Homeschooling is a growing trend. In fact, statistics indicated that it is the fastest growing form of education. It is estimated that 2.1 million children were being homeschooled in 2003. The number of homeschoolers is on the rise, growing 7% to 15% per year, according to Dr. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute.

    Why is homeschooling becoming so popular? It probably has something to do with the fact that homeschooled students, or their parents, can set their own schedule. If a student, or parent decides that they want school to get out in April, then they can double up their efforts and get finished when they so choose.
    The popularity could also have something to do with the fact that homeschoolers are generally better socialized. This may come as a shock, because it seems ironic, however, Thomas Smedley, a graduate student at Radford University of Virginia, wrote a master's thesis indicating otherwise. He says that homeschoolers are, in general, better socialized than public-schoolers. Homeschoolers are usually more sociable around people that are not their age, both adults and young children. This has given homeschoolers a unique advantage when interviewing with prosepective employers.
    Lastly, homeschoolers, on average, score between 15-30 percentile points higher than children from public schools on standardized tests and also score above average on the SAT and ACT, according to Dr. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute. Because of this, colleges are beginning to actively recruit homeschool students. Is that not enticing?

Of course, nothing is as easy as it sounds. What does it take to homeschool? What do you need to know to start homeschooling? Find out soon!