By Rebekah Rast
Today, about 2 million students are homeschooled.
In 2003, that number was 1.1 million. The home school population continues to grow at a rate of 5 to 12 percent each year, according to a report by Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., President of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI).
Many factors are involved when the decision to home school a child is made. Academic concerns and religious motivation are the top reasons for homeschooling, says Nathan Mehrens, currently a Counsel for Americans for Limited Government (ALG) and previously a legal and legislative assistant for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Another key reason for parents choosing homeschooling is concern over unspecified current problems within some public schools.
Parents feel that by homeschooling their child, the child can accomplish more academically than if he/she was in a public school system. And they are right. Homeschooled students typically score 15 to 30 percent higher on standardized academic achievement tests than their public schooled counterparts.
However convincing and solid the reasoning is for homeschooling, there are always those against it. One big opposing party is public schools themselves.
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