research paper on homeschooling vs public schools

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The research on homeschooling, the academic, social, and long-term outcomes for children in home schools..

Posted September 1, 2021 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

About 4 to 5 million children in the United States (or approximately 8 to 9% of school-age children) were homeschooled in March 2021. This statistic increased dramatically during the pandemic: Only 2.5 million (or 3 to 4% of school-age children) were homeschooled in spring 2019.

The most common reason cited for homeschooling (before the pandemic) was concern about the local school environment, including safety and negative peer pressure . Many parents also choose to homeschool due to dissatisfaction with the educational quality of local schools, or for religious reasons.

However, many parents and caregivers considering homeschooling may be especially concerned about how homeschooling might impact their child’s academic progress and social development. Does the research find any differences between children who were homeschooled versus children in conventional school?

Academic Performance

Homeschooled students tend to score higher on tests of academic skills when compared to children in public schools across most studies. However, it is difficult to draw any conclusions from these studies since most do not control for important family demographic factors and compare self-selected homeschooling families’ test scores (from tests proctored by parents) to national averages. Interestingly, children in a “structured” homeschool program — that is, a homeschool program with organized lesson plans — tend to score higher on academic tests than children from conventional schools, while children in “unstructured” homeschool environments without organized lesson plans tend to score lower than children in conventional schools.

Social Skills

The findings on social skills seem to be more mixed. Some studies have found no difference in social skills between children in homeschool environments versus conventional schools, some studies have found that homeschooled children score higher on measures of social ability, and some have found that homeschooled children score lower on overall social skills. Not surprisingly, homeschooled students who have had more opportunities for peer interactions tend to show improved social skills.

Long-Term Success

Most studies find that homeschooled children tend to have higher college GPAs than children from conventional schools. In addition, most studies have found no difference between homeschooled and conventional students in college graduation rates. However, most homeschooled students do not attend competitive four-year colleges and one study found that homeschooled students may have lower math GPAs in college than children from conventional schools. Children who are homeschooled may also be more likely to work in a lower-paying job.

Limitations of this Research

It is important to note that this research is difficult to interpret because families that choose to homeschool are different from families who do not in many other ways — for example, they may have parents with higher income or educational levels — and these factors likely contribute to the results as well. For instance, we cannot conclude that homeschooling will improve your child’s test scores since homeschooled children may have more educated mothers and it may be the mother’s educational level that drives the higher test scores, not homeschooling itself.

Almasoud, S., & Fowler, S. R. (2016). The difference in the academic achievements of homeschooled and non-homeschooled students. Home School Researcher, 32(1), 1-4.

Cogan, M. F. (2010). Exploring academic outcomes of homeschooled students. Journal of College Admission, 208, 18-25.

Coleman, R. E. (2014). The homeschool math gap: The data. Coalition for Responsible Home Education.

Drenovsky, C. K., & Cohen, I. (2012). The impact of homeschooling on the adjustment of college students. International Social Science Review, 87(1/2), 19-34.

Kunzman, R., & Gaither, M. (2020). Homeschooling: An updated comprehensive survey of the research. Other Education, 9(1), 253-336.

Martin-Chang, S., Gould, O. N., & Meuse, R. E. (2011). The impact of schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from homeschooled and traditionally schooled students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne Des Sciences du Comportement, 43(3), 195.

McKinley, M. J., Asaro, J. N., Bergin, J., D'Auria, N., & Gagnon, K. E. (2007). Social Skills and Satisfaction with Social Relationships in Home-Schooled, Private-Schooled, and Public-Schooled Children. Online Submission, 17(3), 1-6.

Medlin, R. G. (2006). Homeschooled Children's Social Skills. Online Submission, 17(1), 1-8.

Montes, G. (2006). Do Parental Reasons to Homeschool Vary by Grade? Evidence from the National Household Education Survey, 2001. Online Submission, 16(4), 11-17.

Montes, G. (2015). The social and emotional health of homeschooled students in the United States: A population-based comparison with publicly schooled students based on the national survey of children’s health, 2007. Home School Researcher, 31(1), 1-9.

Pearlman-Avnion, S., & Grayevsky, M. (2019). Homeschooling, civics, and socialization: The case of Israel. Education and Urban Society, 51(7), 970-988.

Ray, B. D. (2017). A systematic review of the empirical research on selected aspects of homeschooling as a school choice. Journal of School Choice, 11(4), 604-621.

Redford, J., Battle, D., & Bielick, S. (2017, April). Homeschooling in the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved August 1, 2017, from. (NCES 2016-096.REV) https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016096rev

Sikkink, D., & Skiles, S. (2015). Homeschooling and young adult outcomes: Evidence from the 2011 and 2014 Cardus Education Survey. The Cardus Religious Schools Initiative.

Cara Goodwin, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in translating scientific research into information that is useful, accurate, and relevant for parents.

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The Pandemic’s Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools

The Covid-19 pandemic drastically disrupted the functioning of U.S. public schools, potentially changing the relative appeal of alternatives such as homeschooling and private schools. We study changes in families’ choices of school sector using longitudinal student-level administrative data from Michigan and nationally representative data from the Census Household Pulse Survey. Public school enrollment declined noticeably in fall 2020, with 3 percent of Michigan students and 10 percent of kindergartners using other options. Most of this came from homeschooling rates jumping substantially among families with children in elementary school. Consistent with heterogeneous parental preferences for instructional mode, homeschooling increased more where schools provided in-person instruction while private schooling increased more where instruction was remote. Kindergarten declines were highest among low income and Black families while declines in other grades were highest among higher income and White families, highlighting important heterogeneity by students’ existing attachment to public schools. Our results shed light on how families make schooling decisions and imply potential longer-run disruptions to public schools in the form of decreased enrollment and changed composition of the student body.

This research used data structured and maintained by the MERI-Michigan Education Data Center (MEDC). MEDC data is modified for analysis purposes using rules governed by MEDC and are not identical to those data collected and maintained by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and/or Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI). Results, information, and opinions solely represent the analysis, information and opinions of the author(s) and are not endorsed by, or reflect the views or positions of, grantors, MDE and CEPI or any employee thereof. We thank Kristen Evans for excellent research assistance. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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• September 15, 2021

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• What the COVID-19 Pandemic Meant for Public Schools Author(s): Tareena Musaddiq Kevin M. Stange Andrew Bacher-Hicks Joshua Goodman Total enrollment in autumn, 2020, was down 3 percent, with the sharpest declines in lower grades, especially kindergarten, as...

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How Home Schooling Will Change Public Education

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, paul t. hill paul t. hill founder - the center on reinventing public education, research professor - the university of washington bothell, former nonresident senior fellow - the brookings institution.

June 1, 2000

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More than 1.2 million students are now being taught at home, more students than are enrolled in the entire New York City public school system. Paul T. Hill reports on the pros and cons of learning at home—and the effects home schooling will have on public schools.

Home schooling, not a present threat to public education, is nonetheless one of the forces that will change it. If the high estimates of the number of children in home schools (1.2 million) is correct, then the home-schooling universe is larger than the New York City public school system and roughly the size of the Los Angeles and Chicago public school systems combined. Even if the real number of home schoolers is more like 500,000, less than the lowest current estimate, there are more children home schooling than in charter schools and public voucher programs combined.

Home schooling is not a new phenomenon. In colonial days families, including wealthy ones, educated their children at home, combining the efforts of parents, tutors, and older children. The rural one-room schoolhouse was created by families that banded together to hire a teacher who could substitute for parents but who would use the same mixture of direct instruction, tutoring, and mentoring by older students.

There is nothing un-American about home schooling. Home-schooling families are, however, breaking a pattern established since colonial times—education has been becoming increasingly institutionalized, formal, and removed from the family. How important is the contemporary home-schooling movement and what does it portend for American public education? No one can say for sure. It is difficult even to estimate the numbers of children being schooled at home, and evidence about student learning and other outcomes is mostly anecdotal.

It is, however, possible to draw three conclusions about where home schooling is likely to go and how it will affect the broad public education enterprise—which for the purpose of this article includes charter schools and publicly funded voucher programs as well as conventional district-run public schools.

• Home schooling is part of a broad movement in which private groups and individuals are learning how to provide services that were once left to public bureaucracies.
• As home-schooling families learn to rely on one another, many are likely to create new institutions that look something like schools.
• Although many home-schooling families are willing to accept help from public school systems, the families and the schools they create are far more likely to join the charter and voucher movements than to assimilate back into the conventional public school system.

