Home schoolers outscore public school students for 10th year in row

Some still question whether home education works.

It does.

After 16 years teaching my two children at home, I can attest that it works. My oldest graduated from James Madison University in May after being home schooled in grades 2-12; my youngest now attends Blue Ridge Community College in the transfer program after being home schooled in grades K-12.

For those who need more solid proof, here it is: For the tenth year in a row the composite score on the 2006 ACT college entrance exam for home educated students was higher than the national average.

From World Net Daily comes this report from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA):

The Home School Legal Defense Association said the 2006 scores for homeschooled students averaged 22.4, compared to the national average composite of 21.1.

A year earlier, the average for homeschoolers was 22.5, compared to the national average that includes public and private school students of 20.9.

"Now homeschoolers have an unbroken record for the last 10 years – since 1996, when testing officials started tracking them – of scoring higher on the ACT than the national average," the world's premiere home-school advocacy group said.

The report went on to offer more in-depth information:

According to the 1998 ACT High School Profile Report, 2,610 homeschoolers took the ACT and scored an average of 22.8 out of a possible 36 points. This score was just slightly higher than the 1997 report on 1,926 homeschoolers, who averaged 22.5 in scores compared to the national average of 21.0 for both 1997 and 1998.

Just four years ago, Iowa State University's admissions department data showed that homeschoolers had a 26.1 mean ACT composite score, as compared to a 24.6 mean score for all entering freshman. The cumulative admissions data from the University of Northern Iowa revealed that the average ACT score for homeschoolers was nearly two points higher than that for regular freshmen, 25 versus 23.5, the HSLDA said.

Since 1985, research consistently shows that homeschoolers on average do better than the national average on standardized achievement tests for the elementary and secondary grade levels, the HSLDA said.

Many home schooling parents hold their students and themselves to a high standard which may result in higher testing scores for students. Perhaps they also benefit from the one-on-one attention and the ability to tailor a curriculum to each child's learning interests and capabilities. A "visual learner" will need a different curriculum than an "audio learner."

It's a school choice that offers parents another educational outlet for their children.