Homeschooling

In homeschooling, or home-based education, parents often serve as the primary educators of their children. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, homeschooling has grown in the United States, and roughly 6 percent of all K-12 students report being homeschooled. This page summarizes research on homeschooling trends, family motivations, and student outcomes. Users will find working papers, national survey findings, and reports on how and why families homeschool, along with commentary and media pieces exploring public perceptions and evolving homeschooling practices.

Working Papers

Watson, A. R., & Lee, M. H. Who homeschools and what does ‘success’ mean to them? Experimental evidence from a national sample. (Submitted). Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series PEPG 25-10. Cambridge, MA: read more from Harvard Kennedy School.

Reports

Cheng, A., & Lee, M. H. (2025). Dynamic homeschooling: Switching and mixing among homeschooling families. Baltimore, MD: Read more on Johns Hopkins University Homeschool Hub

Watson, A. R., & Lee, M. H. (2025). Who homeschools, really? EdChoice Working Paper No. 17. Indianapolis, IN: Read more on EdChoice

Other Media

Watson, A. R., & Lee, M. H. (2025). Clapping back at homeschooling’s perennial foes and fallacies. Read more on Education Next (blog).

Lee, M. H. (2025). Don’t deride the homeschoolers. Read more from The New York Times (Letters to The Editor).

Watson, A. R., & Lee, M. H. (2025). Read more from Who homeschools? (It’s not who you think.) EdChoice (blog).