The Southern Baptist Academy Blog

By: Mimi Rothschild

Oftentimes, I am asked if homeschooled children fare the same as their Public School counterparts.

“Honestly, the answer is no,” I’ll say, as I wait for the smile of conviction to spread from the person’s face to my eyes.

Then, almost mirroring their glee, I politely explain a few of the facts I’ll encountered over the many years of being involved with homeschooling.

“For instance,” I’ll say. “Homeschooled children consistently score well on standardized achievement tests. The most comprehensive study shows a 20-30% point gap in favor of homeschoolers. For example, if the public school average is the 50th percentile a homeschooler will on average be in the 70th or 80th percentile.”

I’ll then explain that homeschooling is the fastest growing education sector in America, growing at a rate of 7-15 % per year. As of today, there are an estimated two million homeschooled children in the U.S., which is almost 4% of the school age population.

The conversation typically ends with both sides understanding the other, although neither of us quite sees eye to eye on the issue. I’m ok with it now, although it took me several years to accept it. Believe it or not, not everyone shares my beliefs about homeschooling. I know, I know, it’s not shocking to you, me, or the people asking the questions. But it’s true.

I’ll mix up my responses too. Sometimes I’ll say, “Homeschool graduates are typically more involved in community activities than the average public school student.”

Or, “Homeschool graduates are significantly more politically active than the average public school student.”

“Is that so?” I’ll hear.

“Over 74 percent of homeschooled graduates aged 18-24 voted in an election in the past 5 years. Compare this to a token 29% of public schooled graduates who voted during that same time period.”

But, that line of reasoning hasn’t gone that well for me either.

“Well, my little Abigail or Elsie graduated from Public High School last year and she voted.”

“I mean not to offend. I’m sure your daughter is very patriotic,” I’ll say as I backtrack out of the conversation that I was originally baited into.

I’ll finish with, “Ok, did you know that homeschooled students consistently win national geographic and spelling bee contests?”

“That I did hear somewhere.” Politely, we finally can agree.

It seems like everyone knows, and is ok with the fact, that homeschoolers are great spellers.

Feel free to e-mail me at Mimi@LearningbyGrace.org.