Truth & Character Thursdays

“Education is a system of imposed ignorance.” ― Noam Chomsky

If it seems that you are hearing of so many more families homeschooling in Canada these days, that’s probably because the numbers are always going up! According to Dr. Joseph Woodard, homeschooling has grown by 54% in the last 5 years (2019-2024).

What are some of the reasons for that growth? What does the research show about the children being home educated and the adults who were?

Homeschool Students Out-Perform Their Public School Peers

Quality of education is part of the reason that many families choose to homeschool their children. But is it really any better? Different studies have been conducted that support this idea.

Sandra Martin-Chang, assistant professor in the Department of Education at Concordia University, performed a study comparing test scores for children who learned at home with those who attended public school. The study consisted of 37 children in each category from comparable backgrounds. In her findings shared in the article High Marks for Homeschoolers, Martin-Chang states that “Children who receive structured homeschooling significantly outperform public school children across a range of subjects.” Later on in this article she specifies that “Homeschooled children scored significantly higher in 7 different subjects.”

In Homeschool Academic Achievement Fact Sheet, Brian D. Ray, PH.D, stated findings from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) that “63% of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in institutional schools.”

While there is no study to prove WHY homeschooled students achieve more academic success, it is fair to assume that the personalized education they receive, as well as the one-on-one instruction, would be huge components. Home educated children are able to learn at their own pace and in a way that makes sense to them. Many homeschooled students are able to develop a love of learning, along with an understanding of how to learn, and this serves them well as they move through life.

Homeschool Students Are More Likely to Succeed in Postsecondary Education

Some people hesitate to homeschool out of fear of what that means for their child’s postsecondary aspirations. However, these days, many colleges and universities are seeking out, not just welcoming, homeschool students.

“When compared with the same age group of the Canadian population, home-educated adults were more likely to have undergraduate degrees, and equally likely to have graduate degrees” (Van Pelt, Allison and Allison, pg 2).

“Overall, young adults who had been home educated had a higher academic education than similarly aged Canadians. This was particularly notable with respect to postsecondary education, where greater proportions of home education graduates had attained Bachelors’ and graduate degrees” (Van Pelt, Allison and Allison, pg 2).

The research is showing that if our children desire to pursue higher education, they are able to.

Homeschool Students Can Be Taught From a Biblical Worldview

While not all families who homeschool do so for religious reasons, it is a commonly cited advantage. As Christian parents, we know that our children, ultimately, will make their own choices on what to believe, but we still hope they choose to follow God. It is ultimately between them and the Lord, but we can set a strong foundation, disciple them, equip them, and prayerfully hope they trust in Him.

In a 2009 study founded by CCHE, it was found that “Religious beliefs were very important in the lives of three-quarters (76%) of our respondents, compared with only one- quarter (26%) of similarly-aged Canadians” (Van Pelt, Allison and Allison, pg 3).

Homeschool Students Experience Mental and Physical Health Benefits

One could argue there are many mental and physical health benefits of homeschooling your children such as:

• Eating meals in a more relaxed manner, not rushing;
• More time for movement, play, and exercise;
• Learning where they’re at instead of feeling behind;
• Less exposure to peer pressure and comparison;
• And more time for sleep and rest.

Being well-rested and having sufficient sleep is a key factor in so many areas of health and wellness for children. As homeschoolers, we have the ability to adjust our schedules when possible to prioritize our children’s sleep. Dr. Ze Wang, from the University of Maryland, and his research team have spent lots of time studying the correlation between sleep and the brain. Their study focused on 4,000 kids between the ages of 9 and 10, comparing those who received the recommended 9 hours of sleep or more with those who got less than the recommended hours of sleep over a 2 year period.

“The researchers found that children in the insufficient sleep group at the start of the study had more mental health and behavioral challenges than those who got sufficient sleep. These included impulsivity, stress, depression, anxiety, aggressive behavior, and thinking problems. The children with insufficient sleep also had impaired cognitive functions such as decision making, conflict solving, working memory, and learning. Differences between the groups persisted at the two-year follow-up.” (National Institutes of Health, 2022) Not only this, but the study also used brain imaging that showed differences in brain structure and function suggesting that lack of sleep affects learning and behaviour. Our homeschooled children absolutely benefit from their rest!

Homeschool Students Develop Logic and Critical Thinking

While many students in the public school system learn the material needed to pass a test, homeschooled students typically focus more on the critical thinking aspect. Rote learning is less common for children educated at home and interest-led, critical thinking takes higher precedent. Most homeschool families know that the ability to learn and understand is greater than the ability to memorize or reproduce. This is how lifelong learners are made.

Think of the well-known saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Teaching our children material is important, sure, but teaching them how to learn opens doors for them for the rest of their lives. This ability to learn and think critically is a large part of what makes homeschool students more successful in postsecondary, as well as the job field.

“It was hypothesized that homeschooled children’s scores on a test of thinking skills would be above average when compared to norms derived from a sample of children attending public schools…The test includes six subscales, each measuring a different thinking skill: making inferences, sequencing, negative questions, problem solving, predicting, and determining causes…The hypothesis that homeschooled children’s scores on a test of thinking skills would be above average when compared to norms derived from a sample of children attending public schools was supported. Homeschooled children’s scores were well above the average for public school children, ranging from the 58th to the 67th percentile.” (Medlin and Butler, pg 75)

Originally published in the Fall 2025 issue of The Homeschool Review. Expanded for online publication.

Works Cited

Martin-Chang, Sandra and Hadd, Wendi. “High Marks for Home-Schooling”. University of Concordia. 2012.
https://www.concordia.ca/news/articles/2012/high-marks-for-homeschooling.html. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025

Medlin, Richard G. and Butler, Jessica L. “Thinking Skills, Academic Intrinsic Motivation, Academic Self-Concept, and Academic Independence in Homeschooled Children.” Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, Vol. 12, Issue 24, 2018. https://jual.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2018/10/v12243.pdf. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025

Van Pelt, Allison and Allison. “Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults, A Synopsis”. 2019. https://cche.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2009EnglishSynopsis-1.pdf. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025

Ethical dilemmas

If you had to choose, what factor would be the absolute deciding one for you: the curriculum flexibility of homeschooling or the social environment of public school?