Scholarly Choice

Early Entrance Programs have 3 main characteristics:

They annually accept groups of students and the program results in them taking college courses for college credit at least a year before these students would typically enter college.

The students no longer regularly attend classes at their previous school, and once engaged in full-time college studies they do not have class work that is intended to be below college level.

The program provides a supportive environment and promotes socialization amongst students.

So essentially these are programs that take bright students and accelerate them into full-time college studies while maintaining a supportive environment to help make sure they succeed. These programs can differ on a number of qualities but the most important are the age group towards which they are geared and the goal intended for those who complete the program. Typically early entrance program are geared toward students who would otherwise be in the 11th or 12th grade, but a few routinely take students right out of middle school. Even programs aimed at older students will often take exceptionally gifted students of younger age, on a case-by-case basis.

 Who should go to an early entrance program offered through a college?

There is a large degree of variety among students going to college early, but the two unifying themes are intelligence and maturity. Qualified students will exhibit intellectual talents that are obvious to those around them. While giftedness manifests itself in many different ways, in essentially all cases the most gifted students demonstrate their abilities through unusual levels of accomplishment and unusual activities.

A good candidate academically, is a student who is at the top of their class and who has already been taking many of the most advanced classes available to him or her. When taking entrance tests such as the SAT or ACT, the student should also be able to perform at a level above that of entering freshmen at the college they plan to attend.

The second important criterion for entering college early is maturity, both emotionally and mentally. By their nature, early entrance programs consist of physically immature students and the environment may often hold a hint of rambunctious energy and silliness, but to be successful in college there comes a point where everyone must settle down and get to work. While these programs offer a supportive environment designed to catch people before they mess up too greatly, it is also still a collegiate atmosphere with many freedoms. Managing one’s life and organizing the daily routine are critically important. A good student also needs the basic life skills to independently handle bathing, laundry, procuring regular meals, completing appropriate paperwork, as well as studying, homework and class attendance. In most cases, the students are responsible for making it to class on time, or not. No one will be standing over their shoulder making sure every assignment gets done. Maturity also includes good character and exhibiting honesty and willingness to work with others. Rudeness, cheating, and excessive arrogance simply aren’t desirable qualities in college or anywhere else.

•Earlier entrance into college.

This is a big bonus for many of my homeschooled comrades. So many public/private school students get to college with very little to show for the last four years, except possibly some advanced placement classes. They’re basically starting from scratch. There are at least five homeschoolers that I grew up with who started college while their friends were still in high school. Two became full-time college students just after their 14th birthday. They received their Associates Degree when most of their friends were getting their high school diplomas. That might sound frighteningly early or as though they were high level prodigies, but I have no doubt whatsoever that most homeschoolers are in a position to do exactly the same thing. They had an opportunity, but it was not unique to them; it’s unique to homeschooling.

•Better preparation for college.

"Homeschooling is teaching your children to teach themselves." It’s something I once heard a mom tell her friends and I think it is the perfect description. High school is made up of teachers and counselors who very often end up being task masters. There are some students who thrive on learning in whatever setting, but a majority of the people in my acquaintance were in schools where you went to class solely to avoid getting in trouble. You did your homework because otherwise you were punished. Everything was enforced. For the most part, colleges aren’t run that way. Professors don’t care if you come to class. In an audience of 200, no one knows if you turn in your math homework! The study skills necessary for college are essentially the same as those needed in homeschool. Self motivation. Focus. Personal drive. It’s hard-wired into homeschoolers and when college comes, very little adjustment is required.

Considering Homeschooling?

While it is definitely open for discussion, I doubt that most people would argue the educational benefits of homeschooling. A state school consists of a room full of children each at a different level of understanding or ability, a teacher who barely knows them or their interests following an iron clad curriculum designed to comply with the mean intellect in said classroom. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there are better alternatives. For the sake of argument, however, we’ll suppose that the defects of the program are not so visible and allow the following statistics to speak for themselves.

Academic Statistics

In 1990, the National Home Education Research Institute issued a report entitled "A Nationwide Study of Home Education: Family Characteristics, Legal Matters, and Student Achievement." This was a study of over 2,163 homeschooling families which found that the average scores of the homeschool students were at or above the 80th percentile in all categories. The homeschoolers’ national percentile mean was 84th for reading, 80th for language, 81st for math, 84th for science and 83rd for social studies.1

In 1991, a survey of standardized test scores was performed by the Home School Legal Defense Association in cooperation with the Psychological Corporation, which publishes the Stanford Achievement Test. Students represented all 50 states and their grades ranged from K-12. These 5,124 homeschoolers’ composite scores on the basic battery of tests in reading, math, and language arts ranked 18 to 28 percentile points above public school averages. For instance, 692 homeschooled 4th graders averaged in the 77th percentile in reading, the 63rd percentile in math, and the 70th percentile in language arts. Sixth-grade homeschoolers, of 505 tested, scored in the 76th percentile in reading, the 65th percentile in math, and the 72nd percentile in language arts.

The homeschooled high schoolers did even better, which goes against the trend in public schools where studies show the longer a child is in the public schools, the lower he scores on standardized tests. The 118 tenth-grade homeschool students, as a group, made an average score of the 82nd percentile in reading, the 70th percentile in math, and the 81st percentile in language arts.2

In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects.3

In study after study children educated at home have, on average, scored higher than students in conventional state-run schools.

Truth be told, academics are not the most frequent argument I hear from my dubious friends. In fact, the most common topic they have issues with is the social aspect of home education. It’s not unusual to think that homeschoolers are socially inept. It is definitely the stereotype and I’ll admit I’ve known my fair share of odd kids, however, my response is always the same. Homeschooling, when done correctly, cannot be surpassed in the benefits it has to offer. Homeschooling does not just mean, keeping your children home for their schooling. In public or private schools, socialization takes little to no involvement from the parents whatsoever. Does socializing your children take more effort when you’re homeschooling them? Absolutely, but it’s a small sacrifice for those parents who understand what they’re getting in return. These days, socialization is becoming significantly easier what with club sports, homeschool groups, special programs, etc. They are far from "unsocialized" and are not lacking in the extra-curricular activities my public/private schooled comrades remember so fondly.