Let's start with the actual enrollment numbers. Some would be quick to discard the validity of the numbers because it only accounts for 4% of the schooling population. But at 2M+ students, it can still stand as statistically significant, especially when you consider that homeschool is also increasing at 7% a year (in contrast to public school's 1%). With an increased emphasis of testing at public school (and a standardized test for every grade level from K-12 here in New York), there is little reason to believe that this rate will drop dramatically anytime in the near future. When more and younger students start getting diagnosed with testing anxiety and stress-related conditions, it wouldn't be hard for me to believe that another significant percentage of parents will withdraw their children from public schools.
With the exception of the "bullying" category (21%), the reasons for why parents choose to homeschool their children isn't really surprising to me. With the advent and constant use of social media among pre-teens and teenagers, it's well-established that American middle and high school students use these outlets to single-out and bully their peers. This is a shift from the typical teenage bullying of decades past because students are now harassed and slandered against at all times - including off school grounds and inside the home. For some students and parents, I could see why home schooling might be an attractive alternative.
However, what surprised me the most is the student achievement section. First of all, let me remind my readers that the 87th percentile does not mean that the homeschooling population is scoring 87% of the material correctly. Rather, it means that homeschooled students are earning scores that are better than 87% the entire schooling population. Although impressive, the percentiles themselves don't hold a lot of weight until you start breaking them down into the demographics. Regarding achievement, both genders are performing equally. Parent education or background in teaching has almost no effect. Neither does cost per student. (And in other studies I've researched, apparently race and ethnicity and religious affiliation doesn't make a difference either.) As a public educator, THIS IS A BIG DEAL. I can't tell you how many times I've seen statistics on student achievement, and every single one of them that separate students into demographics display that non-white, lower-educated, and/or lower-income students score lower than their white, higher-educated, and/or higher-income peers. Needless to say, this speaks very strongly to the fact that homeschooling is not only an effective alternative to public schools, but in almost all cases, it is the more successful option. How could you argue with the fact that the lowest-scoring sub-category is still performing better than 83% of the population?
This makes educational sense as well. Even if a family chose to homeschool with 10 children, the teacher to student ratio is still more favorable there than at any public school classroom. How much more beneficial for families with six children or less (~94%)? Additionally, a parent who deeply cares about their child's education will almost always be able to find success for their child despite their own education. Most parents love their children and want their children to do exceedingly well. No matter how good a pubic school teacher is, they simply can't care and love them as much as a parent can. Also, the Internet not only provides online classes and access to any curriculum created, but when combined with your local library you have more access to information and knowledge than any public school library ever will. On top of that, many reputable and well-respected educational organizations are offering low-cost and high-quality material. A field trip to the museum or any public or private facility is an interdisciplinary lesson that allows the child to see everything they learn in the context of the real world - an experience that many public school students are losing with the currently decreasing school budgets (for actual student learning - see more below). Most of all, parents can use any and every situation as a learning experience; there are no classroom walls or schedules where dedicated learning is established. The world is their classroom, their laboratory, their gym, and their studio. Together, these are factors that public schools just can't logistically compete with.
The kicker here is that homeschooling is being done at 5% the cost than that of public schools. Of course, much of the public school's income (either through government aid or the taxpayer) is being spent on building maintenance, staff salary and benefits, transportation and food services. After these are taken out, it would be interesting to know how much is actually left for the student in the average public school. It's certainly less than $10,000/student. (Also, it's comforting to learn here that some states actually give you tax credit for homeschooling. In those states, you probably end up breaking-even on homeschooling costs.)
There are other aspects of this issue that I've left unspoken for. If there are others who care about my opinion about these, I'll write about them in a second part. But as for now, I think I've left plenty to think about. Comments are encouraged below, or on Facebook, where this will be posted.
