# How is Home Schooling monitored and evaluated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926 "2018-01-18T22:25:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/21 "2018-01-19T17:50:11Z")
I realize the Turpin abuse is very unusual. It is disconcerting that a family with thirteen kids can be completely unnoticed by anybody. The abuse could have continued another decade if that one girl hadn’t escaped. Privacy and a total lack of government oversight is a big part of the American ethos. It worked against these kids in this situation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/22 "2018-01-19T17:56:03Z")
> [@](#): > > And if the state were foolish enough to pass a law shutting down schools which don’t meet benchmarks, they’d end up closing some of their own public schools in the process. Plus, those laws often have exceptions for schools with small enough numbers that the statistics aren’t reliable. For instance, you might have a benchmark for how well low-income students are performing, but a school in a wealthy suburb might have only a handful of low-income students, not enough for the stats on how they’re performing to really mean anything, so that school is exempt from having to meet that benchmark. And a school with a total enrollment of four students is going to be below that threshold for every benchmark. I suppose that what you could do would be to pass a law for a minimum student body for a valid school, large enough that you could get a reliable benchmark. And then maybe offer waivers, if the school in question can prove (their burden, not the state’s) that they’re offering a higher quality of education than the public schools of the same level in their locality. But I’m sure that’d be very strongly resisted by the homeschooling lobby, and would probably fail. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/23 "2018-01-19T19:20:25Z")
Well on the test taking thing, one homeschool parent told me (dont know if this is true but knowing the public schools I dont doubt it) but he said the reason they stopped requiring homeschooled kids to take state tests was they actually did better than the kids from public schools and they were embarrassed. In our area homeschool families have many options including where they get together weekly so the kids can work on subjects the parents cannot do (like art or science) take field trips together, they even have their own sports teams that play against some of the smaller private schools. They also share curriculum and ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/24 "2018-01-19T19:21:50Z")
I would also like to add to the above reasons for homeschooling - some parents have jobs which put them on the road or require alot of moving around so thats why they homeschool. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/25 "2018-01-19T19:34:37Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well on the test taking thing, one homeschool parent told me (dont know if this is true but knowing the public schools I dont doubt it) but he said the reason they stopped requiring homeschooled kids to take state tests was they actually did better than the kids from public schools and they were embarrassed. It’s easier to believe people that tell you what you already believe, but it’s not always right. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > In our area homeschool families have many options including where they get together weekly so the kids can work on subjects the parents cannot do (like art or science) take field trips together, they even have their own sports teams that play against some of the smaller private schools. They also share curriculum and ideas. Everyone has options like that-what percent takes advantage of those options, and what percent shares ideas with other homeschooling groups with ideas they don’t already have(because sharing ideas with others that already believe as you do isn’t _really_ sharing at all)? Because of the lack of monitoring and evaluation(for the most part), all we have to rely on is the partial statements of people like the homeschool parent you referred to. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/26 "2018-01-19T19:42:46Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I would also like to add to the above reasons for homeschooling - some parents have jobs which put them on the road or require alot of moving around so thats why they homeschool. How does that work out if different states have different homeschool requirements, and doesn’t such a situation make it next to impossible for any effective oversight/evaluation at all? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/27 "2018-01-19T20:43:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How does that work out if different states have different homeschool requirements, and doesn’t such a situation make it next to impossible for any effective oversight/evaluation at all? You would be under your home state. I can think of one truck driving family who did this. Another was when I worked the pro bowling tour and many families were on the road with that. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/28 "2018-01-19T20:49:52Z")
