Homeschool Vs Public School? Which one is better? It’s hard to say to be honest. Many people have thought long and hard about homeschooling versus public school education when it comes to their children.
There has been a long-standing argument as to whether homeschooling or public schools are better. In fact, some people think that homeschool students act strange and socially awkward in “real life” situations while public school students don’t.
However, before you can make such a judgment call, it is important to take some time to compare and contrast the main areas of education and development between these two school philosophies, homeschooling, and public school.
Standardized Tests In The Public School Vs. Homeschooling Debate
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Studies have been conducted by both the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in regard to who scores higher on standardized testing. These studies point to higher test scores amongst homeschool students than their public school counterparts.
Advocates of public schooling have argued that both of these associations are homeschool related though and thus the research is biased. Of course, according to the HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association), this argument may also make these folks look biased themselves. They themselves looked at several different studies that were conducted throughout the 90′s.
One such study was conducted in 1997. It looked at 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families and showed that these students outperformed their public school counterparts by at least 30%. This shows that there are definitely some strengths to homeschooling children. The study was then backed up by a study that was conducted by Dr. Lawrence Rudner. He looked at 20,760 homeschool students and concluded that homeschool students had the highest academic achievement. This was shown to be true amongst high school age students who were more likely to graduate than those who attended public school.
When it came to race, these studies showed that neither race nor gender had any effect. In fact, minorities were just as likely to succeed as Caucasians. Whenever public school students were examined African Americans scored in the 24th percentile whereas their homeschool counterparts scored amazingly in the 77th percentile; Caucasian students in public school scored in the 57th percentile while Caucasian students who were homeschooled scored in the 82nd percentile.
Determining if Test Scores Alone Are Enough In Homeschooling and Public Schooling
Are test scores alone enough to make an educated decision about the best educational philosophy for your child? Parents who are considering homeschooling have to look into a lot of different factors because grades alone shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
While every parent hopes that their child will do well in school, achieve high grades and attend the right college in order to have a successful career, they also understand that there is more to being successful than what a child scores on a standardized test. Some of the other factors that parents must take into consideration whenever they are deciding upon their educational philosophy include:
- Socialization
- The home environment
- The parents’ own education background
- The child’s personality
Therefore this isn’t a decision that can be made lightly. These other factors must also be taken into consideration first.
One argument that public school proponents frequently talk about is the concept of socialization. They believe that homeschooled students simply don’t get as much social interactions as public school students do. Some people feel that this will negatively affect these children’s ability to work in a group situation.
While there may be some cases in which this is true, it certainly doesn’t always happen this way. In fact, most homeschooled students participate in an average of 5 social activities on a regular basis. These situations include things like jobs, clubs, church and community sports clubs.
On the other hand, there are some parents who have chosen to homeschool their children who believe that public school children focus too much upon competition and materialism instead of focusing upon what really matters: respect and the quality of the learning that takes place.
So, there are clearly two sides to this issue. For this reason, parents must decide whether or not their child needs more social interactions at school or if he can thrive in the more sporadic social environment that homeschooling offers.
College Entrance Exams – Homeschool or Public School?
It is also important to take a look at how both homeschool and public school students score on college entrance exams. While homeschooled students score in the 65th percentile of all students who take the ACT meaning that they have scored almost 2 points ahead of the national average of 21.0 while homeschool students score at least 22.8.
The scores that homeschool students are receiving puts them into a more desirable position whenever it comes to college admission.
In Conclusion To Homeschooling Vs Public School
In conclusion, the choice as a parent is yours. There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to public school and homeschool, but you get the choice as a parent to decide. Which one will you choose in the homeschool vs public school debate?
