The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents

Support for Home Based Education by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley

In the March 5, 1997 issue of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, [United States] Secretary of Education Richard Riley is quoted as saying that he wants homeschooling representatives to attend a national forum to bring “the nation’s best teachers” together to address [the] country’s education challenges. The article states: “Home-school students score significantly higher on standardized achievement tests than their public-school counterparts do. While by definition public school students average at the 50th percentile on standardized tests, this nationwide study conducted by Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, reveals that home schoolers have average scores between the 80th and 87th percentiles on every subtest (including reading, listening, language, math, science, social studies and study skills). The average score on the basic battery of skills is in the 85th percentile, while the average complete battery score is in the 87th percentile — a phenomenal 37-percentile differential.”

The article goes on to say that home educated children who are part of minority groups do equally as well as others when they are home educated – unlike at government-run schools.