Developing New Teachers

Parents who decide to school their children at home commit time and energy to an activity that was once left to specialized professionals. Even in the states with the most permissive home-schooling laws, parents must learn what is normally taught to children of a given age, find materials and projects that teach specific skills, and learn how to use their own time and that of their children productively. The vast majority of home-school parents hope their children will attend college and so must also learn how to assess their children’s progress against higher education admission standards.

Even a casual perusal of the home-schooling literature reveals the scale and intensity of home-schooling parents’ search for ideas, materials, and relevant standards of performance. Home-schooling web sites continually post new ideas and materials for teaching subjects from math to drama. Parents can find advice about what kinds of programs are likely to work for their own children and can enter chat rooms with other parents struggling with the same issues.

Without making a quality judgment about these resources, it is clear that many serious people are putting in a great deal of effort. The materials available are not amateurish: They come from universities, research institutes, mutual assistance networks, school districts, and state education departments. People who contribute to home-schooling web sites and association meetings are also conducting serious research and development. Home schooling is a very large teacher training program, and many tens of thousands of people are learning how to teach, assess results, and continuously improve instruction. It also must be one of the biggest parent-training programs in the country.

Like charter schooling, home schooling depends on the creation of new human capital. People have to learn how, in new contexts and under new rules, to teach and motivate students, take advantage of complementary adult skills, find resources, and make effective use of scarce time and money.

Critics charge that much of this effort is wasted and that at best all the new human capital developed at such cost can only duplicate what already exists in conventional public and private schools. Unlikely. Although the new people will undoubtedly reinvent some wheels and some may go down blind alleys, these initiatives bring new blood and new ideas into a stagnant education sector that was previously dominated by civil service cartels and was thus rule-bound and risk-averse.

Collaboration and Evolution

Home schoolers are not all recluses living in log cabins. Growing numbers of home-schooling families live in or near cities, are well educated, and hold down normal jobs. They are not all afraid of the modern world; many are inveterate users of the Internet, and large numbers of West Coast home-school parents work in the computer and software industries.

Although large numbers of home schoolers are Christian fundamentalists and Mormons, many other religions are represented as well. There are active home-schooling organizations for Lutherans, Catholics, and Jews. In Washington, Oregon, and California, many of the new urban home schoolers are not active members of any church.

Home schoolers’ fierce independence rarely leads to isolationism. Increasingly, parents are bartering services—the mother who was a math major tutors children from several families in return for music or history lessons. Families come together to create basketball or soccer teams, hold social events, or put on plays and recitals. Growing numbers of home schoolers value the expertise of professional educators and are readily accepting help, advice, and testing assistance offered by school districts.

In such an atmosphere, it is highly likely that parents will come together to collaborate, specialize, and exploit comparative advantages. It is too soon to say whether many such collaborations will ever become elaborate enough to include cash payments for services or the hiring of coordinators to schedule, integrate services, and exercise quality control. But some home-schooling collaboratives have already advanced to the point that groups of parents find themselves running organizations that look much like schools. In Colorado, Arizona, and Michigan, several such groups have won charters and are operating as new public schools. Some home-schooling groups have also created management firms offering to create new schools that coordinate parent efforts and incorporate many of the values and processes of home schooling.

The advantages are obvious: Parents can limit their time commitments and get for their children the benefits of others’ expertise. They can also get public funds to pay for materials, facilities, management time, Internet hookups, and testing. Those that have mastered a subject or learned a great deal about instructional methods can even decide to become paid teachers.

However, home-schooling parents would be skittish and demanding clients. Many have learned exactly what they want for their children and are unlikely to stick with an arrangement that does not deliver. But all the preconditions exist for the emergence of new schools based on what home-schooling families have learned.

Although growing numbers of home schoolers are receiving valuable assistance from local public school systems, mass returns to conventional public schools are unlikely. Most home-schooling parents fled something they did not like about the public education system—variously perceived as lax discipline, bad manners, low standards, unsafe conditions, or hostility to religious practice.

In general, their web sites make it clear that home schoolers dread bureaucracy, unions, and liberals. Parents complain about teachers who would not adjust to individual children’s needs and about principals who insist that district rules prevent using better methods, changing children’s placements, accelerating instruction, or replacing bad teachers. Web sites also complain about liberal social agendas, particularly those associated with homosexuality and perceived attacks on the family.

Although home-school web sites are full of ideas about learning projects and what conventional educators would call “authentic” performance measures, parents are openly suspicious about forms of student-directed “progressive” education used in public schools. They strongly favor reading, writing, and debating. Web sites are full of resources for teaching classic liberal arts subjects (including rhetoric) and suggestions for study of primary sources.

Complaints about state standards and performance-based education are far less prominent in home-schooling materials than in religious-right political agendas. Educated home schoolers are concerned about preparing their children for the real world and are open to state standards and testing programs that guide action and give measures of progress.

These concerns, and the fact that many families began home schooling after what they perceived as “takeovers” of their local public school systems by “progressive” academics and left-of-center parents, make it unlikely that large numbers of home-schooling parents can readily return to public schools. Some home schoolers will get by with the help available from public school systems, and others will seek to create charter schools. Some—the numbers depend on costs and the availability of private subsidies—will also be attracted to specially constructed private schools such as those now being created by the conservative Christian Heritage Schools.

Given American families’ reliance on dual incomes, it is unlikely that home schooling will continue to grow indefinitely. But it will almost certainly continue to attract families that cannot find comfortable places in conventional public schools, and it will continue to be a channel through which parents become attached to private and charter alternatives.

What’s the Harm?

What could be wrong with a movement that leads tens of thousands of people to spend vast amounts of time and money learning to teach, working closely with children, developing new instructional materials, and subjecting them to real-world tests? Critics charge that three things are wrong with home schooling: harm to students academically; harm to society by producing students who are ill-prepared to function as democratic citizens and participants in a modern economy; and harm to public education, making it more difficult for other parents to educate their children.

• Student Learning. The very nature of home schooling makes it difficult to quantify student performance. But the best available evidence is strongly positive about home-school student learning. Consider these results from the Bob Jones University testing service for home schoolers:
• Almost 25 percent of home-school students are enrolled one or more grades above their age level peers in public and private schools.

Home-school student achievement test scores are exceptionally high. The median scores for every subtest at every grade (typically in the 70th to 80th percentile) are well above those of public and private school students.

Students who have been home schooled their entire academic life have higher scholastic achievement test scores than students who have attended other educational programs.

However, these results are drawn from a small, self-selected group of home schoolers who sought a university’s help in assessing student progress. Although there is no known profile of home schoolers against which to compare the sample, it is almost certainly a better-educated, higher-income, and better-supported (e.g., by church membership) group than home schoolers as a whole.

Thus, it is still impossible to say whether, on the whole, home-schooling students are doing much better than their public and private school counterparts. However, it is also totally unwarranted to argue that home schoolers are doing badly. The available evidence certainly seems to indicate otherwise.

Preparation for Adult Life. Nobody knows whether home schooling produces any different mixture of geniuses, socially adept individuals, academic failures, or misfits than do conventional public schools. For that matter, nobody has a good grasp on what the distribution of those outcomes is—or ought to be—in the population as a whole.

Some educators worry about the agendas of conservative religious leaders and parents, assuming they want children to become intolerant, insular, hypercompetitive, or convinced of religious or racial superiority. There is little basis for these fears, other than the long-standing tensions between religious groups (both conservative and mainstream) and the academic left.

Others avoid the trap of assessing schools in terms of current pedagogical orthodoxies but worry that home schooling (along with private schooling, charters, and vouchers) pulls children away from the socially centripetal experience of the common school, in which people of all races and backgrounds are educated together to common standards. This concern too has little empirical basis. Home schoolers certainly do not experience “common schools,” but neither, apparently, does anyone else. Whether they attend private or public schools, the vast majority of students are likely to attend classes and associate with others very like themselves.

Moreover, contemporary public schools do not meet the aspirations of those who expect them to be incubators of young democrats. Graduates of private (including conservative Christian) schools are more likely than demographically similar public school graduates to express tolerant attitudes, volunteer time and money for social causes, and participate in civic debates.

None of this proves that home schooling meets every aspiration Americans have for their children. But it does place the worries about home schooling in perspective, and it suggests the basis on which home schooling should be evaluated: It needs to be compared to the real performance of conventional public schools, not to some idealized aspiration.

Harm to Public Education. Home schooling limits public school enrollments and therefore reduces the amounts of money state governments provide to local school districts. It also reduces the numbers of parents who expect to enhance their own children’s education by voting for taxes and bond issues. On the other hand, home schooling reduces the burdens on public school systems and, in areas with growing populations, decreases pressure for new buildings and staffs. Unlike charters and public vouchers, home schooling does not force an overt transfer of public funds from an incumbent bureaucracy to a new rival organization.

