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Homeschool or School at Home
The families that we've talked with over the past years have shared a wide variety of reasons for homeschooling. The primary issue is that they want to have control over the education of their students.As you've probably found out, there are a wide variety of curriculum and education options for you. At Homeschool Facts, we feel that you should be aware of the difference. Here is a brief description of the difference between being a homeschooler or a school-at-home student.
Homeschool:
A homeschool family is one that, for a variety of reasons, has pulled out of the traditional education system in order to have direct and complete control of the education of their students. The parents make all decisions regarding the curriculum their children will use, if any; how they will assess their children, and when they consider their children to have completed their education. A review of the research on homeschooling indicates that homeschool students do as well as, if not better than traditionally educated students in most academic measures, including success in college.
Several of the families that have contributed to this website recommend a curriculum provider called Global Student Network. They are a Virtual Curriculum provider that seems to understand the difference between homeschooling and school-at-home. When a family enrolls in their homeschool option, the parent is placed in the "teacher" module so that they can assess their children, provide feedback, and have complete control over their education. They assist the parents with course selection when requested, and with transcript records for the parent to record student progress. They also provide a certificate of completion for each course for the parent to sign and issue to their students. One of the things we like about their curriculum is that it was developed by a public school district, is a standards-based curriculum that meets the standards in all 50 states and, according to the April "Your Opinion Counts" survey, is currently being used by homeschool families around the world.
Homeschool curricula are never accredited. Curricula in and of itself does not meet any criteria for any accrediting organizations. In order for an institution to have accreditation, it must be a school of some form. Whether the school is set up as an independent study program, or traditional education institution, accreditation is granted based on self-review, other review, and the administrative processes a school uses to conduct its business. Rarely is a school accredited on the basis of its curriculum, its teaching method, or its teaching effectiveness.
At one time, getting into college required attending an accredited high school. Over the past several years, an increasing number of colleges recognize what homeschoolers have know for some time, that homeschool students do equally well or better in college than traditionally educated students. Colleges are now actively recruiting and accepting homeschool students on an equal basis as traditionally educated youth. The most important criteria that colleges use are the transcripts (or portfolio) of the students educational career, and their score on the SAT/ACT test.
School-at-Home:
With the rising dissatisfaction with public education, school-at-home programs have popped up all across the nation. Using a variety of independent study methods, these programs are established as schools. The most significant aspect of school-at-home programs is that they have some element of control and authority of the learning process of your child. The level of control ranges from minimal to in-depth. Some of the terminology you may hear is: Umbrella School, Independent Study Program, Accredited High School Diploma from your home. There are also many public and charter schools that are beginning to offer school-at-home programs.
Homeschool Facts has no opposition whatsoever to school-at-home programs. From the many comments that we've heard from our survey respondents, they were not aware of the differences early in their homeschool experiences.
School-at-home programs operating under public charter school regulations in many states are not permitted to charge for tuition, and there appears to be a rising trend throughout the nation for this form of cyber-school. The downside of public charter cyber-schools is that they must comply with the regulations of the No Child Left Behind law. To the family and student, this typically means annual assessment test to measure Annual Yearly Progress. Public charter cyber-schools have mixed reviews when compared to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. There is a model of Independent Study Programs in California that has become established as the model for change in traditional education. These "ISP" schools allow parents to fully collaborate with the school to choose curriculum, design a learning plan, provide as much instruction as the parents feel capable of providing, and still provide the safety net of academically prepared faculty to support the student and families needs.
Many Homeschool Facts subscribers have recommended a Private Online School called International Virtual Learning Academy. This school provides a standards based online curriculum that is very popular throughout the U.S. and internationally.
There are definitely school-at-home programs that we would not recommend though, and you should investigate them well before enrolling your children in them. Those include K-12, inc; Connections Academy, and Advanced Academics.
If you'd like more information on school-at-home programs that we do recommend, please send us a note.
Thanks,
The Homeschool Facts Staff