March 20, 2004

School Choice in 2003: An Old Concept Gains New Life

School Choice in 2003: An Old Concept Gains New Life

An excerpt about home schooling from a detailed survey article about shool choice.

"Like other forms of parental choice, home schooling has grown significantly over the past two decades, moving from a choice on the fringe in the 1960s to become a growing mainstream movement.26 During the 2001-2002 school year, as many as two million children in grades K-12 were home-schooled--approximately 3% of the fifty-three million school-age children in the United States. The home-school population is growing at a rate of 7% to 15% a year.27

In general, home-schooled students achieve at higher levels than their public school peers on nationally-normed standardized tests in all subjects.28 Home-schooled students are active outside of school, with the average home-school student participating in five extracurricular activities such as dance, sports, music, and volunteerism. Nearly all home-schooled students participate in at least two extracurricular activities.29 In 1999, home-schooled students even started their own honor society, Eta Sigma Alpha. The society has grown to twenty chapters nationwide.30"

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