“Education isn’t the government’s responsibility – it’s yours.
Parents and communities must ensure children are raised with truth, wisdom, and strong values.
The foundation of learning starts at home, with the family.”
– Andrew Kaufman, MD
There are many valid ways to effectively educate children in a God-honoring, well-rounded manner. Wisdom and research suggest, however, that homeschooling may be the best all-around approach to educating children with a biblical perspective while building strong family bonds and contributing to success in adulthood. A new study affirms that viewpoint.
The Cardus Education Survey (CES), published in February 2025, examined “a range of outcomes for a nationally representative sample of adults aged 24 to 39.” The individuals were broken down into several groups: short-term homeschoolers (who spent just one to two years homeschooled), medium-term homeschoolers (three to seven years), long-term homeschoolers (eight or more years), and adults who were never homeschooled. The study examined these groups for “economic, mental-health, civic, spiritual, and family-formation outcomes.”
Compared to traditionally-schooled children, homeschool students are, in general, “more likely to report positive mental health outcomes, to be married and have children, to volunteer in their communities, and to believe in God,” the report summarized. Specifically, the study found that “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.”
It’s no surprise that children who remain close to their parents throughout adolescence are more likely to be grounded and emotionally stable in adulthood. When kids are away from their parents for 30+ hours a week in traditional schools, it inhibits the natural family bond from developing. Teachers, as incredible as they may be, can never replace the impact of a parent’s active involvement in their children’s lives, which significantly contributes to their long-term emotional stability.
Children brought up through home education are typically more well-behaved, well-rounded, and better equipped for the real world than those who attend public schools. Take a look at the statistics below, provided by the National Home Education Research Institute:
- The home-educated typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests.
- 78% of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in institutional schools.
- 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools.
Not only are homeschool students happier throughout their lives as a result of their education and upbringing, but they also perform better academically and socially.
The study also revealed this incredible finding: “Long-term homeschoolers were more likely to be married, had the lowest divorce rate, and had more children, on average.” They were also “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.”
This is good news for Washington state. While the national average of children enrolled in home education grew by about 27% between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years, Washington’s rates jumped a staggering 43%. This translates to an additional 9,000 students who are now enrolled in homeschooling since 2019 in Washington alone. Overall, there are approximately 32,000 students currently enrolled in home education in the Evergreen state. Nationally, over 3.7 million students are currently being homeschooled.
Coupled with the data from Cardus, this means there are approximately 32,000 students in our state who are more likely to get married and have children, volunteer in their communities, and believe in God. We believe this generation of homeschooled students will have an incredible impact on the environment of Washington state and help usher in a new era of family and faith-centered politics.
If you’re interested in homeschooling your children, we recommend using the resources provided by the Homeschool Legal Defense Fund (HSLDA) and getting connected with Washington’s Homeschool Resource Center.
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