SAT/ACT Comparisons

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>The following from the HSLDA:</p>

<p>HSLDA
December 4, 2003</p>

<p>Homeschooling Maintains Academic Success </p>

<p>Homeschool Students Win National Merit Scholarships and Score Higher on College Entrance Exams</p>

<p>Homeschooling works! This statement concisely sums up homeschooling. The average homeschooler receives many benefits: from one-on-one tutoring to more efficient study time to closer family bonds. The most statistically established of these benefits is academic excellence. Here is a brief summary of some homeschooler achievements at the high school level.</p>

<p>Homeschoolers Earn National Merit Scholarships</p>

<p>Homeschoolers are making their presence known in the National Merit® Scholarship Program. The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT® and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements. Approximately 1.3 million initial entrants are screened per year.</p>

<p>Each year, about 16,000 students nationwide qualify as semifinalists. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced that 250 of 2004's semifinalists are homeschool students.</p>

<p>The National Merit Scholarship has also seen a dramatic increase of homeschoolers who place as finalists. Of the 248 homeschoolers among the 2003 semifinalists, 129 of these students advanced to finalist standing, receiving the National Merit Scholarship. As noted by Kate Grossman, a reporter with the Chicago Sun-Times, the number of homeschoolers receiving National Merit Scholarships has increased more than 500 percent: from 21 in 1995 to 129 in 2003.</p>

<p>Homeschoolers Score Higher on ACT and SAT College Entrance Exams</p>

<p>Homeschoolers continue to exhibit academic excellence on national averages for college admissions tests when compared to public school students.</p>

<p>The ACT college admission exam scores show homeschoolers consistently performing above the national average. In both 2002 and 2003, the national homeschool average was 22.5, while the national average was 20.8.</p>

<p>The College Board, which administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) also notes the above-average performance of homeschoolers. In 2002, homeschoolers averaged 1092, 72 points higher than the national average of 1020. In 2001, homeschoolers scored 1100 on the SAT, compared to the national average of 1019. (2003 homeschool statistics not yet available.)</p>

<p>Patick Henry College Freshman Show High Ranking</p>

<p>Patrick Henry College of Virginia serves as an example of the quality of homeschool students. Ninety-six percent of PHC's students have been homeschooled at some point in their education and the 2002 middle range of freshman SAT scores was 1200-1410 (includes 25th to 75th percentile). Compared with U.S. News and World Report's annual college rankings report (in which PHC was not included), PHC ranks second among Christian colleges in SAT scores in 2002.</p>

<p>The evidence that homeschoolers are academically excellent is nothing new, but further confirms that homeschooling works and is an enduring trend in education.</p>

2

<p>Home schoolers only average higher because only home schoolers who care about college take the tests, while all schooled students take them. Aslo, home schoolers have nothing to do all day but study.</p>

3

<p>Kent,
You have impressive analytical skills.</p>

4

<p>Firstly, if a schooled student doesn't want to go to college, why would s/he bother taking one of these tests? I think it goes without saying that taking the SAT/ACT is only a valuable use of your time if you plan on going to college.</p>

<p>Secondly, I would argue that most homeschooled students do have more to do than simply sitting in a corner studying. Homeschoolers, for the most part, are active members of society. There are a huge number of homeschoolers in my area, somewhere around 700 families, I believe, and extensive extracurricular activities exist for homeschoolers. We have a choir consisting of more than a hundred teenagers; band and orchestra; sports and cheerleading; debate; dance; art; co-op learning activities where we get together and, well, learn. That's speaking in terms of exclusively homeschool groups - nothing is stopping any of us from from participating in other areas of society as well. Many, many homeschoolers are involved in their churches/synagogues/other religious centers, and many more make time to volunteer with local organizations. Homeschoolers who are old enough often become involved with student life in community colleges. I apologize for being long-winded here, but the theory that homeschoolers do nothing but sit inside studying all day is simply, in most cases, not true.</p>

