How Mainstream Is Homeschooling?

A few days ago, The San Francisco Chronicle published an article on homeschooling. Now, considering this is the newspaper that ran a picture of Ray Charles on the front page when, since it was the day of his funeral, every other paper in the country ran a picture of Ronald Reagan, imagine my shock to find THIS in the article:

Along with vouchers and charter schools, homeschooling is now considered a true alternative to what the public school system has to offer. In 2000, 3 percent of elementary and secondary schoolchildren were homeschooled; only 1 percent were in charter schools, and a mere one-tenth of 1 percent had vouchers to attend private schools. Based on the numbers alone, it is clear that homeschooling is not limited to the anti-establishment or to fundamentalist religious groups or to those in the most rural of communities, as was once the claim. It is now the largest school reform alternative.

This increased growth, interestingly enough, has not come at the expense of student performance -- quite the opposite. Comparisons in achievement tests of homeschooled students to national averages for all students show that homeschooled children are well above the national average in every subject and at every grade level in the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and in Tests of Achievement and Proficiency. Anecdotal evidence (in addition to that reported above) provides further support. In the 2002 National Geographic Bee, four of the 10 finalists were homeschooled, including the winner. In the 2003 National Spelling Bee, homeschooled children took two of the top seven spots. Remember, only 3 percent of America's schoolchildren are homeschooled.

Why do homeschooled students do so well? Koret Task Force member and Harvard professor Caroline Hoxby has shown that, of the factors affecting student performance, home environment and family support greatly outweigh school inputs: "Families matter most." There is no schooling pedagogy where the home and the family can have more influence than they do in homeschooling. The families of homeschooled children are clearly different from those of traditional schoolchildren. Some 97 percent of homeschooled children live in married couple households; the comparable number for public school students is 72 percent. Nearly 88 percent of homeschooled parents continued their own education beyond high school; less than 50 percent of the general population has attended college. The home environment of these students is supportive, nurturing and encourages diligence -- homeschooled children watch less television than do typical students. Contributing to the success and growth of homeschooling are the technological advances that have made homeschooling easier and provided parents with a vast wealth of information at the fingertips of their computer keyboards. Through the Internet, research and support systems abound -- they provide parents with educational tips, lesson plans and source material.

...

Indications are that homeschooling is a sustainable education alternative. The parents (the teachers) are dedicated, and the students are achieving. It is a welcome example of students and teachers working together to achieve outstanding performance. When it comes to home education, public school administrators' roles have been minimal. They should stay that way.

Now I don't think the author is a very regular contributer to the paper - his main job seems to be at the Hoover Institution - but they still published it!

If even the San Francisco Chronicle acknowledges the strength of the Homeschooling movement, you HAVE to conclude that it's having an effect!

Oh, and the 3% figure touted throughout the article was found in 2000 - three years before the 1.1 million homeschooled figure also mentioned in the article and seven years before today. It also mentioned a 20% per year growth rate and the HSLDA often cites "over 2 million" homeschooled on its site. Even the government schooled kids can do the math on those numbers...

(hat tip: Vox Day)