Social Isolation? Not!

Homeschooling compared to Public Schooling, 2007

 

[The stats that show that there is no social isolation are in blue]

 --(Marketwire - Oct. 4, 2007) - Home schooling appears to improve the academic performance of children from families with low levels of education, according to a report on home schooling released today by independent research organization The Fraser Institute.

"The evidence is particularly interesting for students who traditionally fall through the cracks in the public system," said Claudia Hepburn, co-author of Home  chooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream, 2nd edition and Director of Education Policy with The Fraser Institute.

"Poorly educated parents who choose to teach their children at home produce better academic results for their children than public schools do. One study we reviewed found that students taught at home by mothers who never finished high school scored a full 55 percentage points higher than public school students from families with comparable education levels."

The peer-reviewed report, co-written with Patrick Basham and John Merrifield, builds on a 2001 study with new research and data. It examines the educational phenomenon of home schooling in Canada and the United States, its regulation, history, growth, and the characteristics of practitioners, before reviewing the findings on the academic and social effects of home schooling. 

Hepburn said evidence clearly demonstrates that home education may help reduce the negative effects of some background factors.  The factors that many educators believe affects a child's ability to learn are, for example, low family income, low parental educational attainment, parents not having formal training as teachers, race or ethnicity of the  student, gender of the student, not having a computer in the home, and infrequent usage of public libraries.  "The research shows that the level of education of a child's parents,  gender of the child, and income of family has less to do with a child's academic achievement than it does in public schools."

The study also reports that students educated at home outperform their peers on most academic tests and are involved in a broad mix of social activities outside the home.

Research shows that almost 25 per cent of home schooled students in the United States perform one or more grades above their age-level peers in public and  private schools.  Grades 1 to 4 home school students perform one grade level higher  than their public- and private-school peers. By Grade 8, the average home schooled student performs four grade levels above the national average.

Hepburn said a growing body of new research also calls into question the belief that home schooled children are not adequately socialized.

"The average home schooled student is regularly involved in eight social activities outside the home.  Home schooled children watch less television than other children, and they show significantly fewer problems than public school children when observed in free play," she said.

The report concludes that home schooling is not only a viable educational choice for parents, but can also be provided at a much lower cost than public  schooling. The report notes that in the U.S., home schooling families spend less than  $4,000 per year on home schooling while public schooling in the U.S. costs about $9,600 per  child.

"Canadian and American policymakers should recognize the ability of  parents to meet the educational needs of their children at home, without government involvement, " Hepburn said.

"While home schooling may be impractical for many families, it has  proven to be a successful and relatively inexpensive educational alternative. It  merits the respect of policy makers, the attention of researchers, and the consideration of parents."

The complete report, Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the  Mainstream 2nd edition is available in PDF format at www.fraserinstitute .org.

The Fraser Institute is an independent research and educational organization based in Canada. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute .org.

Accelerating Gifted Children

by Nicholas Colangelo and Susan G. Assouline 

The two-volume report, A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, released in September 2004, reports that America's schools routinely avoid academic acceleration, the easiest and most effective way to help highly capable students. The report presents a review of abundant research on acceleration over the past 50 years that is uniformly positive and in stark contrast to the negative attitudes that have resulted in anti-acceleration practices.

...[Predjudices]: 

• Limited familiarity with research on acceleration;
• Personal philosophies that children should be kept with their age group;
• Belief that acceleration "hurries" children out of childhood;
• Fear that acceleration hurts children socially;
• Political concerns about providing equal opportunities for all children; and
• Concern that other students will be offended.

The good news is that all of these reasons are put to rest by research evidence indicating that young children who are ready benefit from acceleration both academically and socially. This includes early entrance to school and grade-skipping, the two areas of major concern for elementary school principals. Acceleration does not hurry children out of childhood, but instead places them at levels they are ready for. Curriculum equity provides appropriate experiences based on a student's learning readiness, and there is no evidence to support the fear that accelerating students has a negative effect on others....

• Have discussions with teachers regarding attitudes about acceleration. Are their attitudes consistent with what we know from the research? If not, challenge them to provide the basis for their attitudes.
• Evaluate your school policies in light of the research. Are they flexible? A no-exceptions rule for early entrance to kindergarten or first grade goes counter to research on early entrance. While age is a good indicator of readiness for the vast majority of children, it is not for a minority of highly able children.
• Understand that grade-skipping can be a positive, not only academically but socially. There is a scale to guide educators in making a good decision about grade-skipping. It is called the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) and is available through www.giftedbooks.com. The IAS has been used by many elementary schools and has received very high praise from principals, teachers, and parents.

... bright students feel disconnected because the curriculum is well below their readiness level. For academically gifted students, acceleration is an effective-and cost-effective-way of meeting their learning and social needs.