Francis-David
Scalzo
10
October 2014
Homeschooling—Inferior to Public
Education?
In America today, there is an
intense, on-going debate concerning the advantages of public education compared
to a homeschool education. Many have a common belief that public schools
provide exceptional learning benefits as well as an environment where students
can fully develop their social skills. Homeschooling, however, is often
belittled for maintaining poor academic standards and prohibiting children from
interacting with their peers. But, are these accusations valid? Is public
education more preferable than homeschooling? A detailed analysis of facts will
show that the American public education system is quickly declining due to its
poor academic performance and negative environment, whereas homeschooling is
proving itself to be of higher quality and a more positive educational
structure for children.
Contrary to accepted beliefs, the
public education system has not succeeded in achieving high scholastic outcomes.
One example of this fact can be seen in the results of the 2009 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam. Every few years, this exam is
given by the federal Department of Education to fourth, eighth, and twelfth
graders (Barr). According to the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) website, the NAEP exam assigns three general grading levels: the Basic level (only partial mastery of the
knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at each grade), the Proficient level, and the Advanced level (superior performance)
(“The Nation’s Report Card”). The exam’s results show that only one-third of
American students display proficiency in science and technology, while three
percent of students were listed as advanced. In addition, the exam also demonstrated
that students’ knowledge declines the older they become, as exhibited by the
fact that only twenty-one percent of twelfth grade students were considered to
be proficient (Barr).
Another piece of evidence is the lackluster
and declining SAT scores. For the high school class of 2012, the average
reading score on the SAT was 496, which was down thirty-four points since 1972
(Layton and Brown). On the writing portion, the average score was 488, down
nine points since it was first placed on the exam in 2006, and math scores were
stagnant in comparison with 2011 scores (Layton and Brown). According to the
College Board—the organization that administers the SAT—57% of test takers “did
not score high enough to indicate likely success in college” (Layton and
Brown). It should be kept in mind that in April 1995 the College Board
recalibrated its scoring of the SAT (Winerip). A 430
on the verbal section suddenly became a 510 under the new scoring method.
Bradley J. Quin, College Board’s senior project director
at the time, said, “When the current scoring system was established in 1941,
500 was the average score for each test, the math and verbal. Those scores have
been declining for nearly four decades. The average verbal score today [1994]
is 424; the average math score, 478” (Winerip). The
decline in America’s educational system is also evident when comparing the
academic skills of Americans with those from other countries. In a study done in
2013 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Russell), the
United States ranked 21 out of 23 countries in math and 17 out of 19 in problem
solving (Beard).
Although such statistics appear
surprising initially, in truth they are not if one understands the material
students are taught in public schools. David Barton, the founder and president
of the organization Wallbuilders, discusses in the
summer 2005 issue of the Wallbuilder Report how a new philosophy of
education has permeated American academia in basic subjects such as math,
grammar, and reading. Examining the detrimental effects it has had, Barton
tells how in Massachusetts the top priority of math teachers was not to teach
math. Rather, it was to “teach ‘respect for human differences’ and ‘live out
the system-wide core value of respect for human differences’” (4). This
philosophy can be seen in a new eight-hundred page math textbook which did not
begin asking a math question until page 107 (Barton 4). Barton states that the
prior pages dealt with topics such as Maya Angelou poetry, competitive chili
cook-offs, and the Dogon tribe of West Africa (4). This textbook resulted in
the drastic decline of students’ math scores, such as in Palo Alto, California,
where public school math students dropped from the 86th percentile
to the 56th percentile (Barton, 6). Barton also describes how in the
area of grammar, the National Council of English Teachers abandoned the method
of training students in grammar and fundamental skills such as diagramming
sentences, saying that such topics would only make students uninterested in
writing (6). The results show that only one-fourth of students can write at a
proficient level (Barton 6).
