white students was higher than those for black and
Hispanic students.
According to a 1999 survey by the Department
of Education’s National Center for Education Sta-
tistics, reasons for parents to homeschool their chil-
dren (in descending order)included the following:
a better education, religious reasons, poor learning
environment at school, family reasons, the desire to
develop character and morality, objection to what a
school teaches, the lack of challenge at school, other
problems with available schools, a child’s behavior
problems at school, a child’s special needs or disabil-
ities, transportation difficulties, inability to afford a
private school, the parent’s career, and inability to
gain admittance into a desired school.
Curriculum and Costs Curriculum requirements
vary but generally incorporate several subjects, in-
cluding Bible studies. “All-in-one” curriculum pack-
ages, sometimes called “school in a box,” are com-
prehensive packages that re-create the school
environment within the home and are based on the
same subject area expectations as public schools, al-
lowing easy transition into the school system. Study
guides are extensive and include standardized tests,
remote examinations, and an accredited diploma.
Learner-paced curricula allow students to progress
at their own speed. Regulations regarding home-
schooling vary from state to state. Certain states re-
quire the completion of paperwork; others simply
require notification to the local school district. Dur-
ing the 1990’s, homeschoolers were among those
taking advantage of educational opportunities at
museums and other community forums and often
meeting other homeschoolers to form cooperatives,
pooling talent and resources to broaden the scope
of children’s education.
In addition to purchasing supplies and curricu-
lum materials, there was sometimes a financial im-
pact on families because one parent (generally the
mother) usually stayed at home to supervise the
child’s education. In 1998, expenses associated with
homeschooling ranged from less than $200 to more
than $2,000 per student. The national average ex-
penditure for public school students in 1998 was
$6,200 to $6,500 per student.
Pros and Cons The greatest benefit of home-
schooling appears to be in strengthening family
bonds. Homeschoolers have great flexibility in what
and how they learn and receive an education geared
specifically to their own needs, personalities, and in-
terests. There is physical and educational freedom,
and the family is free to plan off-season vacations as
well as develop a timetable that suits their own life-
style. There is emotional freedom because students
can dress and act as they choose without peer pres-
sure or fear of ridicule.
A 1997 study found that the average home-
schooled student outperformed his or her public
school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all
subjects. Public school performance gaps between
minorities and genders are virtually nonexistent
among homeschooled students. Homeschoolers are
accepted and recruited by some of the top universi-
ties in the country because of their maturity, inde-
pendent thinking skills, strong academic prepara-
tion, and creativity. Socially, homeschooled students
excel as well. Several studies have indicated that
homeschooled children are more self-confident and
less peer-dependent than traditional students.
Negatives to homeschooling include time con-
straints, financial constraints due to one partner
foregoing employment in order to homeschool, and
living outside the norm, sometimes viewed as an
oddity or threat.Impact During the 1990’s, homeschooling became
more common and more widely accepted. Families
from diverse backgrounds resorted to homeschool-
ing because they disagreed with the philosophy of
American schools and were dissatisfied with the con-
tent and quality of the education provided.Subsequent Events A 2003 survey of seventy-three
hundred adults, most of whom had been home-
schooled for more than seven years, indicated that
they were living more active lives within their com-
munities and were more involved in civic affairs than
their non-homeschooled peers. The majority (58.9
percent) reported that they were “very happy” with
life, compared with 27.6 percent for the general
population.Further Reading
Guterson, David.Family Matters: Why Homeschooling
Makes Sense. New York: Harcourt Brace Jova-
novich, 1992. Written by a high school educator
whose children are homeschooled, the book
discusses the benefits and drawbacks of home-
schooling and public schooling.
Linsenbach, Sherri.Essential Homeschooling: Ever y-430 Homeschooling The Nineties in America