{"id":72758,"date":"2024-05-08T00:03:19","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T04:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=72758"},"modified":"2024-05-08T00:03:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T04:03:19","slug":"homeschooled-kids-face-unique-college-challenges-%e2%88%92-here-are-3-ways-they-can-be-overcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/homeschooled-kids-face-unique-college-challenges-%e2%88%92-here-are-3-ways-they-can-be-overcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeschooled kids face unique college challenges \u2212 here are 3 ways they can be overcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Homeschooling is the\u00a0fastest-growing education setting<\/a>\u00a0in the United States. More than\u00a03 million students<\/a>\u00a0were educated at home in the 2021-22 school year, up from 2.5 million in the spring of 2019. Current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that there are\u00a03.62 million students homeschooled in the United States<\/a>. That\u2019s a meteoric increase from about 1 million in 1997.<\/p>\n

Some experts, including Harvard law professor\u00a0Elizabeth Bartholet<\/a>, find the increase a cause to\u00a0call for greater regulation<\/a>. University of Washington education policy professor\u00a0David Knight<\/a>\u00a0agrees,\u00a0citing a lack of accountability<\/a>\u00a0and measures of student progress. Knight also worries about an absence of certain disciplines such as social studies that public schools are required to teach.<\/p>\n

For those of\u00a0us<\/a>\u00a0who have researched the homeschool movement and studied its past, these are not new concerns. So what do\u00a0we<\/a>\u00a0know about homeschooling and preparedness for college?<\/p>\n

Data shows homeschooled students fare well<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 2020, we reviewed the evidence about how well homeschooling prepares people for college, career and life and published what we learned in a book chapter titled: \u201cLife after Homeschool<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

We found evidence that homeschooled students are just as prepared academically for higher education as traditionally schooled peers. In one study, researchers\u00a0drew a sample of 825,672 students<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 including 732 students who had been homeschooled \u2013 and found the homeschooled group scored higher on several measures of college preparedness, including the SAT and first-year GPA in college.<\/p>\n

Ave Maria University education professor Marc Snyder\u00a0came to similar results<\/a>\u00a0in a 2013 study. Snyder compared homeschooled and traditional students at his Catholic university in Florida to find the average ACT scores for homeschooled students was 26. Public school students averaged 24.22, and students who attended Catholic schools averaged 24.53.<\/p>\n

Snyder\u2019s study reinforces data from the ACT itself. The testing outlet reported that from 2001-2019, the average ACT scores for homeschooled students\u00a0trended up<\/a>, while public school students\u2019 scores declined slightly. In 2023, the national average on the ACT\u00a0was 19.9<\/a>; the average for homeschoolers was 22.8.<\/p>\n

Areas of concern abound as homeschool growth accelerates<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Still, calls for regulation persist because of a host of challenges homeschooled students present. The\u00a0Coalition for Responsible Home Education<\/a>\u00a0wants states to require minimal qualifications of a high school diploma or GED for the parent providing primary instruction, instruction for students in the same subjects as in public schools, and annual standardized assessments. In some states, they note, parents don\u2019t even have to tell their local school district of their intent to homeschool.<\/p>\n

The pro-regulation side points to studies showing homeschooled students\u00a0feel less prepared<\/a>\u00a0for college and are four times less likely to go to college after high school. Homeschool students also take an average of one fewer math and science course than traditional peers.<\/p>\n

Homeschooled students also often lack resources and guidance provided in traditional high schools for college prep. And social challenges abound when these students transition; a study of seven homeschooled graduates in Pennsylvania\u00a0found students struggling<\/a>\u00a0to maintain their existing moral beliefs related to drinking, drug use and sexual norms, with the majority admitting they changed some beliefs and practices.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also data that shows homeschooled students find the more structured academic environment on university campuses\u00a0to be difficult to adjust<\/a>\u00a0to after a more lax experience learning at home.<\/p>\n

Still, efforts to regulate homeschooling face opposition from parents as well as advocacy groups such as the\u00a0Home School Legal Defense Association<\/a>. In March 2024, for example, these forces defeated an attempt in New Hampshire to require homeschool students to take a statewide exam.<\/p>\n

3 ways to improve homeschooling<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To help homeschooled students transition to college, we recommend parents take three steps to better prepare their kids.<\/p>\n