Like charters and vouchers, home schooling is also criticized for weakening the common civic enterprise represented by the public school system. To some, deliberation about education is a necessary means of making one society out of many groups. They think that people who demand freedom from regulations, educate children themselves, or pay for private schools weaken critical public forums. A contrary view is that intellectual and values diversity are so important to a democratic society that questions about education should never be settled authoritatively. People who hold that view point to legislatures’ susceptibility to capture by interest groups and their inability to settle deeply controversial issues. They have reason to think that state standard-setting processes have degenerated into logrolling sessions among advocates for different subjects and that states have pretended false clarity about what skills young people must have in our boisterous, competitive, fast-moving, technology-driven, and unpredictable society.

Again, in a situation where so little is understood, the potential harms of home schooling seem far smaller than the harms of trying to prevent or thwart it. Every issue raised here is amenable to evidence, but abstract arguments and fears do not stand up against home-school parents’ First Amendment rights and their evident willingness to back up conviction with money, time, and effort.

The issues raised above are far from resolved. Scholarly and political discussions about home schooling are burdened by an unrecognized ambiguity in our use of the term public education, which in some instances refers to a commitment to use any means necessary to ensure that every child learns enough to participate fully as a citizen, earner, and parent and in other instances refers to a specific set of political bargains, rules, programs, job rights, and bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. The difference between these two definitions of public education is evident everywhere but most painfully in the big cities. There, aspirations for student learning, racial justice, and introduction of disadvantaged students into the mainstream of society are high. Political and educational leaders talk endlessly about the importance of high standards. But students fall farther behind the longer they are in school, and more than half of them drop out before gaining a regular high school diploma.

Our dialogue about home schooling, charters, and public vouchers, then, is frozen by confusion over means and ends. The people who run and staff conventional public schools are convinced that the current arrangements are public education. The question—put into play by home schooling and related reforms—is whether that definition is too narrow. It is time to ask whether home schooling, charters, and vouchers should be considered parts of a broad repertoire of methods that we as a society use to educate our children.

A longer version of this essay will appear in a future issue of the Peabody Journal of Education.

Paul T. Hill is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution; a member of Hoover’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education; and a research professor, Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington.

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A Systematic Review of the Empirical Research on Selected Aspects of Homeschooling as a School Choice

A systematic review of the empirical research on selected aspects of  homeschooling as a school choice

This is a review of peer-reviewed homeschool research in the Journal of School Choice, by Brian D. Ray

Brian D. Ray

Journal of School Choice, Pages 604-621 | Published online: 27 Nov 2017

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This peer-reviewed article gives the demographic characteristics of the U.S. homeschooling population and the reasons that parents choose to homeschool, summarizes the findings of studies on the homeschool learner outcomes of academic achievement, social development, and success in adulthood, and proposes future research on parent-led home-based education. The majority of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement reveal a positive effect for the homeschooled students compared to institutional schooled students, while a few studies show mixed or negative results. Regarding social and emotional development, a large majority of studies show clearly positive outcomes for the homeschooled compared to those in conventional schools. A majority of the studies on the relative success of the home-educated who later became adults show positive outcomes for the homeschooled compared to those who had been in conventional schools. I recommend that the existing literature be enhanced by well-controlled non-experimental designs to examine adults who were homeschooled in terms of an array of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding lifelong learning, rates of public welfare dependency, and degree of personal agency or self-efficacy.

•        Research evidence on the demographic characteristics of homeschoolers

•        Research evidence on reasons for homeschooling

•        Research evidence on the academic achievement of the homeschooled

Are homeschool students performing worse, the same, or better than their public school peers? Some people want to know, What about homeschool vs. public school test scores (academic achievement)? “In 11 of the 14 [78%] peer-reviewed studies [on academic achievement], there was a definite positive effect on achievement for the homeschooled students. One of the 14 studies showed mixed results; that is, some positive and some negative effects were associated with homeschooling. One study revealed no difference between the homeschool and conventional school students, and one study revealed neutral and negative results for homeschooling compared to conventional schooling [this was for grade K students only, Aram et al., 2016]. Both state-provided data sets showed higher than average academic achievement test scores for the home educated” (p. 8).

•        Research evidence on the social development of the home educated

A common question by the simply curious or negative critics of homeschooling is, What about socialization? “Thirteen of the 15 [87%; studies on social development] showed clearly positive outcomes for the homeschooled compared to those in conventional schools. Two of those studies reported that some of the findings were more positive for homeschool students but some were more positive for institutional school students” (p. 9).

•        Research evidence on the relative success of the homeschooled into college and adulthood

“Eleven of the 16 [69%; studies on success into adulthood and college] showed positive outcomes for the homeschooled compared to those in conventional schools. One study found positive outcomes for conventional school students compared to homeschool students. Finally, four of the studies found no significant difference between those from homeschool backgrounds and the others from institutional school backgrounds” (p. 11).

•        Discussion: thoughts on the future of research on homeschooling and the choice of home education

Overall, 78% (35) of the 45 peer-reviewed studies found that the homeschooled students or graduates performed significantly better than their conventional or institutional school peers in terms of academic achievement, social and emotional development, and success into adulthood (including at college/university); 11% (5) found no significant difference; 7% (3) found mixed results; conventional school students performed significantly better in 4% (2) of the studies.  “The evidence from the studies presented in a new way in this review shed notable light on the generally positive relationship between homeschooling and the three learner outcomes of academic achievement, social development, and relative success in adulthood” (p. 617).

KEYWORDS:  academic achievement ,  college students ,  homeschooling ,  social development , home schooling, home education

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NHERI conducts homeschooling research, is a clearinghouse of research for the public, researchers, homeschoolers, the media, and policy makers, and educates the public concerning the findings of all related research. NHERI executes, evaluates, and disseminates studies and information (e.g., statistics, facts, data) on homeschooling (i.e., home schooling, home-based education, home education, home school, home-schooling, unschooling, deschooling, a form of alternative education), publishes reports and the peer-reviewed scholarly journal Home School Researcher, and serves in consulting, academic achievement tests, and expert witness (in courts and legislatures).

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Homeschool vs public school: impact, outcomes & choices, key takeaways, homeschool vs public school overview, impact of covid-19, shift to homeschooling, changes in public education, reasons for homeschooling, flexibility, tailored learning, academic outcomes comparison, performance statistics, social and emotional development, social skills statistics, socialization opportunities, learning environment and safety, enhanced environment, safety and security, personalized and family-oriented learning, personalized curriculum, family time benefits, choosing homeschooling, why homeschooling, future of public education, final remarks, frequently asked questions, is homeschooling more effective academically than public schooling.

How has COVID-19 impacted the choice between homeschooling and public schooling?

What are the main reasons parents choose homeschooling over public schools?

How does socialization differ between homeschooled children and those attending public schools.

What factors contribute to creating a safe learning environment in homeschooling?

Did you know that the number of homeschooled students in the U.S. has more than doubled over the past two decades, reaching over 2 million? The debate between homeschooling and traditional public schooling continues to be a hot topic among parents seeking the best educational path for their children and schooled students.

When deciding between homeschooling and public school, factors like flexibility, individualized attention, socialization opportunities for kids, academic performance, and cost play crucial roles. Understanding these aspects can help you make an informed choice that aligns with your child’s unique needs and learning style.

Consider Your Child’s Needs : Evaluate your child’s learning style, social preferences, and safety concerns before deciding between homeschooling and public school.

Stay Informed: Stay updated on the latest research and trends in education to make well-informed decisions about your child’s academic path, homeschool students, schooling parents, home schoolers, and school districts.

Balance Academics and Social Development : Strive to create a balanced approach that nurtures both academic growth and social-emotional development for your child.

Create a Supportive Environment : Establish a supportive and conducive learning environment at home that encourages curiosity, exploration, and critical thinking.

Engage with Your Child : Actively engage with your child’s education by participating in their learning journey, providing guidance, and fostering a love for learning.

Seek Community and Resources : Connect with homeschooling communities, online resources, and support networks to enhance your homeschooling experience and address any challenges effectively.

When comparing homeschool and public school academic performance, research indicates that homeschooled students often excel academically. This success can be attributed to the personalized instruction they receive, tailored to their individual learning styles and paces. Unlike public schools facing challenges like overcrowding and limited resources, homeschooling allows for a more focused educational approach.

For example, if a student learns best through hands-on activities rather than traditional lectures, homeschooling can cater to this need by incorporating more practical learning experiences into their curriculum. In contrast, public schools may struggle to provide such customized teaching methods due to larger class sizes and standardized curriculums designed for the masses.

