Home School Success

August 31, 2000

For the third year in a row, home-educated students have scored higher on the ACT college-entrance exam than their fellow students who are traditionally educated. While the average ACT assessment score was 21 nationally, home-educated students scored an average of 22.8. In previous years, they scored 22.8 and 22.7.

The ACT is administered by the College Board and is one of America's two major college-entrance exams. It is used in decisions about admissions, course placements, and scholarships. According to ACT officials, more than 4500 home schoolers took the exam this year.

Of course this is just one of many achievements by home schoolers this year. As you may remember, home-educated students placed first, second, and third in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee and finished second in the National Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society. So the year 2000 has been a "banner year" for home schoolers.

What a change from just a few years ago! Not so long ago there were a number of major court cases dealing with home schooling. Educators were arguing that home-educated students were being deprived of a good education and that parents were not capable of providing a quality education for their children. Even at the time, standardized tests established that most all home-educated students were doing better than the national average.

But the recent successes of home schoolers have helped establish home education as a viable option for more and more families. Their superior performance on standardized tests, and their success in many national contests have brought home schoolers a new level of respectability.

They should be proud of what they have accomplished not only in educating their kids but in winning the respect of a nation by their superior performance.

I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.