Education
Brandon Dutcher | January 29, 2014
That other school choice
Brandon Dutcher
It’s National School Choice Week, and there’s been lots of discussion these last few days about some very important educational options — charter schools, online learning, vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, Education Savings Accounts, and more. But let’s not forget about another educational choice that is gaining in popularity: homeschooling. (Full disclosure: I’m hopelessly biased towards the homeschooled children featured in this FOX 25 report.)
What do Oklahomans think of homeschooling? A new survey released by the Friedman Foundation and OCPA contains a couple of interesting nuggets. The statewide survey was conducted by Braun Research, Inc., a firm which has been used by such research organizations as Gallup and the Pew Research Center. It has a margin of error of ± 4.0 percentage points. Oklahoma voters were asked: “If you know one or more families that homeschool their children, what is your impression of the quality of their education?” A plurality of voters, 45 percent, rate the education as “good” or “excellent,” while 28 percent say it is “fair” or “poor.” (The other 27 percent don’t know a homeschool family or didn’t give a response.)
By way of comparison, the same survey asked respondents to rate Oklahoma’s public school system. While 39 percent rate it as “good” or “excellent,” 58 percent say it is “fair” or “poor.”
Also of interest is the question below about what option parents would select for their own child. Eleven percent of Oklahomans say they would choose to homeschool.
Brandon Dutcher
Senior Vice President
Brandon Dutcher is OCPA’s senior vice president. Originally an OCPA board member, he joined the staff in 1995. Dutcher received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma. He received a master’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public policy from Regent University. Dutcher is listed in the Heritage Foundation Guide to Public Policy Experts, and is editor of the book Oklahoma Policy Blueprint, which was praised by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman as “thorough, well-informed, and highly sophisticated.” His award-winning articles have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, WORLD magazine, Forbes.com, Mises.org, The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, and 200 newspapers throughout Oklahoma and the U.S. He and his wife, Susie, have six children and live in Edmond.