this morning. A nice fall day so they went for a long walk and while walking practiced spelling and their scripture memorization.
The next oldest is a senior at Georgetown College this year after spending a semester as an exchange student at Oxford last spring. She was home this past weekend and between studying and baking hardly had time to sit down. The baking is a contest between her and her younger sister. Both of them are fantastic in the kitchen. The youngest has some specialties, but is rapidly catching on. It is a great sight to see the three of them all working on separate projects in the kitchen, but my waist line suffers for it.
The two oldest children, one married and one still at home, who is an assistant manager at a Lowes also continue to benefit from their "head start" on life we were able to give them, even though they were not totally home schooled, (what idiots we were 25 years ago).
There was lots of good advice in not worrying about the transcript and concentrating on the SAT or ACT. Our Georgetown student has a 4.0 GPA and will continue on through graduate school in art history. The college was not concerned in the least with her being home schooled, in fact they were glad she was as the program at Oxford, Regent's Park College, is self paced with only one meeting per week with the tutor. Obviously a public schooled student that is not used to having self drive does not do as well as someone who is used to studying in that manner.
Bottom line - hang in there, the rewards will continue beyond our lives.
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