Homeschool numbers growing
Weekdays in the Perry household start like those in any other. The kids brush their teeth, dress, grab a quick breakfast.
Then, they make their way to school — at the dining room table.
Anna, 7, tries to focus on her workbook. Bekah, 5, squirms in her chair and plays with 2-year-old Danielle, who needs a nap and starts wailing. Books are stacked on every surface. Little posters with insects and alphabets dot the walls, stand-ins for typical dining room decor.
"Welcome," says their mother Kim Perry, smiling amid the disorder, "to our classroom."
Of course, it included the typical naysayer stuff....
Education authorities say they worry that, because home-schooled students aren't required to take statewide achievement tests in many states, including Missouri and Illinois, students may not meet expectations. Science class in a home-school household, for example, might veer from teaching evolutionary theory. A science course might instead have a name like "God's Design for Heaven & Earth," as it does in the Perry household.
...with a surprisingly positive response
Home-schoolers say the diplomas they confer on their children are evidence of a solid education. So are the transcripts they submit to colleges.
Increasingly colleges say they agree....
Regina Morin, director of admissions at Columbia College, says the school is seeing more home-schoolers apply each year.
"They tend to be better than their public school counterparts," she said. "They score above average on tests, they're more independent, they're often a grade ahead."
All in all, it is a reasonably fair article.
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