Homeschool Oversight: Does it Make a Difference

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

If you read the posts on Homeschooling State Requirements, you will find that some states put heavy restrictions on homeschoolers and some put no restrictions on homeschoolers. Lately there has been a call for more homeschooling oversight. These calls have come from the legislature, the media, and from educational blogs.

Homeschoolers generally don't want, and feel that we don't need additional oversight, and many would argue that in some states the oversight is too much. Currently states with the most homeschool regulation and oversight are New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and North Dakota. States with the least amount of oversight and regulations are Idaho, Alaska, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut. This does not mean that homeschoolers in these states do not get hassled by local school districts, however.

I wanted to compare a high regulation state with a no regulation state giving equal criteria to measure against, but states don't word measurements in a way that allows equal comparison points. Still here is what I found.

In North Dakota, a high regulations state, a survey conducted by Dr. Brian Ray of 205 homeschoolers found that the median reading score was the 84th percentile, language was the 81st percentile, science was the 87th percentile, social studies was the 86th percentile, and math was the 81st percentile. These are very good scores! (I could find not comparison to North Dakota public school scored, but I gather if they were higher, they would be more easier to acquire.

In Alaska, a low Regulation state, The State Department of Education found that homeschooled children scored 16 percentage points higher, on the average, than the children of the same grades in conventional schools.

So you can see that in each state, homeschooled children outrank public schooled children, whether highly regulated or not. There are of course, no arguments against this nationwide. But my question is, if a non regulated state has comparable results to a highly regulated state when it comes to homeschooling, is oversight really necessary?

*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.

* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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