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Policy Analysis No. 294

January 7, 1998

Policy Analysis

HOMESCHOOLING

Back to the Future?

by Isabel Lyman

Executive Summary

The victory of homeschooled 13-year-old Rebecca Sealfon

in the 1997 National Spelling Bee brought new attention to

the growing phenomenon of homeschooling.  Dissatisfied with

the performance of government-run schools, more and more

American families have begun teaching their children at home.

Estimates of the number of homeschooled children vary widely;

the best estimate is 500,000 to 750,000, but some estimates

range up to 1.23 million.  All observers agree that the

number has grown rapidly over the past 15 years.

There are two historical strains of homeschooling, a

religious-right thread inspired by author Raymond Moore and a

countercultural-left thread inspired by John Holt.  Their

differences illustrate the various concerns that cause people

to choose homeschooling: some want religious values in educa-

tion, some worry about the crime and lack of discipline in

the government schools, some object to the conformity and

bureaucracy in the schools, others are concerned with the

declining quality of education, and still others just feel

that children are best educated by their parents.

A recent boom in the number of homeschooled students

winning admission to selective colleges demonstrates both the

growth and the effectiveness of homeschooling.  The lesson

for educational reformers is that homeschooling, with minimal

government interference, has produced literate students at a

fraction of the cost of any government program.  Homeschool-

ing has been largely deregulated, but further deregulation

would make parents' task easier.

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Isabel Lyman is codirector of Harkness Road High School in

Amherst, Massachusetts, and a long-time homeschooling parent.