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The Schools Our Children Deserve
Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards"
by Kohn, Alfie
Teacher-turned-writer Alfie Kohn takes on traditional-education
giants like E.D. Hirsch, along with practically every state government
"raising the bar" and toughening standards, in this
attack on the back-to-basics movement. 1999 Hardcover
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Numbers of Homeschoolers in USA
Updated 12/30/08
I used the census 2000 data from Kids
Count Census Data Online for the number of children in each
state under 18, and the percent of those children ages 5-17 to
calculate the number of school-aged children in each state.
I then used what data I had on registered homeschoolers from
those states that require registration to figure out what percentage
of the school-aged population in those states were homeschooled
and that the average percentage of those states was 1.71%. Some
data had to be pulled from other years than 2000-2001. See my
Demographics page for what exact
data I do have.
I can get the numbers online of homeschool students in only eleven states, so I am using their average growth rate, and assuming it applies in other states. This probably isn't accurate to assume, but is all I have to use. If you would like to "play around" with these numbers, add new data, etc., here is my Excel Spreadsheet, DemographicStateComparison.xls, 323 KB.
These numbers are just a statistical estimate. Many
things seem to influence the numbers of homeschoolers in a state,
and may make these numbers too high or too low:
- Perception of whether or not schools in state are good or
bad;
- Ease of complying with homeschool
laws in a state;
- In a number of states homeschoolers do not register, either
because they need not or will not. California and Texas are two
of them;
- I include all students ages 5-17. Many families homeschool children younger or older than the compulsory age range in their states. These students would not be counted on official homeschool demographics reports.
- Some states and cities have better support organizations
and more outreach than others.
- I cannot say that this data will age well. Homeschooling
grew during good economic times. Whether or not this will continue to
hold true in bad times remains to be seen.
- The 1.71% probably does not hold true for each grade level.
- We cannot all agree on what constitutes a "real"
homeschooler!
| State |
# 5-17 yr olds in 2000 |
Homeschoolers in 2000
(Estimated to be 1.71% of 5-17s) |
Estimated Homeschoolers in 2008-9 |
| Alabama |
827,962 |
14,121 |
20,053 |
| Alaska |
143,038 |
2,439 |
3,464 |
| Arizona |
984,202 |
16,785 |
23,837 |
| Arkansas |
498,710 |
8,505 |
15,555 |
| California |
6,761,625 |
115,318 |
163,767 |
| Colorado |
803,580 |
13,705 |
19,463 |
| Connecticut |
618,641 |
10,551 |
14,984 |
| Delaware |
143,021 |
2,439 |
8,552 |
| D.C. |
82,449 |
1,406 |
1,997 |
| Florida |
2,701,938 |
37,196 |
57,842 |
| Georgia |
1,574,864 |
26,859 |
38,143 |
| Hawaii |
217,685 |
3,713 |
5,272 |
| Idaho |
271,237 |
4,626 |
6,569 |
| Illinois |
2,369,179 |
40,406 |
57,382 |
| Indiana |
1,150,883 |
17,575 |
26,146 |
| Iowa |
545,093 |
9,296 |
13,202 |
| Kansas |
524,050 |
8,938 |
12,693 |
| Kentucky |
729,202 |
12,436 |
11,455 |
| Louisiana |
902,651 |
15,395 |
21,862 |
| Maine |
230,447 |
3,930 |
5,260 |
| Maryland |
1,002,211 |
17,093 |
24,274 |
| Massachusetts |
1,102,547 |
18,804 |
26,704 |
| Michigan |
1,923,463 |
32,804 |
46,586 |
| Minnesota |
957,449 |
16,329 |
19,245 |
| Mississippi |
570,538 |
9,730 |
13,818 |
| Missouri |
1,057,920 |
18,043 |
25,623 |
| Montana |
175,307 |
2,990 |
4,246 |
| Nebraska |
333,179 |
5,682 |
8,070 |
| Nevada |
365,936 |
6,241 |
4,891 |
| New Hampshire |
234,029 |
3,991 |
5,668 |
| New Jersey |
1,523,917 |
25,990 |
36,909 |
| New Mexico |
377,870 |
6,445 |
9,152 |
| New York |
3,451,919 |
58,872 |
83,606 |
| North Carolina |
1,423,934 |
33,860 |
74,743 |
| North Dakota |
121,441 |
2,071 |
2,941 |
| Ohio |
2,134,483 |
36,403 |
51,697 |
| Oklahoma |
655,885 |
11,186 |
15,886 |
| Oregon |
623,890 |
10,640 |
15,111 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,194,588 |
37,428 |
24,176 |
| Rhode
Island |
183,884 |
3,136 |
4,454 |
| South
Carolina |
745,115 |
12,708 |
18,047 |
| South
Dakota |
151,581 |
2,585 |
3,671 |
| Tennessee |
1,023,717 |
17,459 |
24,795 |
| Texas |
4,262,014 |
72,688 |
103,226 |
| Utah |
509,557 |
8,690 |
12,342 |
| Vermont |
113,593 |
1,937 |
2,751 |
| Virginia |
1,275,884 |
21,760 |
29,413 |
| Washington |
1,120,244 |
19,106 |
27,132 |
| West Virginia |
300,588 |
5,126 |
6,506 |
| Wisconsin |
1,026,567 |
20,117 |
22,014 |
| Wyoming |
97,943 |
1,670 |
2,372 |
|
|
|
|
| Total |
53,121,651 |
905,979 |
1,273,089 |
Is Homeschooling Growing?
Does this mean families are less interested in homeschooling than before? No, only that there are fewer school age children than in previous years. Here is a graph showing the past and future school enrollment figures from the US Department of Education:
Notice how the number of children in elementary school starts to dip in 2005, and how the total number has rather leveled off in recent times? That homeschooling is growing when there are even fewer children, is in itself amazing! Our growth rate in 2008 (from 2007) averaged around 3.5%, while public school enrollment was declining.
Our change in the rate of growth, however, has been declining, right along with the birth rates.
A
Model of Homeschooling Growth
Don't like these numbers? Generate your own! A shockwave graph
you can manipulate from The Homeschool Media Network.
Estimated
Number of Homeschooled Students in the United States
1.5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007. Estimates of homeschooling in 2007 are
based on data from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (PFI) of the 2007 NHES.Data from the 2007 NHES. Interviews were conducted with the parents of 10,681 students, including 290 homeschooled students.
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