Homeschooling hits record numbers

Academic outcomes and teaching quality

• Multiple commenters cite studies claiming homeschooled students test 15–25 percentile points above public-school peers and score higher on ACT/college metrics; others counter that these samples are self-selected (mainly college-bound homeschoolers) and often come from advocacy orgs.
• Some argue one-on-one or very small “class sizes” plus parental motivation and pacing to mastery can easily beat typical classrooms, especially in K–5.
• Skeptics note that by middle/high school no single parent can match a full faculty’s subject depth, labs, and advanced electives; successful homeschools often rely on co‑ops, community college, or online providers.
• Several teacher/parent anecdotes say public schools devote disproportionate time to struggling students, leaving advanced ones under-served, which pushes some families out.

Socialization and psychological effects

• This is the most contested topic.
  • Some adults homeschooled long-term report severe social unpreparedness, anxiety, and years of “catching up” on basic group dynamics.
  • Others say they transitioned smoothly via co‑ops, sports, youth groups, jobs, and mixed‑age activities, and felt less damaged than heavily bullied public‑school peers.
• Critics argue homeschool can produce polite, adult-pleasing but peer-awkward kids, or narrow “bubbles” that hinder relating across class, race, or belief lines.
• Defenders respond that public-school “socialization” often means exposure to bullying, phones, drugs, and cliques; good social skills can be built more intentionally in curated communities.

Motivations for homeschooling

• Common reasons mentioned:
  • Covid remote-school failure and new visibility into low academic rigor.
  • Safety, social media–driven bullying, classroom disruption, and large classes.
  • Dissatisfaction with curriculum changes (e.g., de-tracking math, cutting gifted programs).
  • Religious or ideological goals: avoiding evolution/sex/gender content or, conversely, avoiding conservative religious environments.
  • Special needs (e.g., deaf‑blind, learning disabilities) or highly gifted children not well served by local schools.
  • Sports “redshirting” and recruiting in some areas.

Equity, labor, and system-level concerns

• Many note homeschooling requires time, flexibility, or money (loss of an income, tutors, pods), so it skews toward more privileged families; some see it as de‑facto class and cultural segregation.
• Others frame it as legitimate “school choice” and a rational response to perceived institutional failure; they reject the idea that children are “property” of the community.
• Several stress that “homeschooling” is extremely heterogeneous—from educational neglect and ideological isolation to high-quality co‑ops and early college work—so global claims for or against it are unreliable.