Homeschooling has exploded in popularity since 2017, now outpacing private and public school enrollment, according to a new analysis.
In research recently conducted, the number of homeschooled children has soared by 51% in the last six years, while private school enrollment has only increased by 7% and public school enrollment has decreased by 4%.
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Washington Post: “Home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education:
A district-by-district look at home schooling’s explosive growth, which a Post analysis finds has far outpaced the rate at private and public schools” https://t.co/wtZrYsgrJM pic.twitter.com/lGF7xTYKtw— Heather Hunter (@heatherhunterdc) October 31, 2023
The places with the largest growth in homeschooling since 2017 are Washington, D.C., by 108%, New York by 103%, South Dakota by 94%, and California by 78%.
Homeschooling popularity has continued to grow despite pandemic restrictions being pulled back.
In 2019, homeschooling families prioritized their concern about the school environment, dissatisfaction with academic instruction, and desire to provide religious instruction, according to the Reason Foundation.
A September poll found that 46% of parents were not satisfied by their local schools being “influenced too much by liberal viewpoints.”
Homeschooling has grown in its appeal to non-white populations, including recent census data revealing that the number of black households using homeschooling jumped from 3.3% in the spring of 2020 to 16.1% that fall, the largest jump in any racial group.
The appeal also comes as curriculum and learning options have grown exponentially.
The rise of online school curriculum programs from Miacademy, Power Homeschool, Time4Learning, Outschool, IXL, Little Patriots Learning, and Veritas Press have made self-paced and live courses available for students to learn online with games, teaching videos, and tutors.
Co-op communities, home school tutors, community sports, and special home school community programs have contributed to making the homeschooling experience easier for families.
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Post-pandemic remote working for parents has also eliminated or reduced childcare costs, commuting costs, and the cost of private school tuition for large families seeking more control over their children’s education.
Additionally, many parents are exploring homeschooling beyond the traditional faith-based reasons , with many finding solutions for their concerns, such as learning disabilities, bullying, school shootings, pandemic learning loss, politicized school curricula, and failing schools.