Posted on 10/23/2001 8:43:00 AM PDT by concerned about politics
Home-schoolers
outperform peers Home-schooled children in Canada and the United States are more "academically advanced" than their public and private school-educated peers, according to a noted policy research group.
The Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Policy Analysis, citing a Canadian research group's findings last week, said North American home-schoolers' average test scores were higher "at every grade level."
In the U.S., "home-schooled students' average scores were between the 82nd and the 92nd percentile in reading and reached the 85th percentile in math – with home-schoolers' overall test scores placing them between the 75th and 85th percentiles," the NCPA report said.
By contrast, "public school students scored at the 50th percentile, while private school students' scores ranged from the 65th to the 75th percentile," said the center.
In Canada, the results were similar, said the report, quoting Canada's Frasier Institute, which conducted the study.
"The largest study to date in Canada found that home-schooling students, on average, score at the 80th percentile in reading, at the 76th percentile in language and at the 79th percentile in mathematics," said the center. "The Canadian average for all public and privately educated students is the 50th percentile."
The center said the Canadian experience with home schooling appeared to mirror the success of the United States.
"Home-schooled students also surpass the national averages on both of the major college-entrance tests – the ACT and the SAT," said the Canadian study, as quoted by the center.
Parents who choose to home-school their kids also seem to be, on average, better educated.
"Among American parents who home-school, 81 percent have studied beyond high school compared with 63 percent of parents nationwide. Interestingly, having at least one parent who is a certified teacher has no significant effect on the achievement levels of home-schooled students," the study said.
School choice advocates say the Canadian study's results mirror similar studies in the U.S. that highlight the failure of public schools when compared to home schooling or even a private school alternative, where available.
Also, the NCPA said the cost of educating kids in government schools remains high in comparison to non-government alternatives.
The per-pupil cost of education in a public school is about $7,000 a year, according to Department of Education statistics. That compares with about half that amount for private-school children, and anywhere from $300 to $1,000 a year for a home-schooled student.
You don't need a mother that is well educated to get great results you need a mother that is dedicated to get them. Kids begin teaching themselves when they realize that you are following instructions they begin to realize that they can follow those same instruction, creating a student that is able to learn on his own. A much desired trait in collage!
As I said, I do have problems with homeschooling. But I don't want anybody else to criticize it. Particularly outsiders.
/rant
For the benefit of those of you who went to public school.
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Locate the civil defense agency in your area...and join today!
I am very fortunate to have a husband who knows a great deal about science and math. He tutors my son and has done an excellent job. My responsibilities include teaching my son to write properly, sharpen his reasoning skills and history. Japanese, Spanish and fencing lessons are taught by others. Two years ago, my son was enrolled in SEPGY (Stanford Education Program for Gifted Youth.) It was very expensive. After reviewing last years offerings, my husband and I decided to design our own curriculum with college in mind. My son belongs to several social clubs and gets together with his friends who are from public, private and homeschool situations.
Homeschooling works well in our household. I don't think that it is for every family. It takes a lot of effort, research, locating the right materials, time and discipline to be effective. If one family member is at home and has reasonably good computer/internet research skills, they won't need a degree in education to give their child an excellent education. The absence of negative peer pressure, cruel cliques, mindless PC programs devoid of true reasoning and having to purchase the latest fad fashions are a plus in my and my son's book.
God Bless Free Republic.
More and more research confirms that which should be intuitively obvious.
"My home-schooled kid is smarter than your Honor Student!"
How much does it cost to create custom bumper stickers like this?
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Christian Broadcast Network did a study about ten years ago, and found that (I think, if memory serves me correctly) there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 administrative personnel making over $100,000 per year. This number may be off, but I remember being shocked at the sheer number of administrators raking in huge bucks that had absolutely no student contact.
Bussing students increased costs substantially. The inability of schools to expel dangerous and out of control students has required huge increases in spending for security, building maintenance and alternative classes.
One last side note. We've found that we can usually accomplish well before noon what the schools take all day to do. If you have seven classes, you normally have one home room or study hall. That shoots one hour. Phys ed is normally actually play time for home schoolers, so there's another. It takes at least five minutes to change classes, and usually five minutes to pack and unpack while leaving one class and going to another. When you add that to the fact that in a classroom the instruction must be geared to the lowest level student, you can knock out a whole day of publik eddication in three hours. Of course, your children miss getting to interact with diverse elements of society.
If anybody has any doubts about home schooling, just remember the sign the D.C. Public School System put on the sides of the busses last year. "D. C. Schools is great! Go to class! It a blast!" (yes, this is an exact quote)
For the benefit of those of you who went to public school."
On the other hand, If everybody home-schooled the average for all homeschoolers would be the 50th percentile!
This would be an inexcusable drop from the 85th percentile and would therefore justify the state taking over education again! (Can't you just see some politician making this arguement?) :-)
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