Moreover, homeschooled students have the flexibility to delve deeper into subjects of interest or spend more time on challenging topics until they grasp them fully. This targeted approach contributes significantly to home schoolers’ academic achievements when compared to students in public school systems where teachers must adhere strictly to set schedules and cover extensive material within specific timeframes.

Homeschooled students benefit from personalized instruction

Public schools face challenges like overcrowding

Customized teaching methods are easier in homeschooling than in public schooling

Flexibility allows homeschooled students deeper understanding of subjects

Research also shows that homeschooled students tend to perform as well as or even better academically than their peers attending public schools. While both education systems aim for quality education outcomes, the individualized nature of homeschooling gives these students an edge by allowing them not only to learn at their own pace but also explore various teaching techniques until finding what works best for them.

In essence, when considering homeschool vs public school , it is crucial for families to weigh the benefits of tailored instruction available through homeschooling against potential limitations faced by those attending public schools due to factors like classroom size constraints and resource availability.

During the pandemic, many families have chosen homeschooling over traditional public schooling due to concerns about health and safety. With the flexibility in scheduling and curriculum that homeschooling offers, parents find it beneficial during uncertain times. For example, homeschool families or home schoolers can adapt their learning environment to meet their specific needs without worrying about potential exposure to illnesses.

The rise in homeschooling numbers showcases how families are prioritizing safety while ensuring quality education for their children . This shift has allowed parents to take a more active role in their child’s learning journey by tailoring lessons according to individual interests and pace . Homeschooling provides an opportunity for families to strengthen bonds through shared educational experiences .

Public schools have been adapting rapidly with changing times and technologies even before the pandemic hit. The focus on improving academic performance and addressing individual student needs has led public schools to implement various programs aimed at enhancing the overall learning experience for students. These changes reflect a commitment towards providing quality education regardless of external circumstances like a pandemic .

Over the years, standardized testing has played a significant role in shaping curriculum design and instructional strategies within public schools. While these assessments aim at measuring student progress objectively, they also influence teaching methods employed by educators across different subjects. As public education continues evolving, it strives towards creating inclusive environments where every student can thrive academically.

Homeschooling offers flexibility in scheduling, allowing students to learn at their own pace. Unlike public schools with fixed schedules, homeschooling accommodates various learning styles and personal circumstances. This flexibility enables students to delve into other interests or gain real-world experiences alongside academics. For example, a student passionate about music can dedicate more time to practice at school or home while still meeting educational requirements.

One of the key benefits of homeschooling is the ability to tailor learning plans according to each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests. In contrast, public schools often adhere to a standardized curriculum that may not address individual needs effectively. Customized learning fosters a deeper understanding of subjects as it caters directly to the student’s unique requirements. By tailoring education, homeschooling promotes critical thinking skills and independence in learners.

Religious freedom plays a significant role in families choosing homeschooling over public school education. While public schools must maintain separation between church and state due to regulations, homeschooling allows families to integrate their religious beliefs into their children’s education freely. This integration ensures that faith-based values are incorporated seamlessly into academic teachings at home.

Research indicates that homeschooled students consistently excel in standardized tests. On the other hand, public schools are evaluated based on various metrics like test scores, graduation rates, and college acceptance rates. By comparing these statistics between homeschooling and public schooling, we can gain valuable insights into the educational outcomes of each.

For instance:

Homeschoolers often score above average on standardized tests.

Public schools use a range of performance indicators to assess student achievement.

Homeschooled students tend to achieve higher academically due to personalized instruction and focused attention they receive. While public schools aim to provide quality education, challenges such as large class sizes and limited resources may hinder individual progress. The enhanced academic performance seen in homeschooling is attributed to tailored instruction and personalized learning plans designed for each student’s unique needs.

Consider these points:

Individualized learning plans in homeschooling cater specifically to a child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Tailored instruction allows for a more focused approach towards academic growth.

Studies show that homeschooled students develop robust social skills through interactions with various age groups and community engagement. On the other hand, public schools provide avenues for socialization via peer interactions and extracurricular activities. Assessing social skills statistics helps gauge how different educational environments impact a child’s overall growth.

Understanding social skills statistics is crucial. For instance, research indicates that homeschooled kids often exhibit advanced communication abilities due to engaging with diverse age groups within their communities. Conversely, children attending public schools benefit from structured peer-to-peer interactions during school hours.

Homeschoolers enjoy numerous opportunities for socialization by participating in community organizations, sports teams, co-op classes, and other activities outside traditional school settings. In contrast, public schools present a structured environment where students interact socially with peers throughout the school day. Both homeschooling and public schooling offer distinctive chances for socializing that significantly contribute to a child’s emotional development.

In terms of providing ample opportunities for developing healthy relationships and enhancing communication skills among children , both homeschooling and public schooling have their strengths. Homeschoolers can engage in various community-based activities that foster strong interpersonal connections beyond conventional classroom setups. Meanwhile, attending public schools exposes children to diverse peer groups regularly during their academic journey.

Homeschooling offers a unique learning environment that is controlled and nurturing, fostering focused learning for students. In contrast, public schools strive to create safe and inclusive environments; however, challenges like bullying can still arise. The personalized attention in homeschooling allows for reduced distractions and a tailored learning atmosphere.

Pros of Homeschooling:

Controlled environment

Personalized attention

Tailored learning atmosphere

Cons of Public Schools:

Potential bullying issues

Less personalized attention

In public schools, the presence of diverse students may sometimes lead to distractions or difficulties in providing individualized instruction . However, these institutions work towards creating an inclusive space where every student feels valued.

Homeschooling enables parents to closely monitor their child’s well-being at all times. On the other hand, public schools implement safety measures but may face challenges related to school violence or bullying incidents. Families often weigh safety and security as crucial factors when deciding between homeschooling and public schooling options.

Key Information on Safety Measures:

Homeschooling allows close parental monitoring.

Public schools encounter issues with school violence.

Examples of Security Challenges in Public Schools:

Bullying incidents

School violence outbreaks

Safety remains paramount for families choosing between homeschooling or sending their children to public schools. While both school and home options offer benefits in terms of education quality, the aspect of ensuring a secure learning environment plays a significant role in decision-making processes.

Homeschooling offers the flexibility to tailor a personalized curriculum that aligns with a student’s unique interests , strengths, and aspirations. Unlike public schools that adhere to standardized curriculums mandated by educational authorities, homeschooling allows for a more customized learning approach. For example, if a child shows exceptional talent in music, parents can incorporate more music-related activities at home and school.

This tailored approach fosters an engaging and relevant learning experience , catering specifically to the individual needs of each student. By focusing on areas where the child excels or struggles, homeschooling can enhance comprehension and retention levels significantly compared to traditional schooling methods.

One of the significant advantages of homeschooling is the increased family time benefits it provides. Parents play an active role at school and home in their child’s education journey, leading to stronger parent-child relationships. In contrast, public schools have fixed schedules that may limit quality family time during weekdays due to academic commitments.

The additional family time in homeschooling not only nurtures closer bonds but also creates opportunities for shared learning experiences between parents and children. Many families cherish these school moments as they engage in educational activities together like field trips or science experiments at home.

Families opt for homeschooling for various reasons. Some parents are concerned about academics at school, while others prioritize religious beliefs at home. Dissatisfaction with public schools is another common reason cited by families choosing homeschooling. On the other hand, public schools remain a popular choice due to their convenience, socialization opportunities, and access to resources.

Understanding why families choose homeschooling can shed light on its appeal compared to public schooling. For example, some parents feel that personalized instruction at home caters better to their child’s learning style than a traditional classroom setting can offer. The flexibility of schedules in homeschooling allows families to tailor education around other commitments or activities unique to each child.

Personalized instruction

Flexibility in scheduling

Catering to individual learning needs

Cons of Homeschooling:

Limited social interaction

Requires significant parental involvement

Potential lack of access to specialized resources

The future landscape of public education might involve integrating elements from homeschooling practices. Concepts like personalized instruction and flexible scheduling could find their way into traditional school settings as educators look for innovative approaches that benefit students’ diverse needs.

Technological advancements are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of public education. With the rise of online learning platforms and digital tools, students may have more opportunities for interactive and engaging educational experiences within a conventional classroom environment at school or home.

Key Points on Future Trends:

Incorporating personalized instruction

Embracing technological advancements

Fostering innovation in educational approaches

So, you’ve seen the ins and outs of homeschooling versus public school. From the impact of COVID-19 to the personalized learning experience, each aspect has its strengths and weaknesses. As you navigate this decision, remember that what works for one family may not work for another. Consider your child’s school needs, your lifestyle at home, and what resonates with your values. Whether you opt for homeschooling or public school, know that both paths offer unique opportunities for growth and learning. Trust your instincts and make the choice that feels right for your family.

