Homeschooling

[sanantone]

I would argue that homeschooling protects children from an incompetent government. The government does a horrible job at education. Academically, homeschooled children on average score 37 percentage points higher on standardized tests than children schooled by the government. And the government spends on average $10,000 per child per year versus parents, who spend $500 per homeschooled child. Achievement gaps prominent in public schools (gender, minority status, household income, parents' level of education) tend not to be a big factor in achievement in home education. HSLDA | Homeschool Progress Report 2009--Academic Achievement and Demographics

Is this controlled for demographic differences such as two-parent homes vs. one-parent homes, income, education level of the parents, number of working parents, ethnicity, and level of parental involvement? In other words, this could be like saying that vegetarians live longer, healthier lives. It's arguable that they live longer, healthier lives because they are vegetarians. Most vegetarians just happen to be people who care a lot about their health. This is self-selection bias. I read on their website that some of those demographics didn't make a difference among the homeschoolers, but it is bad science to compare unequal groups. I would like to see the actually demographics of the two groups that were compared.

Most importantly, as far as Christians desiring to homeschool, these are the statistics that I find most compelling:

"94% of homeschoolers keep the faith and 93% continue to attend church after the high school years. But a shocking 75% to 85% of Christian children sent to public school drop out of church, and do not hold a Christian worldview after high school graduation." (quote from exporinghomeschooling.com)

Isaiah 54:13 "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

I don't see anything wrong with this. Of course children are more likely to follow the religion they were raised in if they have never been presented with other views. I think it's a wonderful thing for people to be able to follow their own paths when they reach adulthood. I don't believe in sheltering and brainwashing children just because I'm afraid that my worldview will not hold up to others. If my worldview is indeed superior, then it should be the clear choice. But, again, this is self-selection bias. As a whole, we already know that homeschooling parents tend to be more conservative than the general population. When you're comparing two groups, they should be almost exactly the same in every category except for the method/treatment that is being tested.