Ridgewood, We are All Home Schoolers Now

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, we are all home schoolers now and  you probably saw the recent issue of Harvard Magazine, which took a largely unsubstantiated broadside against homeschooling. Lindsey M. Burke, Ph.D.Director, Center for Education Policy recently released a review of the literature on the outcomes of students who homeschool – which paints a completely different – positive picture. As she explains, “among those who choose to homeschool, the positive effects are demonstrable. Although study designs limit researchers’ ability to draw a causal connection, it is clear the homeschooling population experiences positive academic outcomes.” Specifically:

“On the whole, the literature suggests students who homeschool have strong academic outcomes, with approximately two thirds of studies examining the academic performance of homeschooled students in kindergarten through postsecondary education finding positive outcomes. Twenty-four out of 38 (approximately two thirds) find positive outcomes; 12 out of 38 (nearly one-third) find mixed or neutral outcomes for homeschoolers; and two out of 38 (roughly five percent) of studies find negative or worse outcomes for homeschooled students relative to their non-homeschooled peers. One of those two is now nearly two decades old.”