Kentucky Lawmakers Should Keep their Hands Off of Home Schools

Home school children outperform their public school peers--so why are some wanting to regulate them?

by Richard Nelson

OF ALL THE PROBLEMS facing the education of children today, home schooling should not be considered one of them--even if Kentucky lawmakers disagree. Some are now claiming home schoolers need to be regulated.

Never mind that home schooling has flourished in Kentucky. In fact, it offers many advantages over conventional classroom education. The student to teacher ratio is unbeatable. Individualized instruction is the norm. A child may pursue his own educational interests and parents can devote unlimited help in subjects where a student is struggling. Even public school teachers openly admit that parental involvement is critical to a child's classroom success. What could better multiply that success than dedicated and committed parents teaching their children around the clock? 

And what about achievement? Some 11,482 children were educated in Kentucky homes last year and they appear to be doing well. While the national average on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills is at the 50th percentile, home school students typically score at or above the 75th percentile. SAT scores for home schoolers were 72 points higher than the national average this year. Their average ACT scores were 22.8 compared to a national average of 21.0. With scores like these, it shouldn't surprise us that Harvard admissions officers attend home school conventions to recruit potential candidates.

Home schoolers have also distinguished themselves in national competitions, fielding top places in the national spelling and geography bees in recent years. They also exhibit exceptional behavioral and social skills, according to a University of Florida study. Compared to their public school counterparts, home-educated children were more patient, less competitive and less aggressive. They were also more likely to introduce themselves to others and exchange phone numbers--indications of advanced social skills.

Considering that home education is doing so well, what business does the government have in imposing a state test? Statistics tell us that Kentucky is hardly a beacon for academic excellence. Dropout rates are high (almost one in every four students drop out over a four-year period according to the Lexington Herald Leader). State-ranked standardized test scores are near the bottom. Illiteracy even for high school graduates is a real issue (according to the Herald-Leader, basic illiteracy is at 40 percent among adults). So why do home educating parents need guidance from a state whose own educational system is in need of help?

Mandating a test would be like the Geico Insurance ad that warns: "Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from a friend's forehead." A statewide test would be clearly detrimental to home schoolers' success. This is because the test would drive the curriculum--as KERA has already shown. 

A key advantage to home schooling is flexibility in choosing curricula that dovetails with the students' needs. It also allows parents to elevate standards, teach the classics, and offer subjects like Latin and logic, which are usually not offered at institutional schools. It follows that the diversity of curriculum would suffer as parents would find themselves "teaching to the test"--if they wished to continue home schooling.

Parents deserve a choice in education, not another mandate from Frankfort. And why just pick on the home schoolers? To be consistent, why not mandate tests for private school students? College students? How about all teachers? 

If lawmakers want to improve education they should insist that more parents become involved in their childrens' academic lives. While the government may assist families, education is primarily a parental responsibility--not the state's. 

Home educators have been models for excellence, turning out outstanding citizens and academically equipped children. Until public schools consistently do the same, regulations should be out of the question. 

If Kentucky's legislature doesn't relent, perhaps a compromise could be struck. It's possible home schoolers might agree to such a test, even if not passing the test meant placing the child in an alternative academic setting so long as public schools would administer the same test to their students and face the same consequences. 

But that's a gamble legislators and education bureaucrats aren't willing to take.

Richard Nelson is policy analyst with The Family Foundation of Kentucky, a nonprofit educational organization focusing on public policy issues affecting families.