Have you ever wondered about the statistics that relate to homeschooling? How many kids are homeschooled? How well do kids that were homeschooled do in comparison to kids who attended public school? You may be surprised by what these quick facts about homeschooling show!
For many families, the decision to homeschool their children is one that they feel is a calling. These parents are not going to change their mind no matter what.
Other families choose to homeschool because they are dissatisfied with their local public school (and cannot afford to send their kids to private school). There are also some families who are “on the fence” and undecided about whether or not to homeschool their kids. Here are some quick facts that may persuade a parent to consider homeschooling.
According to the Institute of Education Sciences:
In 2007, about 1.5 million students were homeschooled. That is an increase from 850,000 students in 1999 to 1.1 million students in 2003.
In 2007, the most common reason parents gave as the most important reason why they chose to homeschool their kids was to provide religious or moral instruction. (36% of parents).
21% of parents who chose to homeschool did so primarily because of a concern about the school environment. For example, they were worried about safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure.
7% of parents said their biggest reason to homeschool their child was a desire to provide their child with a nontraditional approach to education.
6% of parents said their most important reason for homeschooling their child was because the child had health problems or special needs.
The increase in the percentage of homeschooled students from 1999 to 2007 represents a 74% relative increase over the 8 year period and a 36% increase since 2003.
84% of homeschooled students receive all of their education at home. (Some attend up to 25 hours a week of school). 11% of homeschooled students were enrolled in school less than 9 hours per week. A total of 5% were enrolled between 9 and 25 hours a week.
White students constitute the majority of homeschooled students (77%).
Students from two-parent households made up 89% of the homeschooled population. 54% of those students had one parent who was working.
In 2007, students in households that earned between $25,001 and $75,000 per year had highest rates of homeschooling. The lowest rates of home schooled students were from families who earned $25,000 (or less) a year.
Image by Horia Varlen on Flickr.