November 1, 2023
This is a fundamental change of life, and it’s astonishing that it’s so persistent.
Nat Malkus, a senior fellow and deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, regarding data that indicates home schooling is the country’s quickest-growing form of education.
Why It Matters: Home schooling rates ranked 51% higher in the 2022-2023 school year than in 2017-2018, according to available data from 32 states and D.C., collected and analyzed by The Washington Post. The data suggests that a large number of people have chosen to continue home schooling beyond the pandemic, which had caused many to transition to at-home learning. The analysis “is the most detailed look to date at an unprecedented period of growth in American home schooling,“ according to The Post. A few things worth noting about the data, which represents over 60% of the school-age population in the U.S.:
- D.C., New York, and South Dakota show the sharpest increase in home-school enrollment since the 2017-2018 academic year, with rates jumping 108% in D.C., 103% in N.Y., and 94% in S.D.
- New Mexico, Maryland, and Georgia show the least change.
- Data indicated no correlation between increased decisions to homeschool and school district quality, “as measured by standardized test scores,” according to The Post’s analysis.
Read More:
Home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education (The Washington Post)
by Emily Hooker, based in Texas
