Special Feature

With a lapse of 10 years since the last national study on homeschooling, Home School Legal Defense Association decided it was time to conduct new research to analyze the progress of homeschooling. For this reason, we commissioned a new study, conducted by Dr. Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute.

As the study notes, during the last 10 years, “the number of homeschooled children has grown from about 850,000 to 1.5 million.” When one considers the increase in the homeschooling population and the number of cultural/legal changes the United States has experienced during these years, certain questions arise:

• How are homeschoolers performing academically today?
• How do factors such as parent education levels, government regulations, family income, and curriculum expenses affect academic achievement?
• What do homeschooling families look like now?
• Homeschooling was a good educational option 10 years ago—is it still a good option?

In this issue of the Court Report, we bring you answers to these questions and more, by featuring, as our cover story, Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic achievement and demographics.

Complete with background information on how the study was conducted, graphs documenting results, and information on how scores were adjusted for accuracy, this summary of the research may be just what you need to become a more informed homeschooling parent, get current on homeschool research, and learn more about the progress of homeschooling. As HSLDA President Mike Smith wrote in his column, it’s also a great resource to “share with skeptical relatives, friends, and government officials or with other homeschooling parents.”

Read the study summary (the cover story for this issue) >>