Delving into the Department of Education’s 2007 and 2003 reports on homeschooling, one can find interesting information. We’ve already reported the news that homeschooling has nearly doubled over the last 8 years, resulting in 1.5 million homeschooled students.
According to the 2007 report, here are the Top 10 Reasons Parents Homeschool:
1. Provide Religious or Moral Instruction
2. Concern about the Environment of other Schools
3. Dissatisfaction with the Academic Instruction Available Elsewhere
4. Child has a Physical or Mental Health Problem
5. Child has other Special Needs
6. Interest in nontraditional approach to education
7. More family time
8. Family finances
9. Ability to travel
10. Distance to school
One statistic is of note. Between 2003 to 2007, the percentage of students whose parents reported homeschooling to provide religious or moral instruction increased from 72 percent to 83 percent. In 2003, that reason came in second, behind Concern about the Environment in other Schools.