Study: Homeschooling Now a ‘Viable Educational Choice’

A new study published at the Boston-based Pioneer Institute points to the significant increase in families who are now regularly homeschooling as a sign the education option is now a “viable” choice.

The study notes that, while parents across the nation were suddenly plunged into the realm of having “school at home” when the pandemic hit in March 2020, many decided the closer involvement they experienced in their children’s education would be the best permanent option after all.

Kerry McDonald, senior education fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, writes in the study’s foreword:

The COVID-19 pandemic has re-empowered parents in unprecedented ways, putting them back in the driver’s seat of determining the best learning environment for their children. As entrepreneurs recognize the mounting demand for schooling alternatives and invent new educational solutions, more families will be able to join current homeschoolers in opting out of an assigned district school for other, better options.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported in late March that 11.1 percent of K-12 students in the nation are now homeschooling, a significant jump from 5.4 percent when school closures went into effect in spring of 2020, and from the 3.3 percent of families who homeschooled prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Policymakers should support both parents and entrepreneurs as they seek and create high-quality, personalized education approaches that nurture learning outside of a conventional classroom,” McDonald advises.

The study’s authors, William Heuer, a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Home Learning Association, and journalist William Donovan, interviewed families who have chosen traditional homeschooling – not simply the type of remote learning conducted by school districts when the buildings were closed.

The authors take special note of the rise in homeschooling among black and other minority families:

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