Ever anxious to encourage those of you who have other voices from your extended families, the educational establishment, or your own fears whispering that you're harming your children, holding them back, etc. by homeschooling them, I submit one of the latest pieces of evidence that this revolutionary movement is changing our nation, at least academically, for the good.

Those of you who know my heart know that my primary reason for educating my own children has not been academic. Perhaps at the beginning it was, but I got over it :-) And I hesitate to say or do anything that would encourage parents to make test scores the chief end. Nevertheless, much of the ammunition against the homeschooling choice has come couched in academic rationale, so it's good, I think, for us to keep abreast of the truth: homeschooling works.

Success proving critics wrong

Michael Smith
October 1, 2007

When you hear stories of high academic achievement by home-schoolers, it's routine for opponents to try to minimize the results by asserting that not all home-schoolers are required to test over the same testing instruments.

Their goal is to show that home-schooling isn't a viable educational alternative that can benefit a large number of children. If they concede that point, and recognize the broad success of a home education, then one of the pillars of public education, teacher certification, must be questioned.

Home-schooled students taught by noncertified parents, who score higher than public school students taught by certified teachers is a hard pill for the education establishment to swallow.

What's the latest pill they're going to have to "swallow"? The number of homeschoolers receiving National Merit Scholarships and placing as finalist and semi-finalists. Testing over the same instruments as public and private school students, homeschoolers are showing up in the top ranks in ever greater numbers. More telling, however, they are showing up in greater and greater percentages, proving that the movement is maturing and taking its place as a real contender even by academic measurements.

Labels: Homeschooling