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Despite homeschooling's growing popularity, almost everything we think we know about it is anecdotal or based on a nonrepresentative sample. This is due in large part to widely varying regulations among states: some mandate regular testing and/or curricular requirements, while others don't even know (or ask) how many families are homeschooling within their borders. The National Center for Education Statistics provides the most reliable nationwide data, drawn from a survey administered every four years. The 2003 results estimated 1.1 million homeschool students nationwide, a 29% increase since 1999.[1]
While this report caught the attention of policymakers and scholars, many predicted that homeschool numbers were ready to level off. The 2007 NCES data, however, suggested quite the opposite—homeschooling's growth is actually accelerating. Between 1999 and 2007, homeschooling increased 74 percent—more than twelve times the increase of public school enrollments. And even these figures are probably underestimates. The 2007 survey pegged the total number at 1.5 million, but homeschoolers typically aren't fond of answering questions from outsiders about their activity, particularly if it's the government on the phone. With this in mind, the total number of homeschoolers today is probably closer to two million students.[2]
As a result of this rapid growth, thousands of books and related resources on homeschooling have appeared in recent years, but almost all of these are "how to" products aimed at parents—the homeschool curriculum market does nearly a billion dollars in sales a year. By contrast, relatively little in the way of disinterested academic scholarship is available, and misinformation about homeschool research is widespread.
The most recent example of misleading data involves a study publicized this fall by the Home School Legal Defense Association, which compared the test scores of 11,739 homeschoolers to those of public school students.But as with earlier research, homeschoolers who responded to HSLDA's invitation aren't representative of the broader homeschool population: the sample only included the subset of homeschoolers who use standardized tests, and it drew almost entirely (95 percent) from those who self-identify as Christian. Furthermore, homeschool parents often administer these tests themselves, making it possible to create very different testing conditions from what public school students experience. The bottom line is that we still simply don't know how the "average homeschooler" performs, academically or otherwise.
While compelling quantitative research on homeschooling remains rare, quality scholarship in this area does exist. The finest example of such work is Milton Gaither's Homeschool: An American History. Besides being the best historical analysis available, Gaither's text deserves recognition as the most thoroughly researched, comprehensive look at the topic altogether.
Gaither reminds us that homeschooling is certainly not new in American history. Through richly documented examples, he shows how, prior to the advent of common schools in the mid-nineteenth century, home and education overlapped far more than today. At the same time, Gaither observes, the social meaning of homeschooling has changed dramatically. Whereas education in the home was once both commonplace and actively encouraged by the government, it now represents an act of rebellion against societal norms and state oversight.
Against this historical backdrop, Gaither suggests four central reasons for modern homeschooling's emergence and growth over the past several decades: countercultural sensibilities, suburbanization, romantic ideals of child-centered education, and discontent with public schooling. Perhaps the most compelling storyline here focuses on this final theme, in particular conservative Christians' growing disenchantment with public schools.
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