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From what I've read, there's almost no data in it since it's all done in private with little to no oversight. This makes the comparison very hard, since one si

From what I've read, there's almost no data in it since it's all done in private with little to no oversight. This makes the comparison very hard, since one side is has all of its successes and failures critiqued in public, and the other side is only ever talked about with anecdotal data. Personally I believe there should be some sort of periodic standardized test for homeschooled kids too. Even if it's not for "passing" a grade, so we know in which level of learning they are compared to everyone else. If we can't compare them, how can we evaluate its merits and flaws?

scarmig 3y ago
I'd be a fan of some nationwide objective test, given once per year, that tracks level of achievement of all students, homeschooled, public, or private. Sadly it seems we're moving away from that as a country, because no one likes to be objectively measured. For the SATs, homeschooled students score ~75 points higher than public school students. We can draw only limited conclusions from that, though. People self select into taking the SATs. And there's the the bigger issue of demographics: given the demographics of homeschoolers who take the SAT, you'd expect them to outperform anyway. Regardless, more data is better.
MacsHeadroom 3y ago
All home schoolers are required to take state standardized tests annually in many states. They consistently score in the top 20%-30% on average.
- Draiken 3y ago
  That's good to hear! I would say that "in some states" is the key here. A lot can change depending on the state.
- Pinsy352 3y ago
  Many states is an overstatement. Only 13 require any sort of testing. Even in those 13, not all grades are tested, and often a parent may provide a nonstandardized 'portfolio' in place of testing. The other 37 states have no required testing whatsoever.
Pinsy352 3y ago
We don't even require parents to notify all states that they are homeschooling their kids. Those kids just disappear from the system entirely, no reporting on outcomes. Homeschooling struggles from a deep distrust of any sort of oversight, IMO. It means their best successes get discounted because "of course they'd succeed anyway with involved parents" and their worst abuses get rugswept as "not real homeschooling." No way to numerically make determinations like "is homeschooling as good or better than public school on average" if you refuse to make the population of homeschoolers identifiable.
- ethbr1 3y ago
  This is mostly due to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Which has essentially the same incentives and results that the NRA does -- cater to the craziest of your constituents, fan outrage, then push the most extreme views (to protect everyone). As a result, HSLDA essentially says that no child abuse or sexual assault exists in the home schooling communities, because it's the only way to justify their position that zero regulation is the only appropriate amount of regulation. Reality, of course, has a non-zero rate of abuse (which the HSLDA then does their best to hide). Warning, pretty terrible stuff: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/05/hslda-man-who-kept-children-in-cages-a-her.html https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/05/hslda-...

scarmig 3y ago

I'd be a fan of some nationwide objective test, given once per year, that tracks level of achievement of all students, homeschooled, public, or private. Sadly it seems we're moving away from that as a country, because no one likes to be objectively measured. For the SATs, homeschooled students score ~75 points higher than public school students. We can draw only limited conclusions from that, though. People self select into taking the SATs. And there's the the bigger issue of demographics: given the demographics of homeschoolers who take the SAT, you'd expect them to outperform anyway. Regardless, more data is better.

MacsHeadroom 3y ago

All home schoolers are required to take state standardized tests annually in many states. They consistently score in the top 20%-30% on average.

Draiken 3y ago
That's good to hear! I would say that "in some states" is the key here. A lot can change depending on the state.
Pinsy352 3y ago
Many states is an overstatement. Only 13 require any sort of testing. Even in those 13, not all grades are tested, and often a parent may provide a nonstandardized 'portfolio' in place of testing. The other 37 states have no required testing whatsoever.

Pinsy352 3y ago

We don't even require parents to notify all states that they are homeschooling their kids. Those kids just disappear from the system entirely, no reporting on outcomes. Homeschooling struggles from a deep distrust of any sort of oversight, IMO. It means their best successes get discounted because "of course they'd succeed anyway with involved parents" and their worst abuses get rugswept as "not real homeschooling." No way to numerically make determinations like "is homeschooling as good or better than public school on average" if you refuse to make the population of homeschoolers identifiable.

ethbr1 3y ago
This is mostly due to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Which has essentially the same incentives and results that the NRA does -- cater to the craziest of your constituents, fan outrage, then push the most extreme views (to protect everyone). As a result, HSLDA essentially says that no child abuse or sexual assault exists in the home schooling communities, because it's the only way to justify their position that zero regulation is the only appropriate amount of regulation. Reality, of course, has a non-zero rate of abuse (which the HSLDA then does their best to hide). Warning, pretty terrible stuff: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/05/hslda-man-who-kept-children-in-cages-a-her.html https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/05/hslda-...