A Hard Look at Homeschool vs Public School Statistics
This is an exploration of homeschool vs public school statistics.
It’s not a secret that homeschooling is becoming more and more popular.
This is happening in the United States and other countries such as Canada, Australia, Mexico, France, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
By now, you probably are aware of the pros and cons of homeschooling. But sometimes, it’s necessary to look at numbers and statistics to compare the two methods.
Lucky for you, there are plenty of research studies that address the success and effectiveness of Homeschool vs Public Schools.
Keep reading to see how both systems compare and determine which suits your kid better.
You will be surprised by the facts and stats!
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Demographics of Homeschool vs Public School Statistics
Homeschooling
According to the National Home Education Research Institute, in 2020-2021, there were about 3.7 million homeschool students in grades from Kindergarten to 12 (K-12) in the US alone. That means approximately 6% to 7% of school-age children learn at home!
The population is growing quickly and drastically, with an estimate of 8% per year in the last few years.
Homeschooling is also increasing in a variety of communities.
The National Center of Education Statistics reported that families who choose homeschool are mostly:
- Black: 16.1%
- Hispanic: 12.1%
- White: 9.7%
- Asian: 8.8%
Public Schools
On the other hand, in the fall of 2021, about 49.5 million students were enrolled in public schools, and about 4.7 million students attended private schools.
The 49.5 million students enrolled in public school included:
- 45% of white students
- 28% of Hispanic students
- 14% of Black students
- 5% of Asian students
As you can see, homeschooling is becoming more popular in minority communities. However, public schools must deal with the lack of Hispanic and African American students in their classrooms.
Taxes and Costs of Homeschool and Public School
In 2021, the National Education Association published a study showing that American taxpayers spend an average of $15,240 per pupil annually in public schools, while they spend nothing on most homeschool students.
That means that homeschooling represents savings of over $56 billion for taxpayers. That’s a plus point to homeschooling in terms of taxes!
But not everything is as good as it seems; homeschooling has its cons.
Even though taxpayers enjoy the benefits of home-based education, homeschooling families also deal with the costs.
The same research states that homeschool parents spend an average of $600 per child annually, which includes textbooks, supplies, curricula, etc. Expenses that parents in the traditional public school system don’t pay.
Here is a brief guide to homeschooling costs and deductions that you should consider.
Academic Performance of Homeschool vs Public School Students
Academic performance might be one of the fundamental facts for choosing one educational method over the other. You probably have the same questions many parents have. Do homeschool students learn more? Do children in public schools perform better on tests than homeschooled children? In terms of academic achievements, which one is better, public school or homeschool?
Well, here are some insights that may give you a good perspective on academic performance in homeschool and traditional students.
According to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooled children usually score 15 to 30 percentile points above public school students on standardized tests.
Another study led by Clive Belfield, an educational researcher, shows that the average score on the verbal section of the SAT for homeschooled students was 1,093.1, while the average score in public school students was 1,012.6. That means homeschooling children performed better and got 80.5 more points than the public school average.
Nevertheless, other studies have shown that even though homeschooled students scored better on the verbal part, they did slightly worse in the math section.
But don’t worry, if you are a homeschool parent and your child is having trouble with math, there are plenty of other sources which can help them to improve their skills.
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education claims that the average for all students taking the ACT is around 21 points. However, the average for homeschooling students is generally between 22 and 23 points.
There are many studies, and they all throw slightly different statistics. But researcher Brien D.Ray found that overall, 78% of the compared and reviewed studies confirm that homeschooled children performed significantly better than their public schooled peers in terms of academic performance.
Only 11% found no significant difference, and 4% found that conventional school students performed better.
The same study indicates that 69% of homeschooled students succeed in college and adulthood.
You might like: A Guide to College Admission for Homeschool Students
Social and Emotional Skills: Homeschool vs Public School Statistics
You may think social skills are one of the weakest parts of homeschooling. You will be surprised to find that there’s no gap between public schools and homeschools.
In fact, according to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooled students are doing well in social, emotional, and psychological development.
Even to the point that 87% of peer-reviewed studies on the subject indicate that they perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools.
Homeschooled individuals actively participate in their communities and social and educational activities beyond their familiar surroundings, like community volunteer work. As a result, they excel in peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, and self-esteem.
Make an Educated Guess Between Homeschool and Public School
Now you know there is plenty of research on homeschooling vs public school that shows just how good the overall performance of homeschooled students is.
When considering options to educate your kids, remember and consider these facts and stats because I’m sure they will be helpful and lay down the foundation of a promising career!
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