Moreover, the quality of American
education has drastically declined from former decades. Barton, in a DVD series
entitled The American Heritage Series,
discusses how the quality of education was much higher at younger ages during
the founding and early years of the nation. Citing from Noah Webster’s The American Spelling Book of the English Language
(published in 1782), Barton gives examples of words first-graders of that time
had to learn and which most college students today do not know. Another example
he gives is a mathematics textbook from 1877 in which elementary grade students
had to regularly solve complex, multistep mathematical word problems mentally without
paper and pencil.
Besides the “vast dumbing-down” of
the American public school curriculum (“Public Schools Define”), the agenda of
the public schools today is to teach values contrary to traditional biblical
values as well as to rewrite American history. Phyllis Schlafly,
the founder of Eagle Forum, discusses in an article entitled “Public Schools
Define American Culture,” that the turning point in the public schools occurred
in the 1960s with the “vast influence” of humanist John Dewey and his Columbia
Teachers College acolytes, “who argued against objective truth, authoritative
notions of good and evil, religion and tradition.” Schlafly
also comments how the public schools embraced the Kinsey-trained sexperts to “change the sexual mores of our society from
favoring sex-in-marriage to diversity. Concepts of right and wrong were
banished, and children were taught about varieties of sex without reference to
what is moral, good, or even legal” (“Public Schools Define”).
Another article by Phyllis Schalfly entitled “What’s Happened to Public School
Curriculum?” tells about the current teaching of American history. This article
states that the “most widely used textbook in U.S. public schools” is the late
Howard Zinn’s A
People’s History of the United States, a history textbook used as required
reading in many high schools and
colleges. Schlafly describes the ideology of this
textbook: “This textbook by Howard Zinn is a very
leftwing version of U.S. history, full of multicultural, feminist, and
class-war propaganda. It is based on the thesis that America is not a republic
but an empire controlled by a few white men. Its heroes are anti-establishment
protestors” (“What’s Happened?”).
In addition to poor academic levels,
the public education system does not encourage positive social development in
students. Instead, the interaction at public schools can often be dangerous. In
an article entitled “Fast Facts” from NCES, statistics show that from July 1,
2010 to June 30, 2011, thirty-one student, staff, and nonstudent
school-associated violent deaths occurred in elementary and secondary schools
throughout the United States (“Fast Facts”). In the 2009-2010 school year,
eighty-five percent of public schools experienced one or more incidents of
violence, theft, or other crimes, giving a full sum of an estimated 1.9 million
crimes (“Fast Facts”). Furthermore, there is also the problem of drug
availability on school property, which in 2011 was reported by twenty-six
percent of students (“Fast Facts”).
To solve these dilemmas of the
public schools, there must be a counter-balance and competing educational
system that will allow parents to have greater freedom to determine how and in
what environment their children will be taught. One solution is homeschooling. Research
and statistics show that homeschooled students have much higher academic
achievements than do publicly schooled students. President of National Home
Education Research, Dr. Brian D. Ray, was asked by the Homeschool Legal Defense
Association (HSLDA) in 2007 to “conduct a nationwide study of homeschooling in
America” (Homeschool Progress Report
2). This study consisted of examining 11,739 participants from fifty states,
Guam, and Puerto Rico. The data obtained revealed that homeschoolers scored
34-39 percentile points higher than normal on standardized achievement tests (Homeschool Progress Report 2, 3). For
subjects such as language, math, and social studies, the homeschool national
average was the 84th percentile, and in reading it was the 89th percentile (Homeschool Progress Report 3). Dr. Ray
states that for publicly-schooled students, the average is the 50th percentile
(“Research Facts”). HSLDA also states that statistics show homeschooled
students can perform one grade higher than students instructed in a traditional
school environment, and that by eighth grade the average homeschooled student
performs four grade levels above the national average (CBN News). Homeschoolers
consistently perform above the national average on college admissions tests as
well (Klicka). In both 2002 and 2003, the national
average for homeschoolers on the ACT was 22.5 versus the national average of
20.8 (Klicka). Likewise in 2002, homeschoolers scored
72 points higher on the SAT than the national average and 81 points higher in
2001 (Klicka).
