If you look in the educational literature, it is incredibly easy to find studies which demonstrate that, on average, homeschooled students are academically superior to both publicly- and privately-schooled students. However, it is rare to see those statistics presented in the popular media. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to find a positive, upbeat article on homeschooling on PAGE 1 of the February 11^th edition of the Wall Street Journal.

The article concentrated on a single student, Jason Scoggins. According to the article, this homeschooled student had scored 1,570 (out of 1,600) on the SAT and is being courted by Oglethorpe University. Jason’s story is certainly interesting and well worth a read. I applaud him for "carrying the torch" of homeschooling so very well. What I found most interesting about the article, however, were certain gems that the authored had scattered throughout. Here are a few examples:

• "Nonetheless, self-identified home-schoolers have bettered the national averages on the ACT for the past three years running, scoring an average 22.7 last year, compared with 21 for their more traditional peers, on a scale of one to 36. Home-schoolers scored 23.4 in English, well above the 20.5 national average; and 24.4 in reading, compared with a mean of 21.4. The gap was closer in science (21.9 vs. 21.0), and home-schoolers scored below the national average in math, 20.4 to 20.7." (Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)
  
  
• "On the SAT, which began its tracking last year, home-schoolers scored an average 1,083 (verbal 548, math 535), 67 points above the national average of 1,016. Similarly, on the 10 SAT2 achievement tests most frequently taken by home-schoolers, they surpassed the national average on nine, including writing, physics and French." (Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)
  
  
• "Once in college, home-schoolers appear to be living up to their test scores. Those enrolled at Boston University in the past four years have a 3.3 grade-point average, out of a perfect four. Similarly, Georgia's Kennesaw State University found that its home-schooled students had higher-than-average GPAs as college freshmen." (Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)
  
  
• "A recent survey by the National Center for Home Education, a Virginia-based advocacy group, found that 68% of colleges now accept parent-prepared transcripts or portfolios in place of an accredited diploma. That includes Stanford University, which last fall accepted 27% of home-schooled applicants -- nearly double its overall acceptance rate." (Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)
  
  
• "Home-schoolers bring certain skills -- motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible for their education -- that high schools don't induce very well," (Jon Reider, Stanford's senior associate director of admissions, as quoted by Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)
  
  
• "With average family incomes of $40,000 to $50,000, lower than the $50,000-to-$60,000 median rung, the home-schoolers defied the demographic correlation between high incomes and high SAT scores. They also contradict the stereotype that they are strictly rural white fundamentalists. Nearly 4% are black. Another 4% are Hispanic. And their parents have more education than the national norm." (Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1)

As I mentioned before, these kinds of statistics are familiar to anyone who reads the educational literature. However, most of the general public views homeschooling as a practice on the fringe and as a detriment to the educational process. Daniel Golden is to be commended for writing the article. I can only hope that more articles like his appear in more newspapers. The public has a right to know!