5

<p>First, from experiance I can say that in high school, all students are promted to take the tests, because most of them dont know what they will do when they graduate by junior year.
Senond, I dont mean to say that all hone schoolers do is study, but they would probably (in most cases) have more time avaliable to study than formally schooled kids.</p>

6

<p>Nein!</p>

<p>Kids at school have equal opportunities as home schoolers. A kid in school, in most places, starts work at 8 till 3, and then normally comes home and can study more if he or she wants to(and normally has homework anyway). A home schooler can follow suit on the same schedule of 8 to 3 and then have a "homework" time making study habits equal. Neither student has a extremely higher advantage.</p>

<p>Second, some states require all students(home) to take Standardized Tests.</p>

7

<p>Also, just to tell you, it gets hella boring if you just study all day anyway; gotta do something else as well, preferably go outside.</p>

8

<p>I hate that automatic knee-jerk response from non-homeschoolers. Let me recap our year to demonstrate the "boring trapped inside" life of the homeschoolers.</p>

<ol>
<li>When we had 3-4 days off following my husband's return from a long TDY our state-schooled friends were trapped...tied to a scheduled vacation time. We hopped in a transport (truck or space-A aircraft) and toured Europe. In a year we were able to see Greece, Germany, Poland, England (thats cheating - we lived there), Wales, Scotland and a great deal of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We did not miss a day of "school" since it followed us. Poor little state-schooled kids. We sent travel pics though...</li>
<li>For our PE credit, instead of playing kickball or X-Box we typically ski. Our 6 year old started in Austria and has skiied 4 seasons now and currently does blacks with mom and dad. Our 4 year old started at 3 as well and is now on his own - not on blacks yet. Both learned (unexpected bonus) some basic German from their instructors and friends in the Mickey Maus class. Guten morgen kinder!</li>
<li>We have taken the kids running with us daily as well as hiking - this has paid off in amazing ways. Our oldest mountain goat hiked Ben Nevis (highest in UK) on her own and recently both machines hiked all the Blue Ridge Parkway trails we threw at them. At Ben Nevis we took some friends with their mass-produced school daughter, who was unable and unwilling to even try.</li>
<li>We went to our 3rd Tour de France and after "yee-haa'ing" for Lance for the entire Champs laps, met him and the team at the bus. Meanwhile I think PS 101 was teaching Advanced Pokemon and intermediate bullying. <em>sigh</em> what us HS families miss...</li>
</ol>

<p>I had a decent experience at public school in Dallas if you overlook the rape threats, bullying with money stealing, and the weird bussing and "dumbing down" of smart kids. We just want more from our kids and desire for our family to maximize our free time as a family - we are also very anti-daycare so you see where we are at. Many adults desire daycare and public school so they can drop the kids off and work or play without their direct input. We just do not care for that philosophy and are quite glad we do not have to trail-blaze in the homeschool arena...it is very popular these days. Our kids are better educated, more self-reliant, self-motivated, self-actualized (shorthand for "not molded by a bunch of other 6 year olds"), and athletic. As American kids get fatter and dumber - though better at Pokemon and X-Box - we will drive happily down the path we have chosen. While most kids get the "I'm not in High School - what do I do teacher!"shock on day one in college, ours will find it business as usual - open ended schedules with no one telling you when to walk, talk and breathe.</p>

<p>We do not argue with people any more but we find most folks rather agressive about attacking us HS with our kids. However we do not hide our disdain for nearly every aspect of public school which we run into. This issue is like "why would you COOK FOOD when McDonalds makes a million french fries FOR YOU every day". If you are happy with greasy, mass-produced education, then have at it. We have made 3 spots for you by our absence.</p>

<p>All we have to say is see you at the SAT - till then we'll mail all the Government issue kids some postcards from the world. We'll use English, choose small words and draw a map so they know where exactly Tyrol is.</p>