According to education Web site FamilyEducation.com, the U.S. Department of Education found that home-schooled students had exceptional test scores in comparison to public- and private-school students. Home-schooled students' scores at every grade level in all subjects were considerably higher than those of their traditional-school counterparts.
On achievement tests, homeschoolers tested at a higher grade level than those of the same age enrolled in public school programs. Those students who remained in home school throughout their entire childhood scored higher on scholastic achievement test scores than those who attended other programs. The findings concluded that average home school student's scores placed them in the 70th and 80th percentile of all school students nationwide and between the 60th and 70th percentile in comparison to private school students in all skill areas.
One area that has been of concern to home school critics is the development of normal social skills among students educated at home. The concern is based on the idea that the lack of interaction with peers received inn a traditional school setting could affect the social behavior of home-schooled students.
According to the Education Commission of the States, studies found that home schoolers generally acted more mature, were better behaved in social settings, were more involved with their community, and appeared to be able to socialize with children of different ages better. The studies are admittedly imperfect as data is often collected from the parents of the students, who may give biased socially acceptable answers to questions, but overall the results were still significant.
The ability of home-schooled students to score well on college entrance exams like the ACT is not in question. According to FamilyEducation.com, a 1998 survey found that home schoolers did well on the test. Home-educated students had an average ACT composite score of 22.8, which is above the national average of 21.0. This score places home schoolers in the 65th percentile of all students who completed the ACT.
Critics of home schooling have expressed concern about a child's well-being when they are kept at home out of the sight of society. Child abuse and neglect is often detected first by officials at the school where an abused child attends, according to the Education Commission of the States. Without exposure to the community, some say that these problems may go undetected, putting the child in danger.
Most parents of home-schooled children suggest that the flip side of this argument is that increased parental supervision only enhances the safety of the child; others say that this cannot be accepted across the board as a given. Other pro-home school arguments claim that keeping children away from some public schools that have proven to be dangerous can only improve a child's well-being.