Besides the quality of education obtained,
homeschooled students also participate in a number of positive extra-curricular
activities. An article from Focus on the Family points out that today many
homeschooled children are involved in athletic teams, academic competition,
band, and other such activities. There is also the freedom to learn by way of
experience and real-life interaction such as travel, field trips, and
internships (“Home Schools”).
Because there are many benefits to
homeschooling, it is becoming an increasingly popular option for many parents. Dr.
Brian Ray says there are about 2.2 million homeschooled students in the nation
and that it is “now bordering on ‘mainstream’ in the United States” (“Research
Facts”). One way to encourage its growth is by supporting school vouchers. Parents
would be given greater freedom to place their child in the school of their choice
(private, Christian or Catholic, synagogue, or a homeschool curriculum) by being
able to pay with a portion of funds that would normally go to the public
schools.
However, some oppose homeschooling as a
remedy to America’s declining public education system. Those in favor of public
education claim that homeschooled students lack socialization with their peers,
or that homeschool curricula lack structure. They also oppose the use of
vouchers for homeschooling. Actually, many advocates for public education would
not allow for any form of school
choice. Focus on the Family states in “Causes for Concern (School Choice)” that
local school officials have often tried to oppose any efforts for school choice
by arguing that this freedom “will destroy the public school system and limit
good schooling options to only a privileged few.”
Defenders of the current system also argue
that all resources and efforts should be placed into the public schools because
they are attended by ninety percent of students (Blumenfield).
Vouchers would obviously reduce the public school education budget by
redirecting funds. Another objection raised is that some homeschooling parents
might exploit the voucher system, not properly using the funds for their
child’s education. Interestingly, there are some homeschool advocates who also disagree
with implementing a voucher system. HSLDA opposes vouchers, believing that
because they are not simply free loans from the government, the government will
thus regulate parental freedoms (“Vouchers”). Sam Blumenfield
writes in “Homeschool and Vouchers” that a large shift of the public funds into
private schools would make them part of the public sector. There are convincing
points in many of these counter-arguments and some have legitimate reasoning.
But, let us examine each one carefully.
First, the argument for homeschoolers’
lack of socialization has already been shown to be weak given the number of
activities in which homeschooled students are involved (“Home Schools”). In
addition, Dr. Ray comments how research on adults who had been homeschooled
shows that they partake more in social avenues than do the general population.
They participate in local community service more often, vote and attend public
meetings more often, and attend and succeed at college at a rate equal or
higher than that of the general population (“Research Facts”). I know this to
be true on a personal level. My older brother, who was the first student to be
homeschooled in Madison, Connecticut, in 1983, is married and a computer
analyst helping to keep the Navy’s fleet of nuclear submarines running. My
older sister, who was homeschooled for her entire twelve years, has her MBA
from Albertus Magnus College and works in accounting. I was homeschooled and am
concert master for a multi-generational string ensemble orchestra.
Second, the lack of structure in
homeschooling is no longer a problem because of the number of homeschool
curricula available. Initially, homeschool parents had to construct their own lesson
plans and materials, but, although this approach is still used, there are currently
many excellent homeschool organizations that provide curriculum, teacher
instruction, parent and student support, and cooperative learning programs.
These organizations include Alpha Omega Publishers, K12, A Beka
Academy, and Bob Jones Home School (“Home Schools”), and there are many more.
Moreover, voluntary annual portfolio reviews with the local school board can
help identify if the educational level of the homeschooler is sub-par.
Third, rather than limiting education to
only a few students, the voucher system would increase school choice, thereby
strengthening schools and improving the quality of education by increasing
competition (“Talking Points: School Choice”). The quality of public school
education would rise out of necessity, as well. John D. Merrifield, a professor
of economics at the University of Texas in San Antonio, studied a ten-year
endowment-funded program which provided scholarships to children in the
“low-performing Edgewood (Texas) School District.” With the vouchers the
children attended private, religious, or public schools of their choice (“Talking
Points”). Merrifield and other researchers found “an approximately 17
percentage-point increase in Edgewood’s public school graduation rates that he
could attribute to the voucher program” (“Talking Points”). Merrifield states
in his report that these improvements appeared to be a response to increased
competition, saying that students “‘benefit from having a choice in the school
they attend, even if they remain in public schools’” (“Talking Points”). With
increasing competition in the field of education, all students benefit.
