Sonlight Homeschool Education Results in Higher SAT Scores for Students that Applied for College
Students Applying for College Educated with Sonlight Curriculum Score Higher than Average on Standardized Tests
Littleton, CO (Vocus) November 9, 2010
Sonlight Curriculum, a leading provider of Christian homeschool curriculum programs, today disclosed data on Sonlight students’ performance on standardized tests at the high school level. While Sonlight does not gather numerical data on all students who use the company’s award-winning curriculum programs, all students who apply for Sonlight’s college scholarships supply the company with information pertaining to academic performance, including the results of national standardized tests like the SAT.
Since 2006, the average SAT score of homeschooled students applying for Sonlight scholarships has been 1924 out of 2400, nearly 17% higher than the national average. The winners of these scholarships, who were chosen not only for academic performance but also for exhibiting leadership, creativity, and other virtues, scored on average 2200 out of 2400, placing them in the 99th percentile nationally.
This announcement was made in conjunction with a recent Fraser Institute report entitled 'Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream,' which details dramatic increase in home schooling families over the past two decades, both in the United States and in Canada. The national Center for Education estimates an increase of roughly 74 percent in American home schooling over the last ten years alone. According to the Fraser Institutes report, this increase in home schooling can be largely attributed to the growing availability of resources provided by state governments and by independent home schooling organizations.
Another contributor to the rise in home schooling is the troubled American economy, which has led to funding cuts for public schools. Many public schools struggle to offer quality education in the face of falling standards, and recent budget cuts in many states have only exacerbated the issue. Meanwhile, that same economic climate has made expensive private schools increasingly impractical and out of reach for many Americans, many of whom are looking to home schooling as an affordable alternative.
About Sonlight: Sonlight Curriculum is a Christian company specializing in literature-based homeschool curriculum programs. Based in Littleton, Colorado, Sonlight provides complete curriculum packages and individual resources for homeschoolers in over 150 countries worldwide.
About Fraser Institute: The Fraser Institute is an independent non-partisan research and educational organization based in Canada. The Institute conducts peer-reviewed research into critical economic and public policy issues including taxation, government spending, health care, school performance, and trade.
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