I received a catalog of mailing lists available for rent this past week. I noted that there are three commercial homeschool mailing lists available for rent with 600k+ household names & addresses,

Since we all know that homeschool families average 14.3 children, that means there are already 8.5 million homeschooled children [a bit of sarcasm there, gentle readers!].

Seriously, the mean family size for homeschool famlies IS higher than the general population – an average of about 3.1 children in one large-scale study of 20,000 homeschoolers.

So if we take the number of households from the commercial mailing lists (600k) and multiply it by the average children per household (3.1), we have a rough estimate of 1.86 million homeschooled children in the entire United States.

I actually think that estimate is still on the low side. Homeschoolers are notoriously paranoid concerned about being counted, compiled, or registered by anyone. So, the 600k families whose addresses are available for rent certainly does NOT represent all the homeschooling families in the US.

Two million homeschooled students is certainly a reasonable estimate/guess.

Four years ago, the National Center for Education Statistics published an estimate of 1.1 million homeschooled students, based on data from the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program conducted by the federal government. At that time the number represented 2.2% of of the school-age population.

If the number has reached two million nationwide, then the percentage being homeschooled is probably around 4.0% of the school-age population of the US.

You could guesstimate the number of homeschooled students in each of the 50 states simply by calculating 4.0% of the school-age population for the state.

The US Census Deparment 2006 estimate for Tennessee was 1,044,713 persons between the ages of 5 and 18. Four percent of that number would be 41,788. So, it’s fairly safe to say that there are 40,000+ homeschooled students in the state of Tennessee.

Taken as a group, the 40,000 homeschoolers in Tennessee represent a larger enrollment than 130 of the state’s 135 public school districts. Only Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Shelby County, and Chattanooga have enrollment numbers over 40,000.

The state spends an average of $7,639 dollars each year for each student enrolled in the public schools.

So, collectively, the parents who are educating those 40,000 students at home are saving the taxpayers of Tennessee $300 million EVERY YEAR!

You’re welcome.

All we ask is to be left alone, so we can keep educating our children.