LittleGreenFootballs2 has some interesting stats about the results homeschoolers are getting relative to the public school system.
The most interesting part? Family income, whether the parent(s) have college degrees, or whether either parent have a teaching certificate has almost no impact on the homeschooled kids' test scores.
Next point of interest.... Think of all the miserable hours the public schools spend Teaching The Test.
Next question....If these kids aren't in a school system, where do they get their drugs?
6 comments:
I refer you to the following, which I assume you are familiar with.
No further comment.
Doctor,
Quite familiar.
There's always the chance that some flim-flammery was involved.
I believe that my next move in our choreographed ballet is to contrast this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040402921.html
With this:
http://www.fwcds.org/admissions/affording/default.asp
I wonder if they administer the tests they are using in their data the same as they did when I went to school. They were strictly monitored, timed, etc...
Dr. Ralph my husband always brings up that book when people start throwing around statistics.
Flee, there are issues with how tests are administered. Google Dallas Lang Middle School TAKS, for an example of how adults can cheat kids.
Whited, there aren't any drugs in the schools out here in the 'burbs. The school gives a week's warning before their 'random' drug test, and they haven't ever had anyone test positive.
Now, if I had to homeschool my brood, they would be getting their drugs from me.
Despite my statement "no further comment," I feel compelled to offer one final thought.
I think this is a classic example of correlation does not imply causation.
I'd like to suggest the real correlation here is that home-schooled kids have who are extremely involved in their kids' education. They may be hippies, religious nut cases or any one of a hundred other things, but one thing they all are is involved. I'd be willing to guess kids at private schools see the same kind of parental involvement (they have a vested financial interest).
Motivated parents are going to motivate kids.
Parents of public schools, on the other hand, pretty much run the gamut. You get schools like R. L. Paschal, which produced 18 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists (more than the entire Dallas Independent School District), which has a core group of very committed parents. And then you have schools with a high percentage of parents who have little or no interest in their kids' school or education.
If the parents don't care, how much chance does the kid have? Ever see the bumper sticker "My kid can beat up your honor student" on the back of someone's truck?
Do think possibly maybe this could be a correlation factor?
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