Homeschooling: The Facts and the Future

Laura Searles April 12, 2014

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What is Homeschooling?
Although homeschooling was once considered an educational path on the fringes of society where children learned from their hippie or Christian fundamentalist parents at home, homeschooling has quickly defied these stereotypes to become an integral part of the current educational landscape in the United States. The Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE) defines a homeschool as a nonpublic school conducted primarily by the parent, guardian or other person who has custody of the child or Figure 1 nonpublic instruction provided in the child's 1 home. Although all states acknowledge homeschooling as a right, many states hold homeschooling families and their students to strict regulations. As of 2011, 1,770,000 children were homeschooled.2 Yet, some researchers estimate that these numbers may be conservative and could be as high as 2 million students.3 This discrepancy occurs because some parents choose not to register their children with local school districts, so Source: these students are not included in the total. Over the http://www.parents.com/blogs/homeschoolpast 15 years, the number of homeschooled students den/2013/09/09/homeschool-den/new-govtstudy-shows-an-increase-in-homeschooling/ has risen sharply from approximately 850,000 in 1999, and it is still rising. In 2011, an estimated 3.4% of the school-age population was homeschooled according to the National Center for Education Statistics.4 Of those 1.8 million students, 68% were white, 15% Hispanic, 8% black, and 4% were Asian or Pacific Islander.5 Many organizations supporting the homeschool community were

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pleasantly surprised at the continued growth throughout the years, despite the stress of the current economy. Despite the consistent growth in homeschool communities around the U.S., most homeschoolers are still denied access to the resources available in the public schools. Homeschooling families must pay for curriculum, books, materials, and classes out of their own pocket in addition to paying taxes to support the public school system. Currently, homeschoolers receive no federal tax breaks, and they may not deduct any of their homeschooling costs.

Why do parents homeschool their children?

While the most popular reason for homeschooling is that parents believe they can give their child a better education at home, the Department of Education and the National Center of Education Statistics have identified a variety of reasons that parents homeschool their children (See Figures 2 and 3). Susan Searles, a math teacher in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public School system from 1989 to 1997, decided to quit her job and homeschool her children because as a public school teacher, it seemed like every 5 to 10 years, theyd come up with a new round of standardized tests, and we spent so much time teaching to the tests that we didnt get to finish our curriculum.6 She found homeschooling a much more efficient and meaningful way of teaching[as] homeschooling Figure 2 gives children the time to explore the things they really love to do.7 The second most popular reason to homeschool is the desire to provide religious or moral instruction as part of the childs education.8 This schooling Source: Bielick, S., Chandler, K., and Broughman, S.P. philosophy stems from the Amish way (2001). Homeschooling in the United States: 1999 (NCES 2001033). of living and their desire to keep Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. children educated their lifestyle. In <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/19/1091838/-Whyin-the-hell-would-you-homeschool#> addition, many homeschool co-op groups that form to allow homeschooled students to take classes in are held in and started in churches. Another popular reason for homeschooling is concern over the poor learning environment in the public school system. This often stems from parents wanting to insulate their children from problems found in school environments, such as drugs, lack of safety, negative LIGHTHOUSE 2

peer pressure, and bullying.9 Many families with special needs students also homeschool because they feel their student cannot learn in the traditional school setting, whereas the home provides a safe, rich, nurturing environment better suited to their childrens educational needs.
Figure 3

Some parents simply feel that homeschooling better allows their children to grow in their love of learning and to think critically in a way that the public school system does not. Laura Salatto, a retired public school English teacher with more than 30 years of experience in the Maryland public school system, observed that homeschoolers often exhibit a love of learning and an intellectual curiosity that was not readily evident in [her] public school students.10 She also mentioned how homeschool students relish the opportunity to play a role in designing their curricula.11 Following the same lines of developing a love of learning, homeschooled students are given a relatively unique opportunity to participate in smaller, more intimate classes, and in Salattos classes, homeschoolers differ in their level of participation as compared to her public school students: Because home school classes are small, and discussion skills are stressed throughout their home schooling years, class members offer insightful and enthusiastic comments about literature with a frequency that would not be possible in a public school classroom of close to thirty students per class.12 Overall, the majority of homeschooled students are satisfied with their educational experience. According to a survey by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), most homeschoolers are Figure 4 glad that they were homeschooled and believe that Source: https://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Enjoyment.asp homeschooling has been an advantage to them in their adult lives (See Figure 4).13