In the end, education is a journey filled with twists and turns. Embrace the adventure, stay informed, and most importantly, support your child every step of the way. Your involvement and commitment are key to their success. Good luck on this exciting educational path!

Homeschooling can offer personalized attention and tailored learning experiences , potentially leading to better academic outcomes. However, the effectiveness also depends on the student’s learning style, parental involvement, school, and home.

How has the pandemic impacted the choice between homeschooling and public schooling for schooled children and students, seeking a personalized learning experience?

COVID-19 highlighted concerns about safety in traditional school settings, prompting some families to opt for homeschooling for a safer learning environment . It also forced many parents to explore alternative educational options due to school closures at home.

Parents often choose homeschooling for reasons like flexibility in curriculum design, individualized instruction based on a child’s pace and interests, religious or moral beliefs, concerns about bullying or safety issues in public schools.

While homeschooled children may have fewer opportunities for social interaction compared to traditional school settings, they can still develop social skills through community activities, sports teams, co-op classes, and other extracurricular programs outside their home environment.

What factors contribute to creating a safe learning environment in homeschooling for schooled children, schooled students, and kids using appropriate materials?

In homeschooling environments, safety measures involve ensuring physical security at home during study hours. Online safety protocols should be implemented when using digital resources for education. Parental supervision plays a crucial role in maintaining a secure learning atmosphere.

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How Does Homeschooling Compare to Public School?

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Basic Differences

Test results, grade point average, college placement, emotional adjustment.

Many parents considering a homeschool education over a more traditional experience want to know how homeschooling compares to public school—especially when it comes to academic performance.

You're not alone if you've considered removing your children from regular school in favor of homeschooling. When you think of the advantages of teaching your kids at home , you likely envision the freedom of making your own schedule, focusing on particular areas of interest, and going at your child's pace.

But does a home-based education offer a leg up for kids in terms of scholastic advancement? It depends. Here's how educating at home stands up to public school for test results, GPA, college placement, and more. 

An education at home differs from a traditional public school education in some basic (but significant) ways that may impact academic performance. Individualized attention from a parent-slash-teacher can make a world of difference for a student who is struggling academically or has a learning disability , for example.

Working independently may also allow more advanced students to go at their own pace, not having to wait for others to catch up. On the other hand, depending on the challenge level of subject matter, you may have to learn about certain topics alongside your child (or access someone with the appropriate expertise).

Many factors you might expect to affect academic success at home have surprisingly low impact. Whether or not a parent has earned a teaching degree or certificate is not associated with their child’s academic achievement, and neither is the degree of government control in their state . Parents’ level of formal education and household income are also not correlated with children’s scholastic proficiency.  

While test results aren’t the only indicator of a child’s academic prowess, they can be an important benchmark of learning—and they do matter for college placement. The effects of homeschooling on test results are promising.

As far back as 1998, one study found that homeschool children’s median scores on standardized tests such as the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills landed in the 70 th to 80 th percentile.

Similarly, according to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), students educated at home typically score 15 to 30 percentile points higher than public school students on standardized tests for academic achievement.

For Black students, the numbers are even higher. Black children who homeschool score 23 to 42 percentage points higher on standardized tests than their counterparts in public schools.

On the ACT, a test used nationwide for college admissions, composite scores for homeschooled students fluctuated between 22.3 in 2007 and 22.8 in 2014. (The highest possible score is 36.) Though not as high as scores from private school students, these rankings were 1.4 to 2.2 points above the average public school student.

Grade point average, or GPA, is another common point of reference for academic performance. Because many homeschool families don’t calculate GPA, limited data exists comparing grade point average between home and publicly educated kids. However, research has been conducted on the GPAs of college students who homeschooled during their K-12 years. 

One study conducted at an unnamed private university in the American Southeast found a statistically significant increase in the college GPA of students who were homeschooled versus those who were not.

In another study from an unnamed university in the Midwest, students who had homeschooled finished their freshman year of college with an average GPA of 3.37, compared with the 3.08 average GPA of other students.

The academic advantages of homeschooling continued throughout the college years. As seniors, the same students earned an average GPA of 3.41, compared to the 3.16 average GPA of non-homeschooled seniors.

Other, more in-depth research tells a somewhat different story, however. A 2016 study analyzed data from nearly 825,000 students at 140 colleges and universities and found that students who had been homeschooled did not achieve higher GPA in their first year of college, nor were they more likely to return for a sophomore year.  

For many colleges and universities, admissions are handled very similarly between students who have had a traditional education and those who have homeschooled.

With the rise in various nontraditional forms of education, even institutions like Ivy League schools have acknowledged the value a home-based education can provide their potential students. (However, many do not publicize statistics about their homeschool admissions.)

Homeschooled students may need to emphasize certain aspects of their education in a college application to improve their chances of admission. Applicants may need to provide extra information about their academic curriculum and take optional tests to establish their academic abilities.

On the other hand, because homeschoolers can often earn college credit before high school graduation, they may have an advantage for college placement—or, at the very least, for finishing a degree sooner than students from public school. 

A comparison between home and public education isn’t all about academics. Your child’s emotional development matters, too. Stereotypes about homeschool education may have you believe that homeschooled kids are more likely to be socially awkward or emotionally stunted. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case.

According to the NHERI, homeschoolers often rank above average in measures of social, emotional, and psychological development.

The degree to which your child grows emotionally will largely depend on the environment in your home and the activities you expose them to.

Consider how you might involve your child in volunteering, participating in academic or extracurricular cohort groups, playing league sports, or taking lessons on an instrument. These outside-the-home extras can all expose your child to other people of various backgrounds, as well as help them make friends.

A Word From Verywell 

Only you can decide if homeschooling is the best choice for your family. If you do choose to teach at home, there are no guarantees that this form of education will produce better results, academically or emotionally, for your child.

In large part, the success of homeschooling depends on you as an educator and your child as a learner. However, much of the research indicates that homeschooling can provide your child a greater likelihood of academic achievement.

Ray BD. Homeschooling: The Research . National Home Education Research Institute. 2020.

Rudner LM. Scholastic achievement and demographic characteristics of home school students in 1998 . Educ Policy Anal Arch. 1999:7(8). doi:10.14507/epaa.v7n8.1999

Ray BD.  African American homeschool parents’ motivations for homeschooling and their black children’s academic achievement .  Journal of School Choice. 2015; 9:1, 71-96. doi:10.1080/15582159.2015.998966

ACT, Inc. Trends in ACT composite scores among homeschooled students . 2015.

Almasoud S, Fowler SR. The difference in the academic achievements of homeschooled and non-homeschooled students . Home School Researcher . 2016;32(1).

Cogan M. Exploring academic outcomes of homeschooled students . Journal of College Admission. 2010;208:18-25.

Yu MC, Sackett PR, Kuncel NR. Predicting college performance of homeschooled versus traditional students . Educ Meas . 2016;35(4):31-39. doi:10.1111/emip.12133

U.S. News & World Report. How homeschooling affects college admissions . 2018.

By Sarah Garone  Sarah Garone, NDTR, is a freelance health and wellness writer who runs a food blog.

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School types in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood: An outcome-wide analysis

1 Human Flourishing Program, Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Cambridge, MA, United States of America

2 Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States of America

Christina Hinton

3 Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Tyler J. VanderWeele

Associated data.

The data that support the findings of this study cannot be shared publicly because the authors do not own the data. Data are available from the Channing Division of Network Medicine Institutional Data Access Committee upon filing out a collaboration request form. Information including the procedures to obtain and access data is described at https://www.nurseshealthstudy.org/researchers (email: ude.dravrah.gninnahc@sseccashn ). The authors did not have special access privileges that others could not request.

While past empirical studies have explored associations between types of primary and secondary schools and student academic achievement, outcomes beyond academic performance remain less well-understood. Using longitudinal data from a cohort of children (N = 12,288, mean age = 14.56 years) of nurses, this study examined associations between the types of schools participants attended in adolescence and a wide range of subsequent psychological well-being, social engagement, character strengths, mental health, health behavior and physical health outcomes. Results in this sample suggested little difference between attending private independent schools and public schools across outcomes in young adulthood. There were, however, notable differences in subsequent outcomes comparing homeschooling and public schools, and possibly some evidence comparing religious schools and public schools. Specifically, there was some evidence that attending religious schools versus public schools was associated with a higher likelihood of frequent religious service attendance and becoming registered voters, a lower risk of overweight/obese, fewer lifetime sexual partners, and a higher risk of subsequently being binge drinkers; however, these associations were not robust to correction for multiple testing. Homeschooling compared with public schooling was associated with subsequently more frequent volunteering (ß = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.15, 0.52), greater forgiveness (ß = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.46), and more frequent religious service attendance (Risk Ratio [RR] = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.80), and possibly also with greater purpose in life, less marijuana use, and fewer lifetime sexual partners, but negatively associated with college degree attainment (RR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.88) and possibly with greater risk of posttraumatic stress disorder. These results may encourage education stakeholders to consider a wider range of outcomes beyond academic performance in decision-making.

