Dear Homeschool Parent:

We are conducting a new large-scale study of homeschooling across the United States and would like your family to participate. This project is being administered cooperatively by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). It will be the largest and most in-depth study ever conducted on homeschool families and their academic ability.

To participate you must have ordered a test from either BJU Press, Family Learning Organization, Piedmont Education Services, or Seton Testing Services.

The results will help homeschool organizations better serve homeschool families, inform lawmakers, policymakers, and the general public about the benefits of a home-based education, and encourage those who choose to homeschool.

Your responses will be confidential. All the organizations mentioned above intimately understand the privacy concerns of homeschoolers. Participation is, of course, voluntary but we need all families to participate, regardless of your children’s academic abilities.

To add an incentive for a timely response, we are offering the following three prizes.

First prize: iPod
Second prize: $100 Visa Gift Card, or free two-year HSLDA membership
Third Prize: $50 Visa Gift Card, or free one-year HSLDA membership

Winners will be chosen by random drawing from all participants on or around January 6, 2009. For survey prize rules please visit www.hslda.org/HSstudy/.

To complete the survey (for those using one of the aforementioned testing services) please go to www.nheri.org/study within the next 5 days of receiving the test forms for your children. Alternatively, you can call the number below and ask for a paper copy of the survey.

If you have any questions or concerns about how to complete the survey, or about this study in general, please do not hesitate to contact: Ian Slatter, HSLDA, phone 540-338-8663.

Thank you for taking time to consider and participate in this exciting new study.

Sincerely,

Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., NHERI

J. Michael Smith, HSLDA