Research Paper: Homeschooling

Home schooled children converse with adults with more ease and poise on both serious and trivial matters than their public school counterparts, appeared more mature and less peer dependent than their public-school counterparts, and exhibited a higher self-concept than that of conventionally schooled children. (paraphrased)

\"Homeschooling has produced literate students with minimal government interference at a fraction of the cost of any government program.\" (direct quote)

In a study that included almost 12,000 home-school students from who took three standardized tests, the homeschooled students scored at the 89th percentile for reading, 84th percentile for language, 84th percentile for math, 86th percentile for science, and 84th percentile in social studies. The average home-schooler scored at the 88th percentile. The average public school student taking these standardized tests scored at the 50th percentile in each subject area. (paraphrased)

\"Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents' level of formal education or their family's household income.\" (direct quote)

A graph shows that in national average percentile scores homeschooled kids perform on average 30% higher in reading, math, language, science, and social studies tests than public schooled kids. (visual analysis)

\"Venus and Serena Williams, Tennis Wimbleton champs were home- schooled, Jehovah's Witnesses and African-American, with a ghetto background far from the posh country clubs where most tennis kids grow up.\" (direct quote)

It's a popular misconcenption that homeschooled kids are holed up inside their houses all day every day. However, homeschooled kids are usually actively involved in church groups, 4H clubs, sports leagues, YMCA, Girls and Boys Scouts, music and choir classes, and field trips throughout the year because they are not confined to a single building for eight hours every day. (summary)

Homeschoolers form groups called \"co-ops\" where they have gym classes, educational classes, guest speakers, sports, camping, field trips to museums, zoos, parks, etc. So they are nowhere near isolated. (summary)

The self-concept of the home-schooling children was significantly higher than that of the conventionally schooled population. This condition may be due to higher achievement and mastery levels, independent study characteristics, one-on-one tutoring situations in the home-school environment, higher levels of parental interest and communication, peer independence, a sense of responsibility, and lowered anxiety levels. (paraphrased)

\"A self-concept is a collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior. Your self-concept is your mental picture of yourself. It is a collection of self-perceptions. For example, a self-concept might include such beliefs as 'I am easygoing' or 'I am pretty' or 'I am hardworking.'\" (direct quote)

Homeschooling works well for parents with gifted kids because they can set their own pace and won't be held back by the curriculum of the class. (summary)

[on homeschooling a child with autism] \"One of the biggest advantages to homeschooling is that you already know what is most important for your child to learn, and can easily work on it.\" (direct quote)

A public school environment is sometimes too much for children with autism to handle, especially those who are higher on the spectrum. They experience isolation, bullying, and rejection. These children would do better in an quiet, stress-free environment where they can focus on the skills they are good at. (paraphrased)

This image is a meme that shows a homeschooling mom panicking because she \"forgot to socialize the kids!\" It's basically a satire of the stereotype that homeschooled kids are socially inept.

In the survey that I conducted, 90% of the participants thought that homeschoolers were not better off socially than public schooled kids. 40% thought that they were better off academically. 50% felt that academic achievement is more important than social acceptance. (summary)

In the survey that I conducted, some of the participants were familiar with someone (i.e. a family member, friend, or neighbor) who had been homeschooled. However, there were still an abundance of misconceptions among the participants about homeschooling. (summary)

Girls who are homeschooled develop a fuller sense of self and have more confidence than their public-schooled counterparts. It is probably for this reason that they have a significantly lower teen pregnany rate. (summary)

\"Approximately 3 percent of the school-age population was homeschooled in the 2011-12 school year. Among children who were homeschooled, a higher percentage were White (68 percent) than Black (8 percent), Hispanic (15 percent), or Asian or Pacific Islander (4 percent).\" (direct quote)

\"In the 2011-12 school year, 91 percent of homeschooled students had parents who said that a concern about the environment of other schools was an important reason for homeschooling their child, which was a higher percentage than other reasons listed.\" (direct quote)

Stereotypes about homeschoolers are perpetuated by the media. An example would be the South Park episode featuring two socially awkward homeschooled kids. The description of the episode is as follows: \"The boys have a hard time relating to some strange new students who have been home schooled.\"