Stumbled across a new resource for SN and LD issues of all types

MomatHWTK · July 22, 2016

http://www.educationandbehavior.com/what-does-research-say-about-homeschooling/

samba · July 22, 2016

Did you read the article? The author starts out by saying that she is neither for nor against homeschooling but then some of her rationales definitely sound biased against. The data indicates that homeschooled children perform higher or standardized tests and Wise suggests that it may be because many homeschoolers are testing at home and may be receiving help from their parents or they may be looking up answers for questions they're unsure of. (What??) Then Wise says that homeschoolers are rated as "well-socialized" and suggests that this may be the case because their parents are the ones reporting the kids to be well socialized...that really the kids may be socialized within their own family but may struggle when interacting with their peers. It sounds like the author is still under the assumption that homeschoolers don't spend time outside the family unit or with their peers. :(

This is not a criticism of you for sharing the article. :) What did you think of it?

RachelWise · July 22, 2016

Empress Bee...thank you for your feedback on my article about homeschooling. I took another look at it because I don't want it to project a biased against homeschooling feel. I really just wanted to provide the information I found and discuss any possible confounding variables which is common practice when reviewing research studies.

I have read in homeschool literature that standardized tests are not monitored for all homeschooled students and it varies in each state. As far as the social skills scales, rating scales in general are subjective by nature. It also is hard to rate social skills/peer interaction if a parent does not have the opportunity to observe these interactions and this can be true for homeschooled and non-homeschooled students. I added this into the article for clarification. I was speaking to the subjectiveness of ratings scales and was not implying that homeschooled students don't have opportunities with peers. I have done a lot of reading on the topic and know there are a lot of social opportunities for homeschooled students.

Thank you for brining up these points and helping me consider how I could make the article better.

SamanthaCarter · July 22, 2016

Another confounding variable, that could go in the opposite direction, is that generally homeschoolers don't (at least none that I know) "teach to the test." I think it's well established that traditional schools often do. I agree with the author that comparing standardized test scores side-by-side is not going to tell us much. Success in college level courses might be a better measure, where you have (formerly) home educated and traditionally educated learning the same materials in the same environments.

Edited July 22, 2016 by SamanthaCarter

RachelWise · July 22, 2016

I like the idea of success at the college level for the academic comparison. Found two good articles on the topic http://college.usatoday.com/2012/02/18/do-home-schoolers-do-better-in-college-than-traditional-students/ and http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/09/13/15-key-facts-about-homeschooled-kids-in-college/

Edited July 22, 2016 by RachelWise

RachelWise · July 22, 2016

Actually just added info to my article about the college level comparison. Thank you!

MomatHWTK · July 22, 2016

I though Rachel was fair in addressing factors that could influence outcomes. Any information that is self-reported should be viewed through that lens. I am pro-homeschool, of course, but I acknowledge that it is not an apples to apples comparison when looking at the performance of groups with disparate experiences.

From a purely mathematical standpoint, if the homeschool parent is doing the teaching and the children are only socializing when they are out and about, then it is highly possible that they are spending less time interacting with peers. I suppose some homeschoolers spend their free time running from one social engagement to another, but I don't. So no, my children aren't spending six to eight hours a day in a peer-based setting. The aren't spending that time observing peer behavior or interactions or participating in them. To assume that children whose education is focused on learning in the home are getting the same quality (good or bad) or quantity of peer interaction would be illogical. (In fact, that is one of the reasons I homeschool. I don't want my children to spend six hours immersed in a peer-designed culture!)

Crimson Wife · July 23, 2016

Homeschooling tends to draw a disproportionate number of both high and low achievers because these are the kids most failed by how PS "teaches to the middle". I've been HSing a decade and I know very few HS students who are average students working on grade level. The students I know generally are working either above grade-level or below it. It's pretty common for the HSed children in my area to start community college courses between the ages of 11 and 15. OTOH, there are kids the same age who are working at a very remedial level because of their LD's. Does that mean HSing "worked" with the first set and "failed" the second set? Not at all!

Education is not a race and it is far better for a child with LD's to build a solid foundation even if that means he/she takes longer to get through all the levels.

samba · July 23, 2016

The point being made in the article wasn't about quality or quantity of time with peers. It was about opportunities to experience and observe socialization, which doesn't take 6+ hours a day, 180 days a year. And no, my children aren't running from one social engagement to another either. Where did I say that? They have been in other settings with school-based peers...drivers ed, sports, church, part-time jobs, etc. Not all in one day, MomatHWTK, but over the course of their lifetimes. It happens rather naturally. At least that has been our experience in 12 years of homeschooling in three different states.

Crimson Wife, this has been our experience as well...homeschooled kids on extreme ends of the performance range. Even in my own family, I have one high achiever whose "mommy" grades will most likely be validated this fall in dual enrollment and one child who would struggle and under-perform in any setting due to an Intellectual disability. All of our standardized testing has been in proctored environments, never at home. Even without college performance as a measure, there's plenty of SAT, ACT and AP testing going on.

I really only took issue with the suggestion that homeschooled kids may be testing well because they or their parents are essentially CHEATING.

Kat w · July 23, 2016

Well said crimson wife. And so true.

Kat w · July 23, 2016

Samba, that's always an issue I have too.

How can anyone not 'get' that the one on one time spent with any Child is not worth its weight in gold.

One on one....if they looked at the big picture for even a second or two, that should occure and make sense o any reasonable adult.

One year our hmsch. Co-op tester was a public school teacher . this would have been elementary years for my DD.

Ahe was the first one done and read a book. Apparently , done too fast for the testers liking. The administrator if the test looked over my daughter's work and decided ....she mus have CHEATED!

Oh boy was I insensed . she always tested into high school reading and well above grade level in everything else. It didn't take her alot of time.

I caused a huge stink lol. The PS teacher administering the test said, well I'm not going to do anything about it. I was just saying. Ha! Just sayin? Wow.

I will never forget that. My daughter was in teara when I went to pick her up BC she was accused of cheating.

I told the administrator... Um...hey...how's she gonna cheat???? Your eagle eye right here whole time and have dividers between each child.

Oh boy . I was...mad. And daughter humiliated.

Next day I took her scores from last year and showed her ... several grade levels above on each subject.

I dont think that person will accuse another homeschooler of cheating lol.

Cheating. Homeschoolers get that alot. And its just not true.

:)

Kat w · July 23, 2016