Thursday, October 17, 2013

Who benefits from homeschooling?

If studies are any indication, while nearly all demographic groups show an improvement in test scores, Hispanic and African-American children show the greatest gains. Dr. Brian Ray's book, Strengths of Their Own, has the results of a study of over 5,000 homeschooled students and reports that: Another important finding of Strengths of Their Own was that the race of the student does not make any difference. There was no significant difference between minority and white homeschooled students. For example, in grades K-12, both white and minority students scored, on the average, in the 87th percentile. In math, whites scored in the 82nd percentile while minorities scored in the 77th percentile. In the public schools, however, there is a sharp contrast. White public school eighth grade students, nationally scored the 58th percentile in math and the 57th percentile in reading. Black eighth grade students, on the other hand, scored on the average at the 24th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. Hispanics scored at the 29th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. Me again. Am I saying homeschooling will Save Us All and Is the Future and is Totally Awetastic !!!1! I'm still prepared to have the kid look at me in the years to come, roll her eyes and say "Um, Mom? My education? You tanked it. Thanks. Here's your decaf cappucino, no foam." And I'm certainly no fan of measuring education exclusively by test results. But this study merits attention.

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