Homeschooling

[Prloko]

I would argue that homeschooling protects children from an incompetent government. The government does a horrible job at education. Academically, homeschooled children on average score 37 percentage points higher on standardized tests than children schooled by the government. And the government spends on average $10,000 per child per year versus parents, who spend $500 per homeschooled child. Achievement gaps prominent in public schools (gender, minority status, household income, parents' level of education) tend not to be a big factor in achievement in home education. HSLDA | Homeschool Progress Report 2009--Academic Achievement and Demographics

Most importantly, as far as Christians desiring to homeschool, these are the statistics that I find most compelling:

"94% of homeschoolers keep the faith and 93% continue to attend church after the high school years. But a shocking 75% to 85% of Christian children sent to public school drop out of church, and do not hold a Christian worldview after high school graduation." (quote from exporinghomeschooling.com)

Isaiah 54:13 "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

I would argue that the success has nothing to do with government incompetence, but rather parent involvement. It's no secret that parents that are actively involved in the their child's education will have children who do better on exams, whether home schooled or not. It's the same reason why private schools can use less educated and lower paid teachers and still produce better results.

Parents who are willing to pay to put their kid in private school is already showing a vested interest in their child's education. The parent who chooses to homeschool their child shows a vested interest in their child's education, the parent who places their child in a public school, but attends PTA, checks homework, and works with their child shows a vested interest. I don't have any hard statistics, but I bet if you compared these three specific demographics, the results would be similar. In public schools, their are many students just going through the motions, with parents who can care less.