Homeschool Statistics

Just thought these were interesting statistics, courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics at the US Department of Education.

Number of homeschoolers in the US: 1.1 million (2.2% of the student population)

Most important reason for homeschooling:
31%: concern about the environment of other schools
30%: to provide religious or moral instruction
16%: dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools

(The other families cited a variety of other reasons.)

The statistic Rachel Grady gave in the documentary "Jesus Camp" that "75% of homeschooled children are from evangelical Christian families" put up red flags for me. She does not cite her source, and it is plainly false. Homeschoolers are as diverse as the population itself. With the Department of Education detailed study stating that 30% of families homeschool to provide religious or moral instruction, how can her statistic possibly be true? An evangelical would certainly state religion/moral instruction as their primary reason, as it is for this Orthodox Jewish family.

Anyway, it's certainly an interesting world.