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013028/tables/table_08.asp

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Challenges to the Homeschool Movement

Ever since compulsory education began in 1852, the legality of homeschooling has been hotly debated by teachers, parents, and lawmakers. 14 Throughout the 1900s, controversy arose over whether homeschooling provided a good education. Concerns about proper socialization, quality of curriculum, and the ability of homeschooling to prepare a student for higher education were debated. Although homeschooling is now legal in all 50 states, numerous court cases involving a wide set of issues have tested the validity of homeschooling and also its vigor. There are few U.S. Supreme Court precedents as the high court has never actually ruled specifically on the right of homeschooling. However, in the case of Wisconsin vs. Yoder (1972), the Supreme Court supported the parents decision to remove their children from the Wisconsin school system based on the freedom of religion.15 There was great significance in this ruling, as the states could no longer assert an absolute right to institute a compulsive high school education,16 and it indirectly gave more legal power to those parents who were able to meet the standards of their respective states to homeschool their children. Other aspects of homeschooling, such as the right to educate students in the physical home and the right for the state system to set educational standards but not mandate how the parents met these requirements, were resolved in numerous lower court cases.17 Since the 1980s, the legality of homeschooling has been upheld, and, the current hot issue is whether homeschoolers should be allowed access to public school system resources, such as athletic facilities and programs, individual classes, and extra-curricular activities offered to public schooled students. However, in 2008, the homeschooling community received a shocking ruling in the case of the California court system In re Rachel L. that said, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,18 and added that non-credentialed parents may not home school their children.19 The original decision was based on a situation in which a parent had abused his children, and because they were homeschooled, the abuse went on for much longer than it may have if the child were in public school. This unconstitutionality decision induced a considerable outcry in the California homeschooling community, and there was a second hearing in which the court overturned the previous courts decision and ruled that parents have a right to direct their children's education and that home schools are permitted under California statutes as a species of private schools.20 Another challenge is the lack of knowledge about homeschooling in the world outside of homeschoolers. There are many opponents to homeschooling who do not believe that LIGHTHOUSE 4

homeschoolers are getting an equivalent quality education as that of a public school student. In a Gallup poll based on the opinion of parents of children in grades K-12, consisting of 83% of parents with children in grades kindergarten through 12 in public school, 9% in private school, 4% home school, and 2% parochial school, homeschooling got the lowest rating out of all of the types of schooling.21 Much of this disapproval stems from false perceptions about homeschooling and the fact that there are many different styles of homeschooling.

Figure 5

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/156974/private-schools-top-marks-educating-children.aspx

In some circumstances, court cases have resulted in higher regulations because education falls under state rather than federal control, and states are in charge of their own education reform. Because of this, there is a wide variety in the standards for homeschooling both among and within states as each individual state determines its level of regulation. Standards range from no regulation to high regulation on the homeschool communities. As illustrated in the graph, high regulation indicates that parents must send notification and achievement-test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements (See Figure 6). States with moderate regulation require parents to send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress. Low regulation means that parents must identify students to be taught at home (register them with the local school district), and no notice means that parents may homeschool their children without notifying the local school district or state. While many supporters and critics alike believe that homeschoolers need some sort of structure for their education, the majority of homeschooling families also believe that too many regulations defeat the purpose of homeschooling.

