Recent successes by homeschooled students have spotlighted the rapid growth of this alternative educational approach, fueled by families with a variety of motivations. A 1998 survey of homeschooled children found them well advanced academically and achieving at much higher levels than their peers in public schools. It could be made an even more attractive option through the use of tax credits. The rise of homeschooling is one of the most significant social trends of the past half century, argues the author in this review of homeschooling past, present, and yet to come. Nearly 6,000 surveys were sent to home school families using a variety of sources and methods.
Findings are positive.
United States Increasing numbers of families are choosing to educate their children at home in order to escape mediocre public schools and a culture of which they disapprove. The results are impressive. In the spring of 1999, an estimated 850,000 students nationwide were being homeschooled. Pa's Dept. of Ed. reports that 222 school districts permit homeschoolers to take part in curricular programs and 228 in extracurricular activities. The parents responded to a questionnaire requesting background and demographic information.