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July 2002

Put Homeschooling Programs to the Test Before You Invest

Finding a homeschool curriculum that matches the needs of you and your child is  one of the most difficult and important decisions a homeschool family makes. It isn’t easy. There’s a great deal of good information about homeschooling available from friends, neighbors, relatives, other homeschoolers, and the Internet. However, knowing what to look for will help you find a program that is right for your family and child.

A homeschooling program is a lot like a pair of shoes: It has to fit well to be comfortable and effective day after day. If you start off with a good program, you can tailor it with confidence. Careful evaluation is critical to success, say experts. “You want appropriate, academically challenging lessons that inspire your child to do his best,” says Jean C. Halle, president of Calvert School Education Services, based in Baltimore, Md. The company is the homeschooling provider arm of Calvert School, which in 1906 started to offer its private school curriculum to families who wanted to teach at home. Today, Calvert enrolls 17,000 students each year in its prekindergarten through eighth grade programs. Calvert School receives thousands of calls each year from families investigating whether the school’s complete classical curriculum is right for them. “We put a lot of time into helping families select what’s right for them, based on the students’ competencies.” says Halle. “Sometimes student is placed ahead or below his age grade level. In math, for example, he may be placed at a different level than the balance of his studies.” “It’s critical that the curriculum be well suited to that child’s needs in order for him or her to be successful.” Parents should explore four main components of a provider’s offerings when choosing a homeschool curriculum.

PLACEMENT
The first step in a child’s academic experience should be appropriate placement in grade. The ideal placement assessment takes into account how your child arrived at answers in order to evaluate both concept knowledge as well as his ability to apply those skills. Because they offer details about a child’s writing mechanics, vocabulary and spelling levels, sentence structure, content, and organization skills, evaluations of writing samples are important.

CURRICULUM
A good curriculum will draw material from a variety of sources, incorporate opportunities for practice to improve written and oral communication, and help your child to learn, analyze, and interpret information, not simply memorize facts. An integrated curriculum allows the student to write about all subjects, to think mathematically about subjects other than math, compare and contrast geographical statistics history facts, and to review and obtain valuable reinforcement of concepts taught.

INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
Lesson manuals should provide good detail, including lessons that introduce topics, explain concepts, coordinate subjects with each other, and suggest added practice and enrichment. At the appropriate age, the manual should be directed to the student, and the role of the home teacher should turn to more of an advisory role. If the provider offers answer keys for all daily work, parents can confirm their child’s performance. Educational professionals, who can offer strategies for teaching children with all learning styles, should be available by phone, fax, or email, to answer any questions you may have and offer suggestions for accelerated or remedial work.

TESTING
Knowing if your child is learning is important. A good program will include tests, which evaluate both content mastery and skill development. The availability of tests with answer keys can be helpful. If you have difficulty evaluating your child’s composition and other subjective work, you should look for a provider that offers testing support in these areas. Another key to success is evaluating the provider’s materials. “Take time to review sample lessons, if offered by the provider, to be sure that the curriculum delivers as promised,” says Halle. “Your family is making a commitment for the entire school year, so the time you invest in evaluating your options is well spent.”

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Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
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All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2002.


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