The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics reports one of the top reasons cited by parents choosing to home school their children was a concern about the secular school environment. While the ability to control the school environment and exactly what content a child sees obviously ranks as a positive in the mind of some parents, critics such as the Public School Review website emphasize the importance of an early introduction of school-age children to a larger social setting.
Even for trained teachers, lesson planning, grading papers and gathering materials take a considerable amount of time. Despite resources such as teacher manuals and planning guides, home schooling a child ranks as more time-intensive for a parent adding the role of full-time teacher. The amount of required instructional time varies by state, however. North Dakota, for example, requires home schooling parents to report hours and progress, dedicating "at least four hours per day for a minimum of 175 days per year." Other states, such as Texas, have no legal time requirement as of 2011.
The Department of Education reports that 17 percent of parents cite "dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools" as reason for home schooling. A stronger, more customizable academic component can outweigh the negatives, notes a study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 home-schooled students. Rudner asserts that students home schooled for the entire K-12 period scored the highest in academic achievement. Another study, "Strengths of Their Own: Home-Schoolers Across America" noted in 1997 that, on average, children schooled at home outperformed students in the public schools by 30 to 37 percent in all subjects. Such outcomes likely result from the customization of curriculum to individual learning style preferences and abilities.
In a 1997 comparison, the National Home Education Research Institute found the average cost for each home-schooled student per year was $546, while the average cost for each public school student ranged from $3,000 to $9,000 depending on the state. Individual factors to consider when determining the cost of home schooling include the distance to the school facility and the cost of transportation, lab fees, uniforms, extracurricular activity costs, books, food, insurance and other one-time charges. Home schooling doesn't include expenses in some of these areas, but the purchase of books and other education materials, including teacher manuals, can add up quickly. Charter schools, which offer access to professional guidance and curricula for enrolled students who learn at home, rank as a cost-effective option.