What about Academic Success at Home?
Most parents of children who attend traditional school have stereotypes about homeschooled students. They think that homeschooled children have a lack of social skills and are not get success in academic achievement.
However, Richards-Gustafson (2019) argues that, on average, homeschooled children outperform traditional students on standardized tests (para. 2). Also, conforming to the article “Do Homeschool Kids Really Rate Better on Standardized Tests?” (2019) the author provides information that “homeschooled students score about 72 points higher than the national average on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The average American College Test (ACT) score is 21. The average score for homeschoolers is 22.8 out of a possible 36 points” (para.1). In 2010, the Department of Education reported that homeschoolers tend to have higher grade point averages, ACT scores and graduation rates than traditional students.
In addition, it is not uncommon for homeschoolers to place well in academic competitions, such as spelling bees and geography bees. Spelling Bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words. ABC NEWS: “Homeschooled children began showing up at the spelling bee a decade ago. And their numbers have steadily increased. Even though students taught at homes make up just 2 percent of the entire school age population, they are more than 10 percent of the finalists in this year’s national spelling bee. They will make up an even higher percentage at the National Geographic Society’s National Geographic Bee” (Reynold, 2006, para. 6). Also, CBS BALTIMORE NEWS (2013) reported that a 12 years old homeschooled student won the 2013 Baltimore Spelling Bee competition and went to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. Hence, over 10 percent of the finalists in the game were homeschoolers.
Hence, homeschooled students have the same chance as children from traditional schools to be successful in learning.
Reference
CBS BALTIMORE NEWS. (2013, March 18). 12-Year-Old Wins Baltimore Spelling Bee. Retrieved from https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/03/18/12-year-old-wins-baltimore-spelling-bee/
Reynold D. (2006, January 7). Home Schoolers Lead Spelling Bee. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130988
Richards-Gustafson F. (2018). How Does Homeschool Affect Children? Retrieved from https://www.hellomotherhood.com/article/267910-what-is-the-family-impact-on-early-childhood-development/
Web, L. T. (2019, February 13). Do Homeschool Kids Really Rate Better on Standardized Tests? Retrieved from https://wehavekids.com/education/Do-Homeschoolers-Really-Do-Better-on-Tests