Introduction

Empirical studies evaluating student outcomes across various types of schools can inform decision-making among policy-makers, educators, parents and other education stakeholders [ 1 ]. School experiences in primary and secondary schools may be crucial for shaping individuals’ developmental and well-being trajectories in later life [ 2 ], and shaping student well-being is arguably one of the important aims of education [ 3 ]. It is, therefore, important to understand students’ long-term achievements and well-being across different aspects of life when comparing various types of primary and secondary schools. Such evidence would further empower decision making among policy-makers, educators, parents and other education stakeholders [ 1 ].

While there is considerable variation across individual schools, adolescent schooling can largely be divided into 4 types: public schools, private independent schools, private religious schools and home schooling [ 4 ]. According to recent reports, among U.S. adolescents in 2016, approximately 87.0% attended public schools, 8.8% attended private schools and 3.6% were homeschooled [ 5 ]. Public schools are mainly funded and regulated by local governments to provide free education to every child [ 6 , 7 ]. In contrast, private schools primarily depend on private sources of funding (e.g., tuition, donation), are operated by private organizations that are either religiously or non-religiously affiliated, and have relatively high autonomy in decision-making such as student enrollment and curriculum development [ 6 , 7 ]. Homeschooling involves providing education at home, which is typically led by parents. Homeschooling can follow a predetermined curriculum (i.e., structured homeschooling), or self-directed natural learning without a fixed curriculum (i.e., unstructured homeschooling) [ 8 , 9 ].

These different types of schools often prioritize different educational goals [ 9 ]. For example, schools may aim to support students in developing academic knowledge, intrinsic motivation to learn, social skills and networks, civic engagement, a healthy lifestyle, well-being, good character, or a particular religious faith, with different school types emphasizing each of these goals to greater or lesser extents [ 10 , 11 ]. It is arguably helpful for policy-makers, educators, parents and other education stakeholders to understand associations between school types and student outcomes related to this wide range of educational goals [ 12 – 14 ]. However, to date, the empirical evaluation of student outcomes across school types has, perhaps understandably, been based primarily on academic achievement.

Empirical studies on school types and student outcomes have most often used standardized test scores as the primary outcome for evaluation. The findings from such studies are rather mixed overall [ 12 ], with some studies suggesting that students attending private independent schools, private religious schools and structured homeschooling had modestly higher standardized test scores on some disciplines as compared to their peers at public schools [ 13 – 17 ], while other studies did not find such evidence [ 18 – 20 ].

Beyond academic achievement, studies examining school types and student outcomes related to other educational goals are sparse. There has been some prior research exploring various school types in relation to civic engagement and family formation outcomes, with some research suggesting that attending private independent schools and private religious schools is linked with greater civic engagement and more positive family outcomes than attending public schools [ 21 – 23 ], whereas some other research suggested little evidence of such differences [ 17 ]. In addition, there has been some prior research on homeschooling versus institutional schooling for a number of student outcomes, with homeschooling associated with greater civic engagement [ 24 ], less alcohol and drug use [ 25 , 26 ], better sleep [ 27 ], equal or better mental health and well-being [ 28 – 31 ] and equal or better social-emotional skills [ 24 , 31 , 32 ]. While these studies have contributed to the literature, several methodological concerns remain. For instance, most of these studies had small samples, limited covariate control, and used cross-sectional data, making it difficult to assess evidence for causal effects. More research is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of associations between various school types and a diverse array of student outcomes, with longitudinal data and rigorous methodologies.

To address these gaps in the literature, we performed an outcome-wide longitudinal analysis [ 33 , 34 ] to compare adolescents attending various types of schools in the years that followed across a wide range of outcomes in their young adulthood, with extensive control of potential confounders (e.g., family socioeconomic status, family environment). The outcomes include multiple indicators of subsequent psychological well-being, social engagement, character strengths, mental health, health behavior and physical health outcomes.

Study population

This study used longitudinal data from the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII) [ 35 ] and the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) [ 36 ]. Established in 1989, the NHSII cohort enrolled 116,430 female registered nurses aged 25 to 42 years from across the U.S. In 1996, NHSII participants with children between the age of 9 to 14 years old were invited to have their children participate in another cohort GUTS. Invitation letters and questionnaires were then mailed to the children whose mother provided consent. Of them, 16,882 children returned the completed questionnaires at study baseline, thereby assenting to participate. Since then, NHSII and GUTS participants have been followed up through mail or web-based questionnaires annually or biennially [ 35 , 36 ].

In this study, school types were assessed in the GUTS 1999 questionnaire wave (N = 12,288, mean age = 14.56 years); thus, this year was considered as the study baseline. Data on outcome variables were taken from the most recent GUTS questionnaire waves, primarily the 2010 questionnaire wave (mean age = 25.10 years); if the outcome was not assessed at the 2010 wave, we used data from the 2013 or 2007 wave; covariates were mostly assessed at or prior to the 1999 wave ( S1 Table provided the timeline regarding the measurements of all variables). Among participants of the 1999 questionnaire, 1,025 individuals had missing data on school type, another 6,711 participants had missing data on at least one covariate (most covariates had less than 18% of missing data); depending on the outcome, another 681 to 1,510 participants had missing outcome data or were lost to follow-up. A multiple imputation procedure was used handle missing data on all variables. This yielded an analytic sample of 12,288 participants, with 2,432 of them being siblings (some families had multiple children enrolled). This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Exposure assessment

School types.

Participants were asked to report the types of schools that they were attending in response to the question (GUTS 1999): “What type of school do you attend?” The responses were grouped into 4 categories including public schools, private independent schools, private religious schools, and home schooled. Those who reported not in school or attending universities were excluded from all analyses.

Outcome assessment

A wide array of outcomes in young adulthood were assessed (primarily in 2010). Such outcomes included indicators of psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, self-esteem, emotional regulation), social engagement (i.e., marital status, community engagement, religious service attendance, educational attainment), character strengths (i.e., volunteering, sense of mission, forgiveness, civic engagement), mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), health behaviors (i.e., current smoking, binge drinking, marijuana or other illicit drug use, prescription drug misuse, number of lifetime sexual partners, early sexual initiation, history of sexually transmitted infections [STIs], short sleep duration, preventive healthcare use), and physical health (i.e., overweight/obesity, a number of physical health problems). Details on the measurement of all outcome variables were provided in the S1 Text .

Covariate assessment

Demographic characteristics.

Demographic covariates included participant age (in years), sex (male, female), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white, others), geographic region (West, Midwest, South, Northeastern), and puberty development (assessed with the tanner stage score) [ 36 , 37 ]. Maternal demographic covariates were also considered including mother’s age (in years), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white, others), and marital status (married, others).

Family socioeconomic status (SES)

Multiple indicators of family socioeconomic status were adjusted for including maternal subjective SES in the U.S. and in the community (both assessed with validated scales on a 10-point scale) [ 38 ], mother’s current employment status (currently employed, unemployed), father’s educational attainment (high school or less, 2-year college, 4-year college, grad school, non-applicable), pretax household income (1: <$50,000, 2: $50,000-$74,999, 3: $75,000-$99,999, 4: ≥$100,000), census-tract college education rate (used as a continuous variable), and census-tract median income (1: <$50,000, 2: $50,000-$74,999, 3: $75,000-$99,999, 4: ≥$100,000).

Family environment factors

The following baseline family environment factors were considered including participant family structure (live with both biological parents, live with a stepparent, others), family dinner frequency (never/sometimes, most days, everyday), religious service attendance (never, less than once/week, at least once/week), maternal relationship satisfaction (retrospectively reported by GUTS participants, assessed with a nine-item validated scale measuring parent-child relationship satisfaction) [ 39 ], maternal depression (yes, no), and maternal smoking status (never smoker, former smoker, current smoker).

Prior health status or health behaviors

To reduce concerns about reverse causation, the following health characteristics at baseline were adjusted for: depressive symptoms (assessed with the Depression Symptoms Scale of the McKnight Risk Factor Survey) [ 40 ], overweight/obesity (yes, no), current cigarette smoking (yes, no), frequent binge drinking (yes, no), marijuana or other illicit drug use (yes, no), prescription drug misuse (yes, no), history of STIs (yes, no), history of early sexual initiation (yes, no), and the number of lifetime sexual partners (a continuous score).

