Is Family Income a Predictor of Academic Achievement for Home Schoolers?      Segmenting student test scores by family income shows that socioeconomic status is not a determinant of academic performance for home schoolers (Figure 8.0). Regardless of family income bracket, home school students score between the 82nd and 92nd percentiles.      According to some researchers and officials, family income has a significant impact on public school students’ scores. Concerned about a recent study of student achievement in the Denver public schools, a school board member wrote, “The conclusion is clear. Family income and class are stronger indicators of education success than race.”2

Continue to next page Footnote: * See Ray (1997) for more detail about the non-equal-interval nature of a simple percentile scale which has distortion especially near the ends of the scale.      2 Denver Business Journal, February 21, 1997, p. 40A. See also, Coleman, James S., Thomas Hoffer, & Sally Kilgore, (1982) High school achievement: Public, Catholic, and private schools compared, New York, NY: Basic Books, and Snow, Catherine E., Wendy S. Barnes, Jean Chandler, Irene F. Goodman, & Lowry Hemphill, (1991) Unfulfilled expectations: Home and school influences on literacy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Copyright © 1997 Brian D. Ray & HSLDA This report may not be reproduced.

10

Choose a page below 1 - Cover 2 - Introduction 3 - Number of Home Schoolers 4 - Home School Student Scores 5 - Long-Term vs. Midstream 6 - Teacher Certification 7 - Parent Education Level 8 - Success of Minorities 9 - Gender Gap 10 - Family Income 11 - Spending and Achievement 12 - Government Regulation 13 - Test Administration 14 - Types of Curriculum 15 - Trips to the Library 16 - Computers in Home Schools 17 - Socialization 18 - Hours Spent on TV 19 - Ages of Students in Study 20 - Occupations of Parents 21 - Length of Home Schooling 22 - Home Education of Grads 23 - After Graduation 24 - Conclusion 25 - About the Researcher

Supported by the

Home School Foundation www.homeschoolfoundation.org