Diverse Outcomes for a Diverse Population

• The Cardus Education Survey (CES), conducted in the United States in 2011, 2014, 2018, and again in 2023, examines a range of outcomes for a nationally representative sample of adults aged 24 to 39. Presented in this report are the economic, mental-health, civic, spiritual, and family-formation outcomes for the group of CES respondents who were homeschooled for a portion of their primary and secondary education.
• Adults who were homeschooled are disaggregated into short-term homeschoolers (who were homeschooled one to two years), medium-term homeschoolers (three to seven years), and long-term homeschoolers (eight years or more) and compared to adults who were never homeschooled, controlling for a range of demographic characteristics.
• Top-line findings:
  • Diversity in terms of time spent in homeschooling: Adults who were homeschooled spent a wide range of time in that learning environment. Among them, 20 percent were homeschooled for only one year of their primary and secondary education, and 17 percent were homeschooled for all K–12 years.
  • Educational attainment and employment: Bachelor’s and graduate degree attainment rates were similar between short-term homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers. But medium- and long-term homeschoolers were more likely than short-term and non-homeschoolers to have ended their education with a high school diploma or an associate’s degree. For all three groups of homeschooled adults, the likelihood of being employed full-time and having a household income above the median was lower relative to adults who were never homeschooled.
  • Mental health and well-being: Compared to the other respondent groups, long-term homeschoolers exhibited the highest levels of optimism, gratitude, and life satisfaction. Long-term homeschoolers were also the least likely to “feel helpless dealing with life’s problems” and to report symptoms associated with depression and anxiety.
  • Civic behaviors: Short- and long-term homeschoolers were more likely to have volunteered and given to charity in the past twelve months compared to medium-term homeschoolers and adults who were never homeschooled.
  • Religious engagement: Homeschooled adults were much more likely to report that they believed in God and life after death and regularly engaged in religious practices. The prevalence of religious belief and practice increased with the number of years spent in the homeschool sector.
  • Family formation: Compared to the other respondent groups, long-term homeschoolers were more likely to be married, had the lowest divorce rate, and had more children, on average.

Questions about the effectiveness of homeschooling, debates over its legitimacy, and concerns about how it is practiced have risen since the 1970s and persist today. Throughout this time, educational theorists, policymakers, legal experts, and homeschooling parents themselves have debated the legitimacy of homeschooling, the role of the family in education, whether the child has a right to a different kind of education or other protections, and practical issues such as child safety. Meanwhile, academic researchers have conducted numerous studies to evaluate homeschoolers’ academic achievement, socialization, and other outcomes. According to that research, homeschoolers do not conclusively appear different from their non-homeschooling counterparts in terms of those outcomes. Some studies demonstrate differences between the two groups, yet it is unclear from them whether those differences are due to homeschooling or other factors. Nor do many of the studies generalize to the entire population of homeschoolers, which has become increasingly diverse over the past several decades.1

All of these issues surrounding homeschooling are growing increasingly salient. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a surge of parents who decided to homeschool their children. When schools closed, students were educated from home, but as schools re-opened and the pandemic abated, some parents continued the practice. According to one estimate, enrollment in traditional public schools throughout the United States declined by 2.1 million students from the fall of 2019 to the fall of 2021. Over the same period, homeschooling enrollments increased by 30 percent.2

Since 2011, the Cardus Education Survey (CES) has contributed to the scholarship and public discourse about a range of educational topics in the United States, including homeschooling. The CES has been regularly administered to a nationally representative sample of high school graduates aged 24 to 39 who attended traditional public schools, Catholic schools, Protestant schools, nonreligious independent schools, or homeschool settings. The CES queries respondents about various life outcomes, including educational attainment, employment, civic engagement, social connectedness, and religious belief and practice.

Past reports about homeschooling based on analysis of the CES data examined only respondents who were religious homeschoolers—defined for that purpose as those who were homeschooled for a majority of their high school years and whose parents regularly attended religious services. The findings from the CES described in those reports provide a picture of how adults who were homeschooled as children for religious reasons fare today. The 2018 iteration of the CES revealed evidence that religious homeschoolers were less likely than other respondent groups to have earned a postsecondary degree and were more likely to have lower incomes. It also revealed that religious homeschoolers were less socially connected; they had fewer people they could confide in overall but were more likely to list a family member as someone they were relationally closest to. The 2011 CES also demonstrated that religious homeschoolers were more likely to agree that they lacked a clear sense of direction or purpose and felt helpless dealing with life’s problems. The 2018 CES, by contrast, demonstrated that religious homeschoolers were less likely to agree that their lives lacked clear goals or sense of direction. The 2018 data also revealed that religious homeschoolers were more distrustful of politicians and the media, and that they spent more time volunteering, especially through religious organizations. Religious homeschoolers, like Protestant school respondents, were most likely to remain religiously engaged in adulthood.3