Students who came from homeschool graduated college at a higher rate than their peers, 66.7 percent compared to 57.5 percent and earned higher grade averages along the way. Studies on the college performance of homeschool graduates often find that these students do well in college. However, these studies don't usually address the number of homeschool graduates attending college. Children who learn at home are much less likely than other children to take the SAT or ACT, which usually work as college entrance exams.
Findings from a report in Kentucky, the only report of its kind, reveal that homeschool graduates may be only half as likely to attend college as other students; our preliminary review of unpublished data on attendance at the University of Virginia offers similar findings. A number of studies have found that college students who were homeschooled during high school are less likely than other students to major in STEM fields, likely as a result of a homeschool math gap. In many ways, homeschooling diminishes the need for traditional tasks often required by schools, especially for children of primary school age. Without 20 or more children in a class, homework can often be completed in a shorter period of time during the school day, eliminating the need to work more later.
Some educators worry about the agendas of conservative religious leaders and parents, assuming they want children to become intolerant, insular, hypercompetitive, or convinced of religious or racial superiority. Homeschooled students are concerned about preparing their children for the real world and are open to state standards and testing programs that guide action and give measures of progress. Each education system offers great opportunities for children to learn new information and skills, as well as to tap into their own unique qualities and interests. While public schools must offer at least a basic minimum level of education and meet certain standards, homeschooling is conducted at the individual family level.
NHERI conducts homeschooling research, is a research exchange center for the public, researchers, homeschoolers, media and policymakers, and educates the public on the results of all related research. The cost can be as much as £34,000 a year, according to Stephen Spriggs, director of education at William Clarence, a tutoring company that offers a 30-hour a week homeschool program. In some cases, parents may have misconceptions about public schools or public education in general. For most homeschooled parents, the only prerequisite is a desire to do so, along with dedication to the educational process.
In North Carolina, a homeschooled parent can be reported to the state Division of Nonpublic Education for educational neglect, but the parent only needs to prove that their child has taken a standardized test; the child's grade is irrelevant. A growing number of homeschooled children value the experience of professional educators and are easily accepting help, advice and testing assistance offered by school districts. As a result, a homeschool can offer a solid education, while a homeschool across the street offers no education at all. Rita Ball, 40, an educational entrepreneur, and her husband Anirban Nandi, 42, an accountant, have been homeschooling their two children, Ilora, 10, and Elam, eight, for the past five years.
This lack of guarantee that children who receive homeschooling actually receive an education makes the idea that children have the right to an education meaningless. .
