I took my homeschooled 14 year old to the local college today to see if he could qualify to take some classes there.
They gave him a 2 hour placement test to see what classes he qualified for.
Bottom line his scores were great and they said he could take any class he wanted, from College Algebra to Honors Composition.
I'm a "relaxed" homeschooler. Other than using Saxon for math, I've not been really consistent with curriculum. We've always done what we enjoyed and never really pushed that hard. I've never been one to give tests, we would just discuss the material until I was convinced he had a good grasp of it.
The testing and admissions staff at the college were impressed and probably figured I'd been hammering away at homeschooling, which is just the opposite of how we approach it.
I'm sold on homeschool because it produces results without pressuring or boring the child.
The "system" is threatened by homeschooling because it accomplishes what has alluded them, academic success.