Sunday, December 10, 2006

Homeschooling on the rise in the US

I had some free time today and thought I'd try and find some information related to how many homeschoolers there are now versus 10 years ago, 20 years ago, etc.

A private researcher estimated the size of the homeschooled student population at ~350,000 in the early 1990's.

According to a recent United States Department of Education report, "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003", the number of homeschooled students rose from 850,000 in 1999 to 1.1 million in 2003. That's a 29.4% increase in only four years! In 2003, the 1.1 million homeschooled students represented 2.2% of the total US student population. According to the report, homeschooling rates continue to be higher in families with three or more children versus families with a single child (3.1% of the total student population versus 1.4%); in families with two parents (2.5% versus 1.5% for single parents); and in families where only one parent worked (5.6% versus ~2.9% where both parents worked). Also mentioned--Muslim Americans were the fastest growing subgroup in the homeschool movement.

One thing's for sure: the number of US homeschoolers is rising significantly faster (by percentage) than the overall population.

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