An estimated 850,000 students nationwide were being schooled at home in the spring of 1999, according to a new federal report.
The National Center for Education Statistics conducted a survey and found that 1.7 percent of U.S. students aged 5 to 17 were receiving school lessons at home. Compared with non-homeschoolers, a greater percentage of homeschoolers were white, non-Hispanic — 75 percent of homeschoolers were white, non-Hispanic, compared with 65 percent of nonhomeschoolers.
The survey also determined that the household income of homeschoolers was no different than non-homeschoolers, but parents of homeschoolers had higher levels of educational attainment.
Parents gave many reasons for homeschooling children, including religious beliefs, poor learning environments at schools, and a belief that they could provide their children a better education at home.