How does the home state possibly monitor and/or evaluate the homeschooling of a travelling family…or is that what the loophole is-it would be next to impossible both technically and financially for the state to do so, so basically the travelers don’t really have to worry about it? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/29 "2018-01-19T21:07:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It’s easier to believe people that tell you what you already believe, but it’s not always right. Not always, certainly, but in this case, it is. Homeschooled students who follow an organized curriculum do as well or better than public-schooled students on standardized tests ([cite](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232544669_The_Impact_of_Schooling_on_Academic_Achievement_Evidence_From_Homeschooled_and_Traditionally_Schooled_Students), [cite](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ893891)). So, in general, monitoring home schooled students is a solution in search of a problem. This horrid California case notwithstanding, home schoolers are as well or better prepared academically, as well or better socialized, etc., so it is very difficult to make a case for more controls on home-schooling based solely on academics. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/30 "2018-01-19T21:35:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Not always, certainly, but in this case, it is. Homeschooled students who follow an organized curriculum do as well or better than public-schooled students on standardized tests ([cite](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232544669_The_Impact_of_Schooling_on_Academic_Achievement_Evidence_From_Homeschooled_and_Traditionally_Schooled_Students), [cite](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ893891)). > > So, in general, monitoring home schooled students is a solution in search of a problem. This horrid California case notwithstanding, home schoolers are as well or better prepared academically, as well or better socialized, etc., so it is very difficult to make a case for more controls on home-schooling based solely on academics. > > Regards, > Shodan The first report’s abstract states > [@](#): > > the data showed that structured homeschooled children achieved higher standardized scores compared with children attending public school. Exploratory analyses also suggest that the unstructured homeschoolers are achieving the lowest standardized scores across the 3 groups. That seems to indicate that the unstructured homeschoolers need monitoring, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/31 "2018-01-19T22:00:29Z")
[Homeschool laws by state](https://hslda.org/laws/), with map showing which states require what level of regulation. Please note that states with low and no regulation seem to predominate. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/32 "2018-01-19T22:25:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How does the home state possibly monitor and/or evaluate the homeschooling of a travelling family…or is that what the loophole is-it would be next to impossible both technically and financially for the state to do so, so basically the travelers don’t really have to worry about it? I know this is GQ, but my childhood is my cite - that is exactly the point for at least a significant sub section of homeschoolers. The goal there is for the children to be ‘off the radar’ as much as possible (for various reasons, most often religious or philosophical). This is accomplished by living rurally or traveling, or moving a lot, by homeschooling, having home births, and avoiding medical attention for injuries or sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/33 "2018-01-19T22:26:26Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > One big problem is the parents couldn’t teach their kids to butter toast. That runs that gamut from “How do you write an essay? Don’t worry, Jesus will provide.” to “How do you solve 3x+1 = 16? Fuck if I know.” But of course homeschooling does not require one to be a qualified teacher. I don’t know where you get this, but there is a wide gamut. Sure, some homeschooling parents don’t have much education (although I have never encountered the “Jesus will provide” or “Fuck if I know” stance that you wrote there,) but many did/do have a very advanced education. (I grew up homeschooled and my father had a doctoral degree, although that’s an exception to the homeschooling norm - or public-schooling norm, for that matter.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/34 "2018-01-20T01:09:48Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > During the 1990s, I was part of a non-profit which (among other things) provided support to homeschoolers. At that time anyway, there was very little government oversight. What little oversight existed was easily worked around. Suppose you live in a state where the law requires every child to attend an actual school. No problem, you just file the paperwork to declare your house as a “school”. Then suppose there’s a law requiring every school to have at least one teacher with a certification. No problem, you just find a diploma mill to give yourself a certification. And if the state were foolish enough to pass a law shutting down schools which don’t meet benchmarks, they’d end up closing some of their own public schools in the process. > > Look at it this way. If you believe the purpose of school is to ensure that our citizens are well-educated, then our public schools are mediocre at reaching that goal and homeschooling doesn’t do any worse. But if you believe that the purpose of school is to keep kids busy, off the streets, and out of the job market, then public school does a great job and homeschooling doesn’t do any worse. And if you believe that the purpose of school is to train factory workers on how to be obedient… then homeschooling