Homeschoolers

Education & Workforce Committee Slam Secretary John King Over Homeschool Remarks

John King

The fun never stops in Washington D.C.  After U.S. Secretary of Education John King said some rather stupid things about homeschooled students yesterday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee thought they should issue a press release on King’s comments.  I have to agree with them!

Education & the Workforce Committee Contact: Press Office
September 23, 2016 (202) 226-9440
Secretary Knows Best?

The Obama administration has always had a “we-know-best” mentality when it comes to K-12 education. The Department of Education has spent years unilaterally dictating education policy through pet projects and conditional waivers. Last year, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan boasted that the department’s lawyers are “much smarter than many of the folks” working in the United States Congress. And in recent months, the department has put forward new rules that reflect the same old top-down approach to the nation’s classrooms.

Now, Secretary John King is sounding off on parents who decide to homeschool their children. According to Politico Pro:

[Secretary King said] that he’s concerned that homeschooled students aren’t “getting the range of options that are good for all kids” …

[King] said he worries that “students who are homeschooled are not getting kind of the rapid instructional experience they would get in school”—unless parents are “very intentional about it.”

We wonder if the secretary intentionally left out some key facts about the nation’s homeschool students:

  • According to the most recent data, nearly 1.8 million students are homeschooled each year, an increase of over 17 percent since 2007.
  • Homeschool students excel on reading and math tests, scoring in the 89th percentile and 84th percentile, respectively.
  • Students who are homeschooled typically score higher than public school students on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.
  • As reported by U.S. News and World Report, a study of students at one doctoral university showed homeschooled students “graduated college at a higher rate than their peers—66.7 percent compared to 57.5 percent—and earned higher grade point averages along the way.”

But the secretary knows best, right? Not quite. At a time when the Obama administration was busy setting national education policy, there has been little improvement in student achievement and graduation rates:

  • Only 36 percent of 8th graders are reading at grade level today—a number that remains virtually unchanged since 2009.
  • Only 26 percent of 12th graders are proficient in math—a startling statistic that also has not changed since 2009.
  • One out of every five students is dropping out of school—again, a number that’s largely unchanged since the president took office in 2009.

We all agree that every child deserves to have an excellent education. That’s the reason Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act. The law protects homeschools from federal interference and empowers parents to do what they believe is best for their children. Why? Because that’s what is best for America’s students—whether the secretary knows it or not.

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