Homeschooling in America

Despite the education establishment's best efforts to marginalize it, homeschooling is now mainstream

The landscape of American education has been transformed in recent decades, with homeschooling emerging as a mainstream educational choice. Despite perpetual efforts on the part of the education establishment to drive homeschooling to the margins (see recent anti-homeschooling efforts in Illinois and Connecticut), what was once considered an alternative approach practiced by a small minority has evolved into a robust educational movement representing diverse motivations, demographics, and pedagogical approaches.

This evolution reflects a broader reconsideration of educational philosophy and practice, with many families seeking alternatives to conventional schooling. Among these families, tradition-minded Christians, including a significant number of Catholics, have embraced homeschooling as a vehicle for providing classical education aligned with their religious values. This return to classical learning represents not merely a rejection of contemporary pedagogical trends but a purposeful reclamation of educational traditions that emphasize virtue formation, cultural literacy, and intellectual rigor.

From Marginal to Mainstream

Homeschooling in America has experienced steady growth since the 1970s when regulatory changes in many states began to make the practice legally viable. By the early 2000s, researchers estimated that approximately 1.1 million students were being homeschooled in the United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this number grew to approximately 1.7 million students (3.3% of school-aged children) by 2016.

However, the true watershed moment for homeschooling came with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As public and private schools across the nation closed their physical doors and moved to remote learning models, parents gained unprecedented insight into their children's educational experiences. The U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey found that the rate of households homeschooling doubled from 5.4% in spring 2020 to 11.1% by fall 2020. This represents an extraordinary shift in American educational practice, with an estimated 5 million children being homeschooled by the 2020-2021 school year.

More recent data suggests that while some families returned to conventional schooling as pandemic restrictions eased, many have continued with homeschooling, with as many as 3.7 million children, or 6.73% of the overall student population, being educated at home this year. This represents a significant retention of families who transitioned during the pandemic.

This growth has been accompanied by increasing diversity in the homeschooling population such that homeschooling families now closely mirror the general population in terms of socioeconomic status, geographic distribution, and racial composition. Particularly notable was the fivefold increase in Black homeschooling families during the pandemic, with the percentage rising from 3.3% to 16.1% between spring and fall 2020, according to Census Bureau data.

The Empirical Evidence

Despite – or perhaps directly because of – homeschooling going mainstream, the education establishment continues to treat homeschooling with contempt, as if only the “experts” can properly educate children. But the evidence suggestions that ordinary parents, given proper resources and commitment, can do just as well or even better than the “professionals” when it comes to educating their children.

A comprehensive 2009 study found that homeschooled students typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public school students on standardized academic achievement tests. This study, which controlled for factors such as parent education level and family income, suggests that homeschooling itself may confer certain academic advantages.

Similar findings have emerged from college admissions data. Research from the Journal of College Admission indicates that homeschool graduates in their study typically earned higher grade point averages in their freshman year of college compared to traditionally schooled peers. A study at Baylor University found that homeschooled students averaged a 3.41 GPA in their first year compared to 3.12 for traditionally schooled students.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931) was educated at home after struggling in traditional school. Here he is pictured with his original dynamo, crucial for the generation of electricity (Library of Congress)

Long-term outcome studies, while fewer in number, also suggest positive results. A 2003 study by Dr. Brian Ray tracking over 7,300 adults who had been homeschooled found that they were more likely than their peers to have completed college, reported higher levels of community involvement, and expressed greater life satisfaction.

It is important to note limitations in homeschooling research. Many studies are dated and rely on self-selected samples, and truly randomized studies are difficult to conduct given the nature of educational choice. Nevertheless, the preponderance of evidence indicates that homeschooling, when implemented thoughtfully, produces academic outcomes that are at least comparable to, and often exceed, those of conventional schooling.

Homeschooling and the Classical Education Revival

One of the most significant developments in the homeschooling movement has been its role in reviving classical education models. Classical education, rooted in the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, fell out of favor in mainstream American education during the so-called progressive education movement of the 20th century. However, homeschooling families, particularly those motivated by religious convictions, have been instrumental in rekindling interest in these traditional approaches.

