Academic and achievement results are similar.
For example, almost 25 percent of home-schooled
students are enrolled one or more grades above their
same-age peers in public and private schools.
Achievement test scores for home-schooled students
are also exceptionally high, with students in grades
one to four performing one grade level above their
same-age public and private school peers. Finally,
students who have been home schooled their entire
academic life have higher scholastic achievement test
scores than students enrolled in public or private
schools. Because of these results, colleges and univer-
sities have begun to accept larger numbers of home-
schooled students. For example, Harvard, Dart-
mouth, Oxford, UCLA, and Yale, among others, have
accepted and enrolled home-schooled students.
Legal Requirements
Though home-schooled students have succeeded
and continue to succeed, their parents’ fight to be
able to home school has not proceeded without court
involvement. For example, in the late 1970s and
throughout the 1980s, compulsory attendance laws of
various states were challenged in court. By 1986, how-
ever, all states had adopted some form of legislation
recognizing home schooling as an education option.
Now, only ten states require parents to have specific
qualifications to home school their children, and
these include a high school diploma, GED, or some
college. Fifteen states require simply that home
schooling parents be ‘‘competent’’ and instruction be
‘‘thorough.’’ Thirty states require testing or other
evaluation of home-schooled students. Finally, nearly
all states require parents to file basic information with
either the state or local education agency, and many
states have additional requirements, such as the sub-
mission of a curricular plan or the testing of parents.
Cooperation between Public and Home
Schools
Although the National Parent Teacher Associa-
tion and the National Education Association oppose
home schooling, there are numerous examples of co-
operation between public and home schools today. In
1991, for example, Iowa passed legislation giving
home-schooled students dual enrollment and grant-
ing them the opportunity to take part in academic
and instructional programs in the school district, par-
ticipate in extracurricular activities, and use the ser-
vices and assistance of the local educational agencies.
Another example is Michigan, where school districts
are required to open ‘‘nonessential elective courses’’
to home-schooled students.
Because of this increasing nationwide coopera-
tion, greater freedom to home school in all states, and
Home schooling has become an increasingly popular way of
educating children for a number of reasons, including—but not
limited to—religious beliefs, a poor local public education system,
and the belief that parents themselves can provide their son or
daughter with a good education. (Laura Dwight/Corbis)strong academic results, home schooling is becoming
an increasingly popular option for parents who are ei-
ther dissatisfied with public education or desire to
teach their children what they consider important.
Further, home school families have created their own
home schooling organizations and co-ops, and curric-
ular companies have been formed that exclusively
cater to their needs. In connection with this support
and greater public acceptance of home schooling as
a viable educational alternative, it is expected that the
popularity of home schooling will continue to in-
crease well into the twenty-first century.Bibliography
Mayberry, Maralee, J. Gary Knowles, Brian Ray, and Stacey Mar-
low. Home Schooling: Parents as Educators. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press, 1995.
Rudner, Lawrence. ‘‘Scholastic Achievement and Demographic
Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998.’’ EducationHOME SCHOOLING 193