Homeschoolers in U.S. Number Nearly 2 Million

A new report has revealed that nearly two million children are homeschooled in the U.S.

ChristianNews.net reports that the rate of homeschooling has increased over the years. According to research done by The National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education, 1.8 million children are educated at home.

This number has gone up over time. 

“This report provides estimates of the number, percentage, and characteristics of homeschooled students in the United States in 2012 and provides historical context by showing overall estimates of homeschooling in the United States since 1999,” the report’s executive summary explains.

Data for the report was gathered from 17,563 parents of students.

“The percentage of students ages 5–17 with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through grade 12 who are homeschooled—the homeschooling rate—has increased over time,” the report states. “The homeschooling rate increased from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 3.4 percent in 2012.”

Homeschooling rates grew most rapidly between 1999 and 2007. The growth rate has since tapered off.

Some of the top reasons parents gave for homeschooling their children were concern about the environment in the schools, a desire to provide a moral or religious education for their children, and a dissatisfaction with the academic quality of education in schools.

Photo courtesy: flickr.com

Publication date: November 8, 2016