Homeschool students scored substantially above national norms across reading, language, mathematics, social studies and science, according to a new peer-reviewed study — a finding landing in Texas just as the state pours $1 billion into a voucher program that's reshaping who homeschools and how they pay for it. The average homeschool reading score sat at roughly the 79th percentile, with students topping the norm by 29 percentile points in reading, 26 in social studies, 27 in science, 25 in language and 25 in mathematics.
The study, titled A Nationwide Study on the Academic Achievement of Homeschool Students and Parents' Reasons for Homeschooling, was conducted by Brian D. Ray and Braden Hoelzle and published in the peer-reviewed Peabody Journal of Education, according to reporting from The Dallas Express. Ray serves as president of the National Home Education Research Institute, the nonprofit that has tracked homeschool demographics and outcomes for more than three decades, while Hoelzle has been affiliated with both NHERI and Frisco Independent School District. The researchers analyzed standardized achievement scores from homeschool students nationwide and compared them against each test's national norm group, whose midpoints sit at the 50th percentile.
What the Numbers Do — and Don't — Show
The percentile-point differences reflect relative score positions rather than students simply answering more questions correctly, and the study's authors are careful to note what it doesn't establish. The research was observational rather than a randomized experiment, meaning it does not prove that homeschooling itself caused the higher scores. Several other factors could plausibly contribute to the results, including curriculum selection, testing participation, parental involvement, family structure, student motivation and time spent on instruction.
Notably, the study found family income, parents' education level and state teacher certification requirements had little or no practical relationship with students' scores. Broader comparisons, the study notes, will require representative samples tracking similarly situated homeschool and conventional-school students over time — and the research does not resolve open questions about social development, special-education services, athletics, college preparation or long-term outcomes.
A Familiar Methodology Critique
The study's reliance on self-selected participants is a point critics have raised before. The National Home Education Research Institute has acknowledged that education researchers and advocacy groups, including the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, have frequently noted that NHERI's studies draw from parents who voluntarily submit test scores — a sampling method that can introduce selection bias and overestimate average academic performance, since families who opt into testing tend to skew higher-income and more academically engaged than the broader homeschooling population.
Parents' own reasons for homeschooling, as captured in the study, skew heavily toward values and environment rather than academics alone. Eighty-three percent of parents cited concern about other schools' environments as a factor, 75% pointed to moral instruction, 72% cited emphasizing family life and another 72% cited dissatisfaction with academic instruction elsewhere. Concern about other schools' environment was the single most important reason for 28% of homeschool families.
Texas's Homeschool Numbers Keep Climbing
Nationally, the share of children receiving academic instruction at home has grown steadily: 3.7% of students were homeschooled or in full-time virtual education during the 2018-2019 school year, rising to 5.2% by 2022-2023, per federal survey data. Texas has seen its own surge in homeschool withdrawals from public schools. Approximately 25,000 Texas students left public schools for homeschooling during the 2019-2020 school year, a figure that jumped to more than 83,000 the following year and has remained above 50,000 in each of the two school years since. Tarrant County recorded 2,655 homeschool withdrawals during the 2022-2023 school year, while Dallas County recorded 1,765. Texas does not require homeschool families to register with a statewide enrollment system, and families are generally responsible for choosing curricula, maintaining records, providing or arranging instruction, and monitoring academic progress themselves.
State Money Now Flowing to Homeschool Families
That responsibility now comes with new state financial backing. The Texas Education Freedom Account program may provide up to $2,000 per student for approved curriculum and instructional materials during the 2026-2027 school year, part of the $1 billion voucher initiative Hoodline has covered as funds began landing in tens of thousands of Texas accounts. According to EdChoice, the program received over 100,000 applications for roughly 90,000 funded slots statewide, with homeschool awards capped at that $2,000 tier.
The funding comes with strings attached. Homeschool recipients receive their full annual allotment in a single lump sum, unlike private school award recipients, who are paid in three separate installments — and computer hardware and software purchases are capped at 10% of a child's award, limiting digital equipment spending to $200 for homeschool students. Hoodline previously reported on how state lawmakers have framed the award tiers for private and homeschool students differently, and on how public school districts are now positioning themselves within the voucher ecosystem, per Hoodline.
Homeschoolers Gaining Ground in Public School Activities
Beyond funding, Texas has also expanded homeschool access to public school extracurriculars in recent years. Under House Bill 547, enacted in 2021 and often called the Tim Tebow Bill, local school districts have the option to let non-enrolled homeschool students participate in University Interscholastic League sports and academic competitions, provided those students demonstrate grade-level proficiency on a recognized assessment. Texas school districts must generally allow eligible homeschool students to participate in these activities, though school boards may formally opt out.
House Bill 3708, passed in 2023, sweetened the deal for hesitant districts by providing $1,500 in state funding per participating homeschool student to cover administrative and coaching costs. Even so, access to specialized instruction, counseling, laboratories, competitive athletics and disability services can vary significantly by location and program. Homeschooling advocates argue the flexibility allows families to select curricula, adjust instruction to a child's pace, and accommodate travel or medical needs — trade-offs that shift substantial responsibility onto parents in exchange for that control.