The publication of Dorothy Sayers' "The Lost Tools of Learning" in 1947 laid intellectual groundwork for this revival, but it was homeschooling parents in the 1980s and 1990s who began implementing these ideas on a significant scale. Susan Wise Bauer's The Well-Trained Mind, published in 1999, provided a practical framework for classical homeschooling that has influenced hundreds of thousands of families.

This homeschool-initiated revival subsequently expanded beyond individual homes. Classical Conversations, a homeschool community program founded in 1997, now serves over 125,000 students in 46 countries.

The classical model's emphasis on content knowledge, sequential learning, and integration of subjects has proven particularly appealing to many religious homeschooling families who seek an education that forms both intellect and character. Classial education’s focus on great books, primary sources, and moral formation creates natural affinities between classical pedagogy and faith-based homeschooling.

Catholic Homeschooling: Tradition and Innovation

Among religious homeschoolers, Catholic families represent a significant and growing demographic. While precise numbers are difficult to determine, an analysis conducted by the Catholic news website The Pillar, estimated that there are between 400,000 and 470,000 Catholic students being homeschooled in the U.S. today. “Based on that estimate,” The Pillar wrote, “there would be as many as one homeschooled Catholic student for every three Catholic students attending Catholic schools.”

As Jared Staudt argues in Renewing Catholic Schools: How to Regain a Catholic Vision in a Secular Age, many Catholic homeschooling families are motivated by a desire to reclaim an authentically Catholic educational vision. Staudt contends that true Catholic education must be founded on a vision of human flourishing rooted in virtue and oriented toward transcendent truth—a vision often difficult to maintain in contemporary educational settings.

Catholic homeschooling families frequently draw upon the Church's rich educational heritage, including the educational philosophies of figures such as St. Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, and Maria Montessori. This historical connection provides a philosophical framework that integrates faith and reason, viewing education not merely as the acquisition of marketable skills but as formation for a life well-lived.

The Catholic homeschooling movement has developed substantial infrastructure to support this educational vision. Organizations such as the Catholic Homeschool Conference, Homeschool Connections, and Seton Home Study School provide curriculum, community, and resources specifically designed for Catholic homeschoolers. These resources often synthesize classical educational approaches with distinctively Catholic content, offering an alternative to both secular educational models and Protestant-oriented Christian homeschooling resources.

The comprehensive educational vision of classical learning represents not merely a reaction against perceived deficiencies in mainstream education but a positive retrieval of traditional Catholic educational principles. As Jared Staudt notes in Renewing Catholic Schools, this approach views education as fundamentally ordered toward wisdom and virtue rather than merely utilitarian outcomes.

Implications for Educational Policy and Practice

The growth and diversification of homeschooling, particularly its classical and religious manifestations, carries significant implications for educational policy and practice in America.

First, the surge in homeschooling during and after the pandemic signals a substantial shift in parental attitudes toward institutional education. Families across demographic categories have demonstrated willingness to assume direct responsibility for their children's education when they perceive existing options as inadequate. This suggests that educational institutions need to reconsider their relationships with families, moving toward more collaborative models that respect parental prerogatives.

Second, the success of classical education approaches within homeschooling communities challenges prevailing educational orthodoxies. The renewed emphasis on content knowledge, sequential learning, and moral formation stands in contrast to pedagogical trends that prioritize process over content and skills over knowledge. Educational institutions may benefit from examining these classical approaches for elements that could strengthen conventional schooling.

Third, the religious motivations of many homeschooling families highlight ongoing tensions over the proper relationship between faith and education in a pluralistic society. These families' educational choices reflect a conviction that education is inherently value-laden rather than value-neutral. This perspective challenges assumptions about the possibility or desirability of strictly secular education detached from transcendent reference points.

Finally, the development of hybrid educational models—such as university-model schools, homeschool co-ops, and microschools—suggests a blurring of traditional boundaries between institutional and home-based education. These innovative structures, many pioneered within homeschooling communities, may represent the future of American education: flexible, personalized, and responsive to diverse family needs.

As American education continues to evolve in the post-pandemic landscape, homeschooling families—with their educational innovations, pedagogical retrieval, and philosophical commitments—have much to contribute to broader conversations about educational purpose and practice. Their experiences suggest that educational renewal may come not merely through institutional reform but through a fundamental reconsideration of education's nature and ends. In this light, homeschooling represents not merely an alternative to conventional education but a laboratory for educational renewal that may ultimately benefit all American children.