No one knows for sure, since countries vary so widely in their data collection requirements and practices.  Regulations and oversight vary even within countries.  In Germany, for instance, homeschooling is almost entirely illegal, but research suggests that enforcement of such prohibitions varies by region.  In the United States, many state regulations include mandatory registration and testing, but some states make no effort to enforce these rules.  Despite the lack of consistent and comprehensive data, it seems clear that home education is a growing phenomenon worldwide, with strongest representation in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. 

Again, these vary widely from nation to nation, and even within nations themselves (in some countries, including the United States, educational authority rests largely with states or provinces).  Click here for information about specific regulations in countries around the world.

Attempting to define the typical homeschooler is akin to describing the typical public school student—the range of demographics, philosophies, and practices makes such a generalization nearly impossible.  While stereotypes of socially reclusive, religiously zealous homeschoolers retain some purchase in the public imagination, the continued growth of home education means that the broader public is increasingly exposed to a diversity of homeschool families. 

While not fully capturing all of this diversity, scholars in multiple countries over many decades have consistently identified a few broad categories of homeschoolers.  The terms used to identify these groupings have ranged widely, as has the percentage of families falling into each category by country.  But in general homeschoolers are typically classified in one of three groups.  First are families whose religious beliefs lead them to reject government schooling and replace it with a structured curriculum that reinforces family religious and moral commitments.  Second are families who object to the structure and bureaucracy of formal schooling and seek to replace it with a more natural, child-centered form of learning.  Third are families who turn to homeschooling by pragmatic necessity given a child's particular health needs or specialized activities.  Again, these categories do not exhaust the options, but they have been shown to account for most homeschoolers in every country that has been studied.

Many small-scale research studies have explored this question, and offer a range of answers—often depending upon the categories used, typically multi-faceted, and sometimes shifting among the same families over time.  The most common reasons appear to be concerns over the institutional school environment—curricula and/or social environment—which are sometimes, but certainly not always, informed by religious convictions.  Parents also mention the need to provide a more individualized educational experience for their children, as well as a desire to prioritize family over a life segmented by externally imposed schedules and priorities.

Evidence regarding this question has been fraught with controversy because most of the studies that have received widest attention have been interpreted to say something they do not and cannot. We simply can’t draw any conclusions about the academic performance of the “average homeschooler,” because none of the studies so often cited employ random samples representing the full range of homeschoolers.

For example, two large U.S. studies (Rudner, 1999; Ray, 2009) are frequently cited as definitive evidence that homeschoolers academically outperform public and private school students. But in both cases, the homeschool participants were volunteers responding to an invitation by the nation’s most prominent advocacy organization to contribute test scores (on tests usually administered by parents in the child’s own home). The demographics of these samples were far whiter, more religious, more married, better educated, and wealthier than national averages. And yet these test score results were compared to average public school scores that included children from all income levels and family backgrounds. Not surprisingly, wealthy homeschoolers from stable two-parent families who take tests administered by their parents in the comfort of their own homes outscore the average public school child by large margins.

The simple fact is that no studies of academic achievement exist that draw from a representative, nationwide sample of homeschoolers and control for background variables like socio-economic or marital status. It is thus impossible to say whether or not homeschooling as such has any impact on the sort of academic achievement measured by standardized tests.

As home education grows in popularity, so do the learning opportunities for homeschoolers in wider society.  Learning cooperatives, community colleges, museums, and libraries—all of these have become increasingly available to interested homeschoolers, and online technology can help lessen geographical isolation.  In addition, home education advocates often argue that the socialization offered by institutional schooling—whether it be competition, consumerism, or bullying—is best avoided anyway.  Critics contend that children gain important social and civic skills when they engage with viewpoints and belief systems that diverge from their home life.

Most empirical studies comparing the college performance of homeschooled and conventionally educated students find few significant difference in educational preparedness or outcomes.  But comprehensive empirical evidence about long-term outcomes for homeschoolers is sorely lacking.  Some homeschool advocates routinely cite a 2003 report by Brian Ray which contends that U.S. homeschool graduates are engaged citizens, involved in their communities, and leading fulfilling lives.  But this study relied on the self-report of volunteers without controlling for parental income, education levels, or other variables, so neither definitive statements about homeschoolers nor comparisions with the broader population can be made.  Further longitudinal research, employing rigorous sampling methodology, is needed to sketch a fuller portrait of adults who were homeschooled.

The rise of distance education and virtual schooling has provided homeschoolers with additional learning options—in particular, greater access to curricular materials and subject-matter expertise.  Publicly-funded schools are also seeking to entice homeschoolers with the possibility of a state-funded, state-directed education delivered online in the home setting.  Lines between public and private, home and school are growing increasingly blurry, raising challenging and important questions about the role of the state and the value of standardized education.