Here Are Some Homeschooling Statistics That Might Surprise You

By Pamela Oliveri  

Attending school every day just isn't like it used to be when we were kids. Kids are growing up fast in a fast paced world, and the influence of peer pressure, bullying and drug and alcohol influence has become a reality in our nations public and private schools. Parents seeking an alternative education method for their children are turning more often to homeschooling as a viable education option. This article is intended to provide some interesting homeschooling statistics that detail homeschooling facts, percentages of students being homeschooled and primary reasons why parents opt to homeschool their kids. If you are at a crossroads of deciding upon the proper education method for your child(ren) hopefully this information will assist you in making your decision.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey revealed that approximately 2% of children ages 5-17 were homeschooled. Homeschooling for this survey is defined as students who spend less than 25 hours a week in school and were at least partially schooled at home.

• Approximately 2 million students in this country are currently homeschooled.

• Homeschooling doesn't necessarily mean a life of exclusion. Many sports facilities have special sessions held during normal school hours, to benefit and attract home schooled students and parents alike.

The top three reasons parents choose to homeschool their children are as follows:

• Concern about the school environment (30%), desire to provide a religious and/or moral educations for their children (27%) and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction (17%) provided at local schools.

Parents reported the most important reason for their decision to homeschool was to provide a religious/moral education for their child, followed by concern for the school environment, and finally lack of satisfaction with the academic instruction was the final reason quoted. Homeschooling statistics are tracked by the U.S. Department of Education. Below are some interesting statistics about the education level of the parents who have decided to homeschool their children.

• Most parents have some college classes or vocational education.

• 25% have Bachelor Degrees.

• 22% have Masters or advanced college degrees.

Homeschooling statistics show the gender population of homeschooled students to be equally split between males and females. The majority of homeschooling households had 2 parents and 2 or more children. Geographic demographics of these families are split down the middle, 50% of households residing in cities and 50% live in rural communities. 43% of students homeschooled are in grades K-5, 28% in grades 6-8, and 29% in grades 9-12. Of the students who are homeschooled, 82% of those student are exclusively schooled at home with no outside education, while 18% are attending a school part-time, approximately 9 hours per week. While public schooled children have 49% of parents that are dual income, 56% of private schooled children have dual income families, only about 25% of homeschooled students belong to a dual income family.

Additionally, while about 43% of public school and 41% of the private school population come from a household with 3 or more children, a whopping 62% of homeschooled children have 2 or more siblings.

Your decision to homeschool should not be based upon national statistics alone but also require your unique parental instinct to know what is best for your child's learning style. Pros and cons should be carefully weighed and include key areas such as your relationship with your child, available time and resources to teach the lessons required, and social considerations such as sports and extracurricular activities you child enjoys. Hopefully, these homeschooling statistics will assist you in making the best decision for you and your child about your child's educational future.

Pam Oliveri is an ex Montessori instructor who decided to homeschool her own children and used her hands on experiences in the classroom to model her approach. So as it relates to homeschooling pros and cons [http://homeschoolingfacts.org/] or insight on the best homeschool curriculum [http://homeschoolingfacts.org/how-to-determine-the-best-homeschool-curriculum], or interesting homeschooling statistics which might surprise you, Pam is an excellent resource.