Statistical analyses

All statistical analyses were performed in SAS 9.4 (tests of statistical significance were two-sided). Analysis of variance and Chi-square tests were used to examine baseline participant characteristics across school types.

In primary analyses, generalized estimated equation (GEE) models with independent covariance structure were used to regress each outcome on school types separately, adjusting for clustering by sibling status. All continuous outcomes were standardized (mean = 0, standard deviation = 1), so the effect estimates were reported in terms of standard deviations in the outcome variables. To account for multiple testing, Bonferroni correction was performed. All models controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, family environment factors, and health status and health-related behaviors at baseline. Because multiple imputation provides a more flexible approach than many other methods of handling missing data [ 41 – 43 ], we performed multiple imputation by chained equations to impute missing data on all variables, with 20 imputed datasets created. As a sensitivity analysis, we also reanalyzed the primary sets of models using complete-case analysis.

A number of other sensitivity analyses were performed. First, because public school qualities are often influenced by district- and state-level characteristics, we reanalyzed the primary sets of models 1) stratified by neighborhood SES first, and then 2) restricting to participants from the 10 states with the highest and the 10 states with the lowest public school ranking [ 44 ] separately. Second, because some parents might send their children to religious schools for non-religious reasons [ 45 ], we compared students attending religious schools versus public schools, stratified by their frequency of religious service attendance at baseline (considering at least once/week of attendance as a proxy indicator for religiousness). Next, because religious faith is a major reason for homeschooling [ 6 ], we compared the home-schooled with those attending religious schools across the outcomes. Lastly, we evaluated the extent to which the associations between school types and various outcomes were robust to potential unmeasured confounding [ 46 – 48 ]. For this purpose, we calculated E-values [ 47 ], which represent the minimum strength of association that an unmeasured confounder(s) would need to have with both the exposure and the outcome variables on the risk ratio scale to fully explain away the exposure-outcome associations, above and beyond the measured covariates.

Participant characteristics

At study baseline participant age range was 11–19 years, with a mean age of 14.56 years (SD = 1.62). The participants were higher percentage female, primarily non-Hispanic White, mostly had a high level of family SES, and were generally healthy ( S1 Table ). The majority reported attending public schools (80.56%), followed by private religious schools (9.67%), private independent schools (8.12%), and homeschooling (1.66%). Compared to those at public schools, participants who attended private independent or religious schools generally had a higher level of family SES. Further, participants at religious schools or in homeschooling were more likely to attend religious services, live with both biological parents, have family dinners frequently, and have lower rates of smoking, binge drinking, drug use, maternal depression or maternal smoking at baseline. Consistent with findings in other samples [ 49 ], homeschoolers in this sample were more common in the South and Midwest, and their mothers were less likely to be currently employed ( Table 1 ).

Abbreviations: SES, socioeconomic status; SD, standard deviation; STIs, sexually-transmitted infections.

a ANOVA or chi-square tests were used to examine the mean levels (SD) of the characteristic or proportion of individuals within each school type category with that characteristic.

b Range of the following participant characteristics were age (range: 11–19 years), puberty development stage (range: 1 to 5), mother’s age (range: 34 to 53), subjective SES in the US (range: 1–10), subjective SES in the community (range: 1–10), census tract college education rate (range: 0%–85%), maternal relationship satisfaction (range: 9–45), prior depressive symptoms (range: 0 to 4), prior number of lifetime sexual partners (range: 0 to 6).

c Father’s education was assessed by the participant’s mother’s report of her spouse’s education level. Those who did not consider themselves as currently having a spouse responded “non-applicable”.

School types and subsequent health and well-being

There was little difference in subsequent outcomes between adolescents attending private independent schools versus public schools across various health and well-being outcomes examined, except for some evidence that private school students subsequently reported slightly higher levels of forgiveness (β = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.15), though the association did not pass the P<0.05 threshold after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing ( Table 2 ).

Abbreviations: RR, risk ratio; CI, confidence interval; PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder; STIs, sexually transmitted infections.

a The full analytic sample was restricted to those who responded to the Growing Up Today Study 1999 questionnaire wave in which the exposure school type was assessed. Multiple imputation was performed to impute missing data on all variables. In the imputed analytic sample, the sample size for each school type was 9,675 for public school, 1,298 for private non-religious school, 1,126 for religious school, and 189 for home schooled.

b A set of generalized estimating equations were used to regress each outcome on school type separately. All models controlled for participants’ age, sex, race/ethnicity, puberty development, geographic region, mother’s age, mother’s race/ethnicity, mother’s marital status, socioeconomic status (including mother’s subjective socioeconomic status, mother’s employment status, father’s educational attainment, household income, census tract college education rate, and census tract median income), participant family environment (including family structure, family dinner frequency, maternal relationship satisfaction, frequency of religious service attendance, maternal depression, and maternal smoking), and participant prior health status or prior health behaviors (prior depressive symptoms, overweight/obesity, smoking, drinking, marijuana use, other drug use, prescription, drug misuse, number of sexual partners, early sexual initiation, and history of sexually transmitted infections).

c All continuous outcomes were standardized (mean = 0, standard deviation = 1), and β was the standardized effect size.

d p<0.05 after Bonferroni correction (the p value cutoff for Bonferroni correction is p = 0.05/30 outcomes = 0.002).

As compared to public schools, there was some evidence that students at religious schools subsequently had a higher likelihood of frequent religious service attendance and becoming registered voters, a lower risk of overweight/obesity and fewer lifetime sexual partners on average (e.g., β number of sexual partners = -0.08, 95% CI: -0.14, -0.02); however, they were more likely to subsequently be frequent binge drinkers (e.g., RR binge drinking = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.27), though such associations again did not reach a p < .05 threshold after accounting for multiple testing ( Table 2 ).

Compared to those attending public schools, homeschooled students were subsequently 51% more likely to attend religious services frequently (RR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.80), reported greater frequency of volunteering (β = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.52), and had substantially higher levels of forgiveness on average (β = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.46), but were 23% less likely to attain a college degree (e.g., RR attain a college degree = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.88) in young adulthood; all of these associations also passed the p<0.05 threshold even after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. There was also some evidence that homeschooled students subsequently reported a higher level of sense of mission in life, lower risks of marijuana use and fewer lifetime sexual partners, but possibly had a higher risk of PTSD; these latter associations, however, passed conventional, but not Bonferroni-corrected, p-value thresholds ( Table 2 ).

Sensitivity analyses for unmeasured confounding

E-values [ 47 ] were calculated for assessing robustness of the observed associations to potential unmeasured confounding ( Table 3 ). There was evidence, for example, that the associations of homeschooling with subsequent volunteering, forgiveness, religious service attendance, and educational attainment were at least moderately robust to unmeasured confounding. For instance, to fully explain away the observed association between homeschool and volunteering above and beyond the measured covariates, an unmeasured confounder associated with both homeschooling and greater likelihood of volunteering by 2.04-fold each on the risk ratio scale could suffice, but weaker joint confounder associations could not; and unmeasured confounding risk ratios of 1.54-fold for both volunteering and home-schooling could suffice to shift the confidence interval to include the null value, but weaker joint confounder could not. Similarly strong E-values were observed with homeschooling in relation to lower education attainment, higher forgiveness, and greater religious service attendance. In contrast, for all comparisons of outcomes for public versus private independent schools, and all comparisons of public versus religious schools, the E-values for the confidence interval were at most 1.24, and often considerably smaller, suggesting modest amounts of confounding could suffice to explain away the observed difference. The only moderately robust evidence to potential unmeasured confounding was thus comparing public schools and homeschooling.

* See VanderWeele and Ding (ref no. 46 ) for the formula for calculating E-values.

† The E-values for effect estimates are the minimum strength of association on the risk ratio scale that an unmeasured confounder would need to have with both the exposure and the outcome to fully explain away the observed exposure-outcome association, conditional on the measured covariates. For example, an unmeasured confounder would need to be associated with both homeschooling and religious service attendance by risk ratios of 2.39 each, above and beyond the measured covariates, to fully explain away the observed association between homeschooling and religious service attendance.

‡ The E-values for the limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) closest to the null denote the minimum strength of association on the risk ratio scale that an unmeasured confounder would need to have with both the exposure and the outcome to shift the confidence interval to include the null value, conditional on the measured covariates. For example, an unmeasured confounder would need to be associated with both homeschooling and religious service attendance by 1.86-fold each, above and beyond the measured covariates, to shift the lower limit of the confidence interval for the observed association between homeschooling and religious service attendance.

