Homeschooling Statistics: Structured Vis-à-Vis Unstructured

July 29th, 2011 Brenne Meirowitz

Homeschooling Statistics: Structured vis-à-vis Unstructured Environment

Homeschooling statistics continually provide evidence that homeschooled children do very well with their education and in many cases exceed publically schooled children.  According to researcher, Martin-Chang and her colleagues in a May 2010 report, this evidence is confirmed. Chang’s controlled research gathered their data from tightly controlled groups based on geographic location and the marital status of mothers.  The two groups were made up of publically schooled children and homeschooled children. All but one of the mothers from both test groups were married or living in a committed relationship.  Therefore, the familial stability of both test groups was equal.

Mothers’ Education

The homeschool statistics study involved 37 homeschooled children and 37 children who attended public school.  Their ages ranged from 5 to10.  The study found that the mothers of homeschooled children had attained slightly lower test scores than those mothers who sent their children to public school.  Additionally, these same mothers also earned slightly less. In both cases, researches adjusted their data to take these factors into consideration.  However, with regards earnings, mothers who homeschool their children are obviously more involved in their children’s lives and are considered stay-at-home moms, who are unlikely to make a financial contribution to the home at all.  Secondly, women who choose to be stay-at-home moms are less motivated to pursue higher degrees due to employment pressure.  There is no evidence to prove that the intelligence of either group of mothers was superior to the other; the numbers were only based on test scores, which do not necessarily prove that either group was more competent to teach their children.  In fact, stay-at-home moms have more time to spend with their children learning, as well as more time to consider the academic issues at hand, whereas fulltime working mothers do not.  Overall, homeschooling statistics are based on the achievements of children, not their parents.

Structured vis-à-vis Unstructured Environment

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Homeschooling Statistics

July 29th, 2011 Brenne Meirowitz

Homeschooling Statistics – Homeschooled Better Educated!

Homeschooling statistics point to several key reasons why parents are selecting to home school their kids, according to the  NCES. The cite that 80% of parents made a decision to homeschool their kids. Some attributed it to their dissatisfaction with the public – or even private school atmosphere.  Another 83% preferred homeschooling to provide religious and moral training, which seems to be linked to the general school atmosphere.  Parents were greatly fearful of the potential pressure from peers to experiment with alcohol and drugs. They blamed alcohol and drugs as a disastrous recipe to teenage sexual promiscuity – because it is despite grownups.  Most of these parents continued to send their children outside of the home when it came to religious studies.

Parental Participation
Homeschooling statistics emphasize what teachers have been saying all along – that parents who take an interest in their child’s education significantly improves GPA. This doesn’t even mean on the scheduled or regular basis, as well as always on the consistently academic level.  A young child may benefit with an adult’s knowledge and understanding discovers how you can think more significantly, and therefore perform better on tests.  Although, most parents who homeschool their kids have achieved a greater degree of education themselves, this isn’t always the case.  Some parents, who have continued their own education, either formally or on their own, set a good example for their children.  Parents, who even have a small book collection, are more likely to raise more academically conscience children.  Reading, as a family norm, is a significant factor in how a child will consider and value education.  Households that don’t own books, or show a respect for reading and learning will generally raise children who are ambivalent to education.

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Court Rules in Favor of Online High School

March 10th, 2011 Brenne Meirowitz
online-high-school

The Georgia Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling, which originally did not recognize a student’s online high school education.  This cam about after a father contested paying child support, citing that his child did not attend a recognized high school and therefore, he was not obligated to pay child support.   The lower court’s agreement with his suit was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court on March 7, 2011.

Excerpt from the Georgia Supreme Court Ruling

The Georgia Supreme Court has reversed a Chatham County court decision, finding that an 18-year-old’s participation in an online high school can satisfy the requirement that one must be “attending” school to continue to receive a parent’s child support. “In light of the legislative and executive branches’ endorsement and regulation of on-line learning opportunities for Georgia students, we conclude that once a child enrolls in approved on-line courses in an effort to graduate from secondary school, his on-line attendance constitutes ‘attending school’ for purposes of extending child support beyond the child’s attainment of the age of majority,” Justice Robert Benham writes in today’s unanimous opinion. The case stems from the 2007 divorce of Angel and Clifford Draughn, whose son was due to graduate from a private school in Savannah, in June 2009. Under the final divorce decree, the father was to pay the mother $1,200 a month in child support until their son reached the age of 18, “provided that if [boy] becomes 18 years old while enrolled in and attending secondary school on a full-time basis, then the child support shall continue for [him] until he has graduated from secondary school or reaches 20 years of age, whichever comes first.”

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