Posts tagged Progress Report 2009
New Homeschooling Dads
2The July 2010 issue of Parents magazine ran an especially fascinating article entitled “The New American Dad,” and I couldn’t help wonder how the information in it might affect homeschooling. In it, journalist Paul Scott investigated a new trend in American families, something he called “the new neither,” men who are “neither stay-at-home dads nor primary breadwinners but guys who work a little and parent a little and likely spend a fair amount of time worrying about not doing so hot at either.”
As I read the article, I found myself smiling at the new tug-of-war dads are feeling. I smile More >
Does More Money Produce Better Academic Scores?
0If you’re like most Americans, you’ve bought into the idea that education must be complicated and expensive to be worthwhile. It must be handled by highly educated, well-trained, pragmatic individuals with lots of mass produced educational tools at their disposal. Well, the truth may surprise you.
Recent findings in the Homeschool Progress Report 2009 found that education has little to do with the amount of money spent. When compared with the average amount spend per child in our public schools, homeschool families are doing an admirable job. We are, in fact, a frugal bunch. Most of us have More >
Homeschooling Statistics: Should Government Regulate Homeschools?
0Homeschooling is not for the faint hearted, and most homeschool parents take it very seriously. That’s why when the question of government regulation comes up, homeschoolers’ feathers get more than a little ruffled. Depending on the state, government regulation of homeschools can be low, medium or high. But does higher regulation automatically produce better results? Check out the results for yourself:
Homeschooling Statistics: Should Parents Have Teaching Certificates?
1“Do you need any qualifications to homeschool your children?” That’s one of the first questions that homeschoolers hear when someone finds out that they’re educating their children at home. And while individual states have different rules concerning this, the question illuminates a common belief—and possible fear—that correct teaching can only be accomplished by trained professionals. That’s why it’s comforting to know that homeschooling’s success is not dependent on parents’ education levels. Just look at the following statistics:
Homeschool Statistics: How Do Homeschoolers Measure Up?
2As convinced as homeschooling families are that their education choice is the best, it begs the question: How do homeschool students measure up against their public school peers? In 2009, Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) in Salem, Oregon, answered that question.
In 2008 Dr. Ray studied over 11,000 participants from all 50 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. The purpose of the study, which was commissioned by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), was to “develop a current picture of homeschool students and their families.”
Over the More >
Living Math: Bringing Math to Life
1If there is one subject that can scare students, it’s math. Opinions are plentiful among homeschoolers on the best method and curriculum to use to make math click. And while homeschoolers’ opinions, approaches and curriculums are diverse, the Progress Report 2009, conducted by Brian Ray, Ph.D., president of the non-profit National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), showed that homeschoolers are, in fact, doing a good job of teaching this sometimes difficult subject. On average, homeschooled students scored in the 84th percentile in math on standardized tests compared to their public More >
