The underlying assumption of this proposal seems to be that the citizen is somehow subject to the standards set by the state. Or perhaps that the state has a more compelling interest in the well being of the child than the parent. As any homeschooling parent can tell you, we don’t need a test to tell us how our child is doing. They are not a name on a roster, they are our focus of attention.
In a new article in the journal Theory and Research in Education, professor Robert Kunzman proposes a small step to improve homeschooling: Require states to mandate a basic skills test at key intervals to ensure that students are able to meet appropriate academic benchmarks in subjects such as math and reading.Unlike in the public system, many homeschoolers are not subjected to frequent assessment tests — however imperfect they may be — to ensure that students aren’t left behind as grade levels progress. While many, perhaps even the majority, of homeschoolers have been shown in (perhaps controversial) studies to perform better than their public school counterparts, others can just as easily be left behind by poor teaching. Read more…