If the implementation of vouchers to
promote school choice improves educational results, is it a valid argument to
focus money only on public education? Research would say no. The United States
Census Bureau’s “2012 Census of Governments: Finance-Survey of School System
Finances” states that in the fiscal year of 2012, public elementary-secondary
school systems spent $10,608 per student. The full amount spent in this year
was $524.0 billion. Andrew J. Coulson, the director of the Cato Institute’s
Center for Educational Freedom, in his testimony to the Committee on Education
& the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives, compares the increase
of federal spending for public education with improvements in math, science,
and reading from 1970 to 2011. Coulson analyzes how during this period, federal
spending has risen exponentially while scores in the three subjects have
remained unchanged (Coulson). The amount of money spent by the federal government
for the graduating class of 2009 was $151,000 per student, three times as much
spent for the class of 1970, adjusting for inflation (Coulson), yet without
improvement. In contrast, homeschooling costs much less. Dr. Brian Ray shows in
his Homeschool Progress Report that
the median amount spent per child for each year was $400-599 (5), and, from his
report’s data discussed earlier, it is proven that homeschooled students
exhibit much higher academic scores.
In answer to whether vouchers will
make homeschooling subject to federal and state intervention, a well-thought
out voucher system would allow for parents to opt out if they believed their
educational freedom was being violated. Even without a voucher system, there is
always the possibility of state intervention in homeschooling (“Connecticut”).
But a voucher system would at least allow more parents the financial ability to
homeschool or send their children to private school, breaking the public school
education monopoly. This financial relief would also give more lower-income
families the ability to homeschool their children. In a well-run voucher
system, money is not given directly to the parents but rather private schools
or homeschool curricula and supply companies would be paid directly by the
municipality. This would provide a double check that money is used properly. In
many ways, the system would mimic the federal grant system campus and online
universities now use.
The advances in technology and the
internet over the past few decades make homeschooling a viable option for more
families. Today’s economic environment often requires both parents to have some
form of paid work. It is true that because of different circumstances not every
family will be able to homeschool, which is why the vouchers are important for
giving parents the option to send their child to any school of their choice, such as a private Christian school. However,
technology allows homeschooling to be feasible even for a growing number of two-parent
working families. Because of computers and the internet, more parents can now
work from home where they can monitor their children’s progress. In addition,
the new advances free these parents from much of the actual teaching burden. Different
homeschool organizations such as A Beka Academy provide
videos or live stream internet access to classes taught by expert teachers. Students
in effect become part of the class. In the future, it is anticipated that the
students will be able to interact with the video teacher over the internet.
Some programs, such as K12 allow the student now to have interactive internet
chats.
From the evidence and different arguments
presented, it is clear that homeschooling is a part of an effective solution to
the current problem of America’s public schools. The simplest way to promote
this important educational option is to inform others personally about the advantages
of homeschooling, extoling the benefits of different homeschool curricula, and dispelling
any myths and misconceptions. We can also actively participate in and support homeschool
advocacy groups, such as HSLDA. It is also critical to promote educational vouchers
to increase school choice. The best way to accomplish this is to lobby for
voucher legislation. This dialogue would also help bring the topic of
educational freedom to prominence and allow for a larger number of people who
might have never thought about this issue before to now consider it. Although
the intended results of these steps would take place gradually, if done
properly, these active measures can aid in making homeschooling a normal and
logical competing alternative in the field of American education.
Works Cited
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Bob. “U.S. Education Continues Decline.” The
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© 2014 Francis-David A. Scalzo. All rights reserved.