At-home learning deserves better reputation in US
America’s public education ranks low among countries in the developed world. With Pearson recently ranking American educational attainment No. 17 in its index of education in developed countries, is there any wonder, then, why many Americans consider homeschooling?
While homeschoolers are often lampooned in our society as being dorky, awkward loners or Christian fundamentalists, this stereotype is misconceived. With more than 2 million children now being educated at home, there is much diversity. Not only do homeschoolers come from families of all religious (and nonreligious) identities, around 15 percent are minorities. In addition, many homeschooled children are heavily involved in various community activities.
Academically, homeschoolers scored above their public school counterparts by a composite average of 36 percentage points, according to a Home School Legal Defense study. With public school averages being the 50th percentile, homeschoolers consistently scored far above that with an average of 89th percentile in reading and 86th percentile in science. There’s also no real discrepancy between boys and girls, or even depending on wage earnings by family.
Is this to say that parents should immediately withdraw their children from public school? Of course not. However, homeschooling should remembered as a viable option for a quality education.
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