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Often, families are displeased with the amount of regulation in their state. For example, in Maryland, parents must register their students with their local county schools. Then, they must meet with a county representative twice a year for a review where they must demonstrate the students accomplishments in English, health, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, other, and physical education by showing work samples and giving details of their curriculum. While this may seem like a good system, the reviewer may have little or no experience with curriculum, assessing work, or even homeschooling in general.22 In Montgomery
Source: http://blogs.christianpost.com/bright-ideas/home-schooling-state-laws-infographic-11302/ Figure 6 666636

County, Maryland, oversight of the homeschool community is handled by the systems pupilpersonnel workers (PPWs) who also manage all of the countys social-work issues. They are not necessarily trained in educational techniques and curricula, but rather in social work and psychology. The Frederick County Maryland Public School system has two staff members dedicated to handling homeschool reviews. This is a tall order for two people since there are hundreds of homeschooled students in the county, and the state standards require that they hold reviews twice each school year. Many states have even stricter requirements than Maryland, and parents in these states and may require students to take standardized tests or require parents to be college educated or even trained educators themselves. As a result of the inconvenience and difficulty in going through the county school system to fulfill state requirements, in Maryland and across the country, umbrella groups have formed to allow more convenient and meaningful adherence to state requirements. Umbrella groups are more like a private school system, where instead of reporting straight to the state, the parent LIGHTHOUSE 6

works with the umbrella group coordinator who is more familiar with homeschooling and who can provide more support to the parent. In some umbrella groups, students receive a diploma just as they would from the state. Through the umbrella programs, the groups will often recruit retired public and private school teachers or parents who have professional skills to teach larger classes to homeschoolers if the parent feels they lack the experience to teach a certain subject. 23 Most community colleges also allow dual-enrollment for homeschoolers, but only with special permission from the state office or umbrella program.

Drawbacks to Homeschooling
Although there are many positive aspects of homeschooling, there are also concerns about lack of socialization, high costs, and the quality of education that homeschoolers receive. While the lack of socialization has the potential to be a major issue for some homeschoolers, the majority of homeschooling families seek opportunities through church, community, and cooperative venues to achieve significant socialization. Over the past two decades, as businesses realize the financial potential offered by the homeschooling community, and special homeschool days or homeschool classes are offered. Families have opportunities to get involved with programs for community theater, church groups, speech and debate, and competitive sports and music programs if they so desire. There is also the option for taking classes out of churches and community colleges and being involved in umbrella groups. Socialization is definitely what the families make of it. One advantage of homeschool-style socialization is that students work with a heterogeneous group of students and not a cohort of kids their same age. As a result, they are often very comfortable working and dealing with younger children as well as older students and adults. The high costs associated with homeschooling are also a drawback for many families. Since there is no financial support from the state or federal government and one parent must give up his or her job in order to teach the students, it is very difficult to support both the home school and the household on one salary, especially in a large family. The average amount of money that a family spends on each student is around $2500 per year.24 This includes spending money on curriculum (textbooks, software, etc.), memberships in various homeschool associations, classes (science, math, history, dance, sports, art, music, etc.), and field trips.25 Some homeschool families can afford the extra cost, but there is also a group of people who would like to homeschool their children, but cannot afford the costs associated with homeschooling without putting their families under great financial strain. Another cost affiliated with homeschooling is the sacrifice that one parent must make in giving up his or her job to teach at home. Susan Searles says that she does not know how much she LIGHTHOUSE 7

will be worth when [she] goes back into the workforce versus what [she] would be making if [she] had not quit her teaching position 17 years ago.26 Searles does not regret her decision, but emphasizes that the sacrifice a parent must make is certainly not to be taken lightly. The quality of academics also play a major role in the concerns that families have about homeschooling, as many believe that home education are not up to par with the education public schools have to offer. However, if one examines the comparison between the average homeschoolers SAT score and the national average percentile scores, there is a drastic difference (See Figure 7). Homeschoolers have scores in SAT Reading, Math, and Writing that are 17, 55, and 25 points above private schools and 54, 68, and 68 points above public schools, respectively (Figure 7). So, while the quality of academics has the potential to be a major concern, the data do not support these concerns.

Figure 7

Many of the criticisms of with Source: http://www.homehomeschooling are unfounded. The whole school.com/news/homeschooling-by-the-numbers.php point of homeschooling is that it is the right of the family to decide what the students educational path should be. There are many different types of homeschooling, and some ways are going to work better than others just like in public schools in different states. All homeschool situations are relative to where the families are located, what kind of education they want to provide their child, and in which communities the homeschoolers find themselves or with whom they choose to associate.