Other sensitivity analyses

First, reanalyzing the primary models using complete-case analyses yielded similar results as the primary analyses ( S2 Table ). Second, the analyses stratified by neighborhood SES also yielded similar results as the primary analyses. Specifically, there was little difference between private independent schools and public schools across outcomes among those residing in areas with either low ( S3A Table ) or high ( S3B Table ) levels of census-tract median income; magnitudes of the effect estimates comparing religious versus public schools across outcomes were also similar to the primary analyses, but the confidence intervals were wider due to the smaller sample size in each stratum ( S3A and S3B Table ). Next, the analyses restricting to participants from states with the lowest ( S4A Table ) and the highest public school rankings ( S4B Table ) again found little difference between private and public schools in those states. Next, the sensitivity analyses stratified by frequency of religious service attendance suggested that the associations of religious schools (versus public schools) with greater likelihood of registered voting status, fewer lifetime sexual partners and lower risk of overweight/obesity, but elevated risks of binge drinking were slightly stronger among those who attended religious services more frequently ( S5 Table ). Finally, the analyses comparing homeschooling to religious schools provided some suggestive evidence that the homeschooled adolescents may volunteer more frequently and have a lower risk of marijuana use in their young adulthood ( S6 Table ).

The present study suggests that for the children of nurses who participated in this study, there was little difference between attending private independent schools versus public schools in subsequent health and well-being outcomes in young adulthood. There was also only modest evidence for differences in subsequent outcomes when comparing private religious schools to public schools. In contrast, there was considerably greater evidence that homeschooling versus public schools was positively associated with several outcomes (e.g., volunteering) but negatively associated with others (e.g., educational attainment). Prior empirical studies comparing student outcomes across various types of schools have primarily used short-term standardized test scores as the outcome for evaluation. This study extends the literature by simultaneously examining multiple long-term health and well-being outcomes using longitudinal data. Below we will comment on relations to prior literature on this topic, but also on the particularities of the sample used in this study.

Consistent with some prior studies suggesting little or only modest differences in test scores comparing private and public school students [ 19 ], this study did not find substantial differences in longer-term educational attainment (i.e. college degree). While outcomes beyond academic achievement have been less often investigated, congruent with some of the strongest prior evidence [ 17 ], this study also suggested little difference in social connectedness between private versus public school attendants. Likewise, consistent with some prior evidence [ 17 ], yet contrary to other studies [ 21 , 22 ], this study also found little difference in subsequent civic engagement comparing private versus public school students. It is possible that private and public schools may differ in outcomes that were not examined in this study, such as students’ subjective schooling experiences, opportunities for parental involvement and parental satisfaction [ 17 ]. It is also possible that there may be greater variations within, rather than between, these types of schools. For instance, some important factors that contribute to school performance such as teacher quality, teacher experience, and the availability of after-school programs may vary considerably across individual schools [ 50 ].

This study found only relatively modest health and well-being associations comparing attending religious schools versus public schools concerning overweight/obese and lifetime sexual partners. Attending religious schools was associated with a slightly higher risk of frequent binge drinking in young adulthood in this sample. This was surprising as prior research has suggested that religious service attendance during childhood and adolescence is associated with subsequently healthier behaviors in general [ 51 ]. However, it may be religious service attendance (rather than religious schooling) that is the primary driver of the overall associations with religious upbringing. Our analyses adjusted for, and stratified by service attendance, while this has not often been accounted for in prior studies of religious schooling [ 14 ]. It is, therefore, possible that the associations between religious schooling and health in some prior studies may in fact reflect confounding by religious service attendance, which again evidence suggests is related to subsequent health and well-being [ 51 ]. However, if service attendance is itself a part of religious schooling (and possibly the only source of service attendance for some students) then it is also possible that control for service attendance is over-adjustment and may in fact be an integral part of the effects of religious schooling. In any case, the present analysis suggests that it may be religious service attendance, however it is experienced, rather than other aspects of religious schooling that have the more substantial associations with outcomes later in life, at least for the outcomes examined here. Religious knowledge and literacy, which may be the primary motivation for religious schooling for some parents, was not assessed in this study.

The largest differences in our study in subsequent outcomes were between homeschooling and public schools. Congruent with prior studies [ 31 ], homeschoolers in this sample (versus those at public schools) were more likely to report subsequently greater character strengths and fewer risky health behaviors. However, homeschooled students were less likely to attain a college degree. While educational attainment may differ between structured and unstructured homeschooling [ 52 ], this study did not have data on such subtypes and found that, averaging across these subtypes, and overall homeschoolers had a lower likelihood of attaining a college degree in young adulthood. This may in part reflect lower attainment in learning or less interest in attending college, but it may also reflect the status quo that some U.S. universities have restricted admission policies for the homeschooled [ 53 ]. Contrary to prior evidence that homeschoolers (versus public school attenders) typically have equal or greater psychosocial and emotional well-being [ 31 ], this study suggested that homeschoolers may have a higher risk of probable PTSD in young adulthood. These contrasting results might in part be attributed to the longitudinal design and the covariate control strategies in this study as compared to prior studies; we were examining outcomes in young adulthood, rather than while the children were still at school and associations could potentially differ for outcomes assessed in the short-run versus the long-run.

There have been controversies over regulations concerning homeschooling and also over whether and what types of public-school services should be made accessible to the homeschooled, with many of the discussions centered around academic resources and extracurricular activities [ 54 , 55 ]. With the growth in internet use, homeschooling has becoming increasingly easier and more popular in the United States [ 5 ]. The Covid-19 pandemic has also forced some parents into home-schooling and this may itself alter long-term practices. Although the associations in our study warrant further investigation in future studies, the results here provide some suggestive evidence that support for the psychological well-being of homeschoolers may be worthwhile.

This study is subject to certain limitations. First, the participants were mostly non-Hispanic White and were all children of nurses. Findings of this study may not be generalizable to other populations. Specifically, because all of the students were children of relatively well-educated mothers, this group may have been more able than most to ensure high quality schooling for their children regardless of school type and also more likely to change school type if the particular public or private or religious schools in their area were deemed to be inadequate. The comparisons in this paper pertain to the schools attended by students in this particular sample; they are not comparisons across all U.S. schools. The findings may therefore be most relevant for families who are facing decisions and school dynamics relatively similar to this sample, rather than representative of the general U.S. population. Second, while there may be substantial variation within types of schools [ 50 ], we were unable to account for characteristics of individual schools due to the lack of data. However, the homogeneous feature of this sample (all participants were the children of nurses) and the sensitivity analyses stratified by multiple sociodemographic characteristics helped reduce such concerns. Third, the various school types can be further divided into subtypes that may be associated with different outcomes in certain cases [ 13 , 56 ], we could not explore such subtypes here due to a lack of data. For example, we could not examine charter schools separately, which are publicly funded schools with relatively high levels of autonomy in curriculum design, budgets and personnel hiring [ 57 , 58 ], though these are more common now than when school type in this study was assessed. Likewise, we could not examine the subcategories of structured and unstructured homeschooling independently [ 8 ]. Further, the sample size of homeschoolers was relatively small (n = 187) in this study, which may have limited our statistical power. However, we nevertheless found associations between homeschooling and several outcomes, even with this more limited statistical power; moreover, we found few differences among any of the other school types, even though the sample sizes were larger.

Despite these limitations, this study provides important evidence concerning associations between school types and a wide range of long-term outcomes. To our knowledge this is the first study that has prospectively examined a wide range of long-term health and well-being outcomes across multiple types of adolescent schooling. Further, this study rigorously accounted for a wide array of covariates that helps reduce concerns about potential confounding, selection bias and reverse causation, which are major methodological concerns in prior studies [ 59 ].

School choice is certainly shaped by a variety of factors, such as beliefs, values, and logistical considerations, in addition to a desire for academic learning and educational achievement. A broad range of outcomes, considering numerous aspects of a child’s long-term well-being, is therefore arguably relevant for decision-making. The results of this study might thus help inform policy-makers, educators, parents and other education stakeholders in their decisions by consideration of the evidence on this broader range of educational goals and outcomes.

Supporting information

A. School type in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood, among those residing in low socioeconomic status neighborhoods. B. School type in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood, among those residing in high socioeconomic status neighborhoods.

A. School type in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood, among those residing in the top 10 states with the lowest public school ranking. B. School type in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood, among those residing in the top 10 states with the highest public school ranking.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School for their support in conducting this study.

Funding Statement

This study was supported by the Templeton Foundation (grant #52125 and #61075, recipient T.J.V) and the National Institutes of Health (grant CA222147, recipient T.J.V). The National Institutes of Health supported the Growing Up Today Study (grant U01 HL145386 and R01 HD057368) and the Nurses’ Health Study II (grant U01 CA176726 and R01 CA67262). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Data Availability