fails but that’s okay because it’s a small percentage of your available work force. And if you believe that the purpose of school is to separate truth from falsehood, producing graduates who can spot con artists and tell the difference between science and hoaxes… then homeschooling fails miserably but public school doesn’t do much better. Consequently, there’s very little motivation to force homeschooling to improve. And, as others pointed out, there’s fierce push back, much of which is religiously motivated. So politicians generally just leave it alone. You of course have evidence for all these assertions about public schools doing a lousy job, don’t you? For myself I went through excellent public schools and so did my three children. So did my wife until her mother took her to rural NJ. Still she got into and did well in top college. I guess we were all lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/35 "2018-01-20T05:19:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Homeschool laws by state](https://hslda.org/laws/), with map showing which states require what level of regulation. Please note that states with low and no regulation seem to predominate. I’m shocked to see PA is one of the ones with high regulations. My neighbor pulled her two eldest out of school because she was sick of them always getting in trouble and having to deal with it. She claimed she was “home schooling” them, but after awhile they just ran around and caused trouble. We’re talking middle school drop-outs. I don’t know how the fuck this happened, or if she knew someone or what. :eek: (Mind you, I’m not saying that was the norm, I’m just stating what I know. This family had um, issues) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/36 "2018-01-20T07:26:14Z")
[Here is a summary of a more comprehensive and more recent study](http://icher.org/blog/?p=3711) from 2016 that seems to point out that the “home school advantage” seems to disappear when important factors are taken into account. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/37 "2018-01-20T16:38:04Z")
Interesting reference there, **Czarcasm:**. It seems to say (although I may be spinning it like a homeschooling supporter would) that equating socioeconomic status, homeschooling is just like **sbunny8:** said – not demonstrably worse in the short term. That’s probably where this meme came from. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/38 "2018-01-20T17:23:28Z")
I believe in the UK the local authority _can_ inspect, but generally, unless attention is drawn to the family, many don’t. If they were enrolled in a school and were taken out, enquiries will be made, but if they’re never enrolled in the first place they can keep below the radar for years with little effort. I am aware of an ex’s little half sisters, who were being home ‘educated’ (when they were aged 8 and 10, when I split up with their big brother, neither of them knew the whole alphabet or how to do basic addition) whose obnoxious hippy mother took them out of the country to live in, IIRC, rural Bulgaria, because the local authority had started raising objections about their utter lack of any education. She claimed she didn’t want them to ‘get brainwashed by the patriarchy’, but mainly she just refused to deal with any sort of structure that would impose on her life, and making sure they were up and ready for school would require thinking more than 10 minutes ahead, and of someone other than herself. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/39 "2018-01-20T18:25:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s a pretty rare situation. I’d say it’s actually more accurate to state that some professional teachers can’t teach kids to butter toast. While there are some exceptions, parents who care enough to home school will tend to do a good job. > > Your statement about “qualified teacher” is pretty hilarious given how low teacher standards are in the US. It’s literally one of the easiest degrees to get and few states test teachers to make sure they understand the subjects they are teaching. You’re post is factually incorrect. All public-school teachers teachers must be highly qualified in their teaching fields under ESEA and has been in effect since 2001. I am also not aware of any state that does not require a teacher to either have a degree in their field OR pass a subject matter test. Since you made the claim, please tell us what states do not require a degree or test to teach. You also claim education degrees are the easiest to get. What data do you have to support this? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926/40 "2018-01-20T23:40:19Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > You’re post is factually incorrect. All public-school teachers teachers must be highly qualified in their teaching fields under ESEA and has been in effect since 2001. I am also not aware of any state that does not require a teacher to either have a degree in their field OR pass a subject matter test. Since you made the claim, please tell us what states do not require a degree or test to teach. > > You also claim education degrees are the easiest to get. What data do you have to support this? I’m a substitute teacher. In my state substitutes have to be licensed, I don’t think that’s the case in every state. I teach at the elementary level and have my Masters in education, I’m certified K -6. I know high school teachers here have to pass tests in their specialty area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926.md?page=3)