Potential Improvements
Three major steps would dramatically improve opportunities for families who make the necessary sacrifices to homeschool their children. With the number of homeschoolers increasing every year, it is hard to ignore the fact that the issues in homeschooling communities and families need to be addressed. First, increasing education and awareness about homeschooling will help dispel myths and correct societys perceptions about homeschooled children. Second, federal and state tax breaks and deductions of homeschool expenses to allow parents more funding for their personal programs will lessen the financial burden on families and enable LIGHTHOUSE 8

families with lower incomes to make the decision to homeschool. Third, encouraging public school systems to allow homeschooled students access to sports and other extra-curricular programs that are not readily available would benefit both the homeschooling and public school communities. Who knows? Perhaps the methods used in home schooling could help solve some of the achievement gap and learning-style problems facing public schools these days. For those critics of homeschooling concerned about socialization, it makes sense that allowing homeschoolers to be involved in the public schools extra-curricular programs would enable them to interact with a more diverse group of students, which could be beneficial for society as well as for the student. Overall, a sharing of information and educational cultures between public schools and home schools would increase equality in education and would allow this form of educational choice to continue flourishing.

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Endnotes
1

"AFHE - Definition of a Homeschooler." AFHE - Definition of a Homeschooler. Arizona Families for Home Education, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
2

Number of Homeschooled Children 1999-2011. Digital image. National Center of Education Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
3

"Home Schooling." Education Weekly. Education Weekly, 13 July 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.

Michael J. Smith. "U.S. Department of Education: Homeschooling Continues to Grow!" U.S. Department of Education: Homeschooling Continues to Grow! Home School Legal Defense Association, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
5

Education Weekly. 13 July, 2011. Interview with Susan Searles. April 2, 2014 Susan Searles. April 2, 2014

"Table 8. Number and Percentage of School-age Children Who Were Homeschooled, by Reasons Parents Gave as Important and Most Important for Homeschooling: 2011." Table 8. Number and Percentage of School-age Children Who Were Homeschooled, by Reasons Parents Gave as Important and Most Important for Homeschooling: 201. National Center of Education Statistics, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
9

NCES. 01 Apr. 2014. Email interview with Laura Salatto. April 3, 2014. Salatto email. April 3, 2014. Salatto email. April 3, 2014.

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12

13

Enjoyment. (Looking at the Homeschoolers after Homeschooling.) Home School Legal Defense Association. https://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Enjoyment.asp
14

Nicky Hardenbergh. "Massachusetts Compulsory Attendance Statutes from 18521913."Massachusetts Compulsory Attendance Statutes from 1852-1913. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. http://www.mhla.org/information/massdocuments/mglhistory.htm.
15

"Wisconsin v. Yoder - Religious Freedom Page." Wisconsin v. Yoder - Religious Freedom Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/court/wisc_v_yode.html. LIGHTHOUSE 10

16

Wisconsin vs. Yoder. April 9, 2014.

17

"Homeschooling Court Cases." A2Z Homeschooling. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://a2zhomeschooling.com/laws/homeschool_laws_legalities/homeschooling_court_cases/>
18

73 Cal. Rptr. 3d 77 (Ct. App. 2008). ld. at 79. ld. at 84; see California Home-Schoolers Must be Certified, Court Says, ORLANDO SENTINEL, Mar. 9, 2008, at All.
19

Chad Olsen. "Constitutionality of Home Education: How the Supreme Court and American History Endorse Parental Choice." Law.byu.edu. Brigham Young University, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. http%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.law.byu.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1263 %26context%3Delj.
20

Jonathan L. vs. Superior Court, 81 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 576.

21

"In U.S., Private Schools Get Top Marks for Educating Children." In U.S., Private Schools Get Top Marks for Educating Children. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. http://www.gallup.com/poll/156974/private-schools-top-marks-educating-children.aspx.
22

Susan Searles Interview. Susan Searles Interview.

23

24

Susan Braun. "Wahm Articles." The Cost Burdens of Homeschooling. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://www.wahm.com/articles/the-cost-burdens-of-homeschooling.html>.
25

Braun. The Costs Burdens of Homeschooling. Apr. 2014. Susan Searles Interview.

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