Nationally representative survey data sets for studying homeschooling (NHES, NSCH, state data)¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The chapter assembles and describes survey data sources for homeschooling research, focusing "principally on nationally representative cross-sections of U.S. schoolchildren," including the National Household Education Survey and the National Survey of Children's Health. For each data set it describes "the strengths and limitations," and uses them to estimate how the number of homeschooled children in the United States has changed over time. It closes with suggestions for future research drawing on the currently available data.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Studying homeschooling with these sources requires nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of U.S. schoolchildren with screener and follow-up instruments that let families self-identify as homeschoolers.

Constraints¶

• The chapter states the estimates should not be treated as a census count of homeschoolers but as the midpoint of a range of plausible estimates.

Target Learners¶

• U.S. schoolchildren in elementary, middle, and high school grades

Target Learning Goals¶

• Measuring the prevalence and growth of homeschooling in the United States

Claims¶

• Children were equally likely to be homeschooled in the elementary, middle, and high school grades [+W]
• The 2012 NHES estimate implies the percentage of homeschooled schoolchildren is likely within a range from 3.0% to 3.9% [+W]
• NHES-based estimates of homeschooling grew from 1.4% of U.S. schoolchildren in 1996 to 3.4% (about 1,773,000 children) in 2012 [+W]
• Rising survey cooperation among homeschooling families may mean pre-2012 NHES estimates undercounted homeschoolers and overstated the growth rate [+W]
• NSCH and Wisconsin data track NHES homeschooling estimates until 2007, then diverge with a flat or slightly downward trend from 2007 to 2012 [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Eric Isenberg. (2016). Using Survey Data Sets to Study Homeschooling. The Wiley Handbook of Home Education, edited by Milton Gaither. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/using-survey-data-sets-to-study-homeschooling