VIRTUAL SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.: Directory and Performance Review (2016 Update)

Record: Gary Miron and Charisse Gulosino, Virtual Schools Report 2016: Directory and Performance Review. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center, (2016). [Available Here]

Introduction: This report is the fourth in an annual series published by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC). The first report in 2013 was followed by the 2014 report (reviewed here) and the 2015 report (reviewed here). I recommend reading the previous reviews first since this post will only cover the information that is new for 2016.

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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND HOMESCHOOLING: It Depends on the Goals

Record: Ari Neuman and Oz Guterman, “Academic achievements and homeschooling—It all depends on the goals.” Studies in Educational Evaluation, 51 (2016): 1-6. [Abstract]

Summary: Neuman is senior lecturer of education at Western Galilee College, in Akko, Israel, and Guterman is senior lecturer in the Department of Human Resources at the same university. In this article they argue that while academic achievement is a commonly used to compare homeschooling and school learning, this may be a misguided comparison due to the different goals of the homeschooling movement.

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COMPARISON BETWEEN HOMESCHOOLED AND FORMALLY SCHOOLED KINDERGARTENERS: Children’s Early Literacy, Mothers’ Beliefs, and Writing Mediation

Record: Dorit Aram, Inbal Cohen Meidan & Deborah Bergman Deitcher, “A Comparison Between Homeschooled and Formally Schooled Kindergartners: Children’s Early Literacy, Mothers’ Beliefs, and Writing Mediation.” Reading Psychology, 37, No. 7 (2016): 995-1024. [Abstract]

Summary: In this article, Aram, Meidan and Deitcher discuss the differences in maternal beliefs, the nature of mother’s support during a writing task, and children’s early literacy in a group of homeschooled children and formally-schooled children in Israel.

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AFRICAN AMERICAN HOMESCHOOLERS: Parental Motivations and Student Achievement

Record: Brian Ray, “African American Homeschool Parents’ Motivations for Homeschooling and Their Black Children’s Academic Achievement” in Journal of School Choice, 9, no. 1 (2015): 71-96. [Abstract]

Summary: Brian D. Ray is the founder and current president of the National Home Education Research Institute. In this study he explores the academic achievement of Black homeschool students in grades 4 through 8 as well as their parents’ motivations for homeschooling. The rate of Black homeschoolers nearly doubled from 1999 to 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In that time, many Black parents became actively involved in the choice of their children’s school. Ray ponders why so many African Americans are choosing homeschooling when they fought so hard to be mainstreamed into the public-school system.

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ARE HOMESCHOOLERS PREPARED FOR COLLEGE CALCULUS?: Math Achievement

Record: Christian P. Wilkens, Carol H. Wade, Gerhard Sonnert and Philip M. Sadler, “Are Homeschoolers Prepared for College Calculus?” in Journal of School Choice, 9, no. 1 (2015): 30-48. [Abstract]

Summary: Christian P. Wilkens and Carol H. Wade teach in the Department of Education and Human Development, College at Brockport. Gerhard Sonnert and Philip M. Sadler teach in the Science Education Department, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University. As the title implies, the authors investigate the preparation and success of homeschooled students in college calculus. 

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HOMESCHOOLING AND YOUNG ADULT OUTCOMES: Evidence from Cardus 2011 and 2014

Record: David Sikkink and Sara Skiles, “Homeschooling and Young Adult Outcomes: Evidence from the 2011 and 2014 Cardus Education Survey” (2015): 1-16. [Available Here]

Summary: Cardus Religious Schools Initiative released their first survey in 2011 (review available here). They later released their second study in 2014 (review available here). These studies provide rare randomly sampled data about young adults who had been homeschooled in the United States. In this article David Sikkink and Sara Skiles analyze data from both studies to draw conclusions about the outcomes of homeschoolers in areas like the development of moral and religious values, family relationships, educational outcomes, and civic life.

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HARO 2014 INSTALLMENT THREE: Academics and Extracurriculars

Record: Coalition for Responsible Home Education, “A Complex Picture: Results of the 2014 Survey of Adult Alumni of the Modern Christian Homeschool Movement, Installment Three” Homeschool Alumni Reaching Out (1 April 2015). [Available Here]

Summary: This post reviews the third installment of HARO’s survey of homeschool alumni. For the other installments in the series please click on the following links:

1. Installment 1: Background and Summary
2. Installment 2: Demographics
3. Installment 3: Academics and Non-Academics
4. Installment 4: Food and Health
5. Installment 5: Religion

Installment three covers the findings about academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and socialization.

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GROWN UNSCHOOLERS’ EVALUATIONS OF UNSCHOOLING: Report II

Record: Peter Gray and Gina Riley, “Grown Unschoolers’ Evaluations of Their Unschooling Experiences: Report II on a Survey of 75 Unschooled Adults” in Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning 4, no. 2 (2015): 8-32. [Abstract]

Summary: Gray is a professor of psychology at Boston College, and Riley is an educational psychologist who teaches courses at Hunter College and Mercy College. This post will review the second report of their two part series about unschoolers’ evaluations of their unschooling experiences. In Report I they performed a literature review, discussed their methodology, and described some general findings about their sample’s unschooling experiences. In Report II they address the participants’ experiences with higher education and careers.

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HOW TO MISLEAD WITH DATA: A Critique of Brian Ray’s Methodology

Record: Chelsea McCracken, “How to Mislead with Data: A Critical Review of Ray’s ‘Academic Achievement and Demographic Traits of Homeschool Students: A Nationwide Study’ (2010).” Coalition for Responsible Home Education (15 January, 2014).  [Available Here]

Summary:  McCracken, who serves as the senior research analyst for the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, an organization advocating for increased regulatory protection of homeschooled children in the United States, here scrutinizes Brian Ray’s most recent study of homeschooler academic achievement.  For my own summary and critique of Ray’s study click here.

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SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES: A Review of the Literature

Record: Joseph Murphy, “The Social and Educational Outcomes of Homeschooling” in Sociological Spectrum 34, no. 3 (April 2014), 244-272. [Abstract Here]

Summary: Murphy, a professor at Vanderbilt University and author of the excellent book-length review of homeschooling scholarship Homeschooling in America, here again summarizes much of the literature on homeschooling, attending especially to studies of the outcomes of homeschooling on the children who experience it.

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