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Homeschool Research Update

By David Barfield, CHECK Chairman
From the February 2003, CHECK News

In December, in part one of my report on last fall's national homeschool conferences, I summarized HSLDA's report on legal and legislation issues, particularly at the national level. This article presents some highlights from a presentation at the HSLDA conference on homeschool research by Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI, www.nheri.org). Also included is information from Dr. Ray's new book, Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling: Facts and Stats on the Benefits of Home School 2002-2003, which I obtained at the conference and would encourage you to purchase if you have an interest in learning more about this important topic. Finally, at the end of the article, I have included links to summaries of major studies of home education which I found in my research for this article.

Summary of basic research findings

Much basic research has been done on home education over the last decade or two. This research reports positive findings regarding home educated students. Below are findings of this research as they apply to common questions about home education:

How many students are home educated in the U.S.? This is a difficult question to answer. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number was roughly 850,000 in 1999. Brian Ray's research indicates there are is more likely between 1.5-2.0 million homeschooled students in grades K-12 during the 2001-02 school year. The first estimate is based on government information only. Brian also utilizes other research including knowledge derived from his interviews with state organizations. Home education comprises roughly 3-4% of all school-aged children. Homeschooling continues to grow approximately 10% per year. Approximately one-fourth of all private education is home education.
What are some characteristics of home educators? According to research, the income distribution of homeschoolers is not much different than the population at large. Approximately half of home educators have at least a bachelor's degree (which is greater than the population at large), but many parents are homeschooling with only a high school education. Homeschoolers are more suburban and rural than average. Approximately 90% of homeschoolers are non-minorities, but homeschooling is growing more diverse. Homeschooling families have a greater percentage of both gifted as well as learning disabled students than the national average. Approximately three-fourths of homeschoolers would identify themselves as Christians. Homeschoolers on average watch significantly less television than the population at large and make greater use of computers at home.
Why do parents homeschool their children? There are many reasons, and most families have more than one reason. Reasons include their belief that homeschooling is a better means for their children to learn, they wish to use a different approach to education, they desire closer family relationships, they wish to minimize negative socialization, or they are concerned about the safety of their children in public schools. (This last issue has been a concern for many years.) Brian believes the underpinning reason for most parents is their desire to transmit a particular set of values to their children.
How do homeschooled students perform academically? This question has been extensively researched. Dozens of studies have yielded the consistent result showing home educated students average 15-30 percentile points above the national average. (See the links below). Research demonstrates that, unlike their public school counterparts, the performance of home educated students bears little correlation to family income, the degree of state regulation of homeschooling, teacher certification, the educational level achieved by parents, sex, or race.
What about socialization? With the question of academics largely settled, this question is now frequently raised. Two types of studies assist in our answer. First, studies which survey the activities of homeschooling families substantiate that, contrary to the implication of the question, homeschooled students are not isolated from others but active in many ways outside of the home, in such activities as church, classes outside the home, play in the neighborhood, field trips, group sports, music or dance classes, volunteer work, scouts, etc. Almost all students are involved in two or more such activities. Second, studies have used various measures of socialization to show that home educated students are as healthy or healthier than their public school counterparts. For example, "double-blind" studies observing both homeschooled and public-schooled children playing have shown that they act out aggression less frequently. Other studies have demonstrated that homeschoolers have on average a significantly higher self-concept than their peers, are less peer-dependent, and interact better with a variety of age-groups.

These results bring the question: how can untrained, uncertified parents accomplish these results? I believe the answer is principally rooted in the significant degree of parental involvement in the child's education and the ability of homeschooling parents to customize each child's education to his or her specific needs.

Future research

While much research has been done to substantiate many of these basic conclusions, Brian suggested other areas which require further research. For example, Brian suggested more study is needed regarding how home-educated children do in the "real world." The limited research done to date indicates that homeschooled students are doing well in college academically and that they tend to be more involved in extracurricular activities in college, often being involved in positions of leadership. This civic engagement likely can, in part, be attributed to their parents' model since they, as a rule, are more involved civically than parents of public school students. Brian is embarking on a long-term research in the area to better understand the impact of homeschooling beyond the high school.

The results of research has benefited homeschooling much over the last decade or more as these studies have substantiated that homeschooling works and have provided arguments against inappropriate and ineffective regulation of home education in many states. However, Brian noted that some critics of homeschooling are becoming more vocal. These critics believe homeschooling is harmful to society as a whole for various reasons. For example, Michael Apple sees the decision to homeschool as an attack on public schools, somehow weakening the public educational system to the detriment of society as a whole. Similarly, Chris Lubienski writes that homeschooling harms the public good and states that homeschool parents are selfish because they care more about their kids than the good of the whole. Others claim that homeschooling reinforces divisiveness in our culture. Brian believes these claims regarding the harm of homeschooling to society are without factual foundation or convincing logic. Yet there are becoming part of the public discourse and will need to be addressed. Solid research substantiating the falsehood of the claims will certainly help us in that discourse.

For more information

I have only touched on this broad topic. Below are a number of sources of additional information:

National Home Education Research Institute

NHERI (www.nheri.org) offers a wealth of homeschooling research. Start with Brian Ray's new book, Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling: Facts and Stats on the Benefits of Home School.

HSLDA's website

General information on homeschool research with links to other sources: www.hslda.org/research/hs~faq.asp
A concise summary (pdf) of the 1997 Ray study and the 1999 Rudner study on home education: www.hslda.org/docs/study/comp2001/HomeSchoolAchievement.pdf
A more complete summary of Ray 1997 study, one of the most comprehensive homeschool studies to date - www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray1997/default.asp. For a summary of Dr. Ray's specific conclusions on the socialization question, go to www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray1997/17.asp
A more complete summary of 1999 Rudner study is available at - www.hslda.org/docs/study/rudner1999/default.asp

Rudner Study: Educational Policy Analysis Archives

The complete 1999 Rudner study, "Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998," is available online at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/.

Frasier Institute

Canada's Frasier Institute offers "Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream" by Patrick Basham online (pdf) at: www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/files/homeschool.pdf