The research behind home education · 31 sources · Including the 2 that argue against us

The whole picture, not the flattering half.

Every study we cite in our writing, in plain language, with a link to the original. Including the ones whose findings do us no favours, because a parent deciding something this large deserves the whole picture and not the flattering half.

Stronger designLighterArgues against usUnstructured home learners fell behind their schooled peers. (2011)On child safety, the evidence does not say what either side claims. (2022)Mixed or no difference232 unschooling families named outside pressure as the hardest part. (2013)Better on some measures, worse on one that matters. (2021)Favours home educationMore homeschooling was associated with more political tolerance. (2014)Most grown unschoolers who answered were glad of it. (2015)Home educated teenagers slept about 49 minutes longer on school nights. (2016)Home educated children were out in the community more often, not less. (2026)Mostly positive, often no difference, rarely worse. (2026)Background, not a comparisonFive families on why they teach their young children at home. (2024)Temperament comes from genes and surroundings together. (2022)Families ranked time together above everything else. (2026)Back and forth attention from an adult helps build a child's brain. (n.d.)For children who come through serious hardship, one steady adult is the most common protection. (2017)Sensitive children respond more to their surroundings, for better and worse. (2023)No single adult was best at spotting ADHD. (2025)In the early years, family mattered two to three times more than child care. (2006)Over a thousand children followed from birth to four and a half. (2006)Parents and teachers often see the same child differently. (2026)Adults rated a homeschooled student lower before meeting them. (2025)Safety came first. Academics tied for third. (2024)ADHD is sometimes diagnosed in children who may not need the label. (2021)England counted 126,000 home educated children in autumn 2025. (2026)School absence in England rose again, still above pre-pandemic levels. (2026)One in ten older pupils in England reported bullying in the past year. (2026)More than one in five younger teenagers in England reported bullying by schoolmates. (2025)Reported bullying among Canadian students in grades 6 to 10 reached its highest recorded level. (2025)Canada's home schooled numbers fell after the pandemic peak, and stayed above where they began. (2023)Reported bullying and safety worries at U.S. high schools, 2021 to 2023. (2024)Feeling capable predicted a love of learning most strongly. (2022)Learning because it matters to you beat learning for a reward. (2021)
Direction
Access

Why parents actually leave school

2024
United States, government survey

Safety came first. Academics tied for third.

Asked what mattered in the decision to homeschool, 83% of parents rated concern about the environment of other schools as important. Providing moral instruction followed at 75%, wanting to emphasise family life together at 72%, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at 72%. Asked to name the single most important reason, 28% chose the school environment.

Public domainSempeles, E., & Cui, J. (2024). Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2023 (First Look, NCES 2024-113). National Center for Education Statistics. Read the study
Design · National survey
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2026
United States, 2023 nationwide sample

Families ranked time together above everything else.

In a nationwide sample of homeschooling families, the reason rated highest was wanting to emphasise family life together, followed by moral instruction, then wanting to provide a customised education. Only 5% of the main homeschooling parents had ever been certified to teach by a state.

CC BY 4.0Ray, B. D., & Hoelzle, B. (2026). A Nationwide Study on the Academic Achievement of Homeschool Students and Parents' Reasons for Homeschooling. Peabody Journal of Education, 101(2), 193-211. Read the study
Worth knowing: this sample was recruited through testing services and homeschool organisations, and by the authors' own table it is whiter and better off than homeschooling families nationally. Read the achievement figures with that in mind.
Design · Recruited sample
Direction
Background, not a comparison

The socialisation question, answered with data

2026
United States, National Household Education Survey 2019

Home educated children were out in the community more often, not less.

In the month before the survey, 60% of homeschooling parents had taken their child to a library, against 32% of public school families. Art gallery visits ran 42% against 24%, bookshops 49% against 32%. In the week before, 80% had worked on a project with their child against 55%, and 73% had done arts and crafts against 44%. Only 4% had done no educational activity with their child at all.

Free to read, CC BY-NC 4.0Sikkink, D. (2026). Homeschooling and the Social Life of Families and Communities. Peabody Journal of Education, 101(2), 149-165. Read the study
Design · National survey
Direction
Favours home education
2014
United States, one Christian university

More homeschooling was associated with more political tolerance.

A study of students at one evangelical Christian university tested the belief that a common public system is needed to teach young people to tolerate views they dislike. It found the opposite association: students with more exposure to homeschooling tended to be more politically tolerant, and private schooling was not associated with any less tolerance.

Paywalled, abstract freeCheng, A. (2014). Does Homeschooling or Private Schooling Promote Political Intolerance? Journal of School Choice, 8(1), 49-68. Read the study
Design · One university, comparison
Direction
Favours home education

How children do, counted honestly

2026
Every peer reviewed study, 2017 to 2026

Mostly positive, often no difference, rarely worse.

A systematic review counted only studies that were peer reviewed or used a properly representative sample. On academic achievement, 15 of 24 favoured the home educated, 4 found no difference, 4 were mixed and 1 favoured conventional school. On social and emotional development, 16 of 25 favoured home. On how those children fared as adults, 13 of 24. The review's own conclusion is modest: positive or neutral effects, and not negative ones.

CC BY 4.0Ray, B. D., Hoelzle, B., & Pietersma, D. (2026). A Systematic Review of the Empirical Research on Selected Aspects of Homeschooling: Updated 2017-2026. Peabody Journal of Education, 101(2), 132-148. Read the study
Worth knowing: the lead author heads a homeschool research institute and wrote several of the studies counted in the review. It is peer reviewed. It is not independent of the field it reviews.
Design · Systematic review, vote count
Direction
Favours home education
2021
United States, children of nurses

Better on some measures, worse on one that matters.

Following more than 12,000 children of nurses into young adulthood, those who had been homeschooled volunteered more, reported greater forgiveness, and may have used less marijuana. They also went on to lower college degree attainment than their public schooled peers. Both halves of that come from the same study.

CC BYChen, Y., Hinton, C., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2021). School Types in Adolescence and Subsequent Health and Well-Being in Young Adulthood. PLoS ONE, 16(11). Read the study
Design · Cohort, nurses' children
Direction
Mixed or no difference

The findings that argue against us

We would rather you heard these from us.

2011
Canada, matched pairs

Unstructured home learners fell behind their schooled peers.

Comparing children aged five to ten, those in structured home education outperformed schooled children, while those in unstructured home education scored below them. The unstructured group was twelve children and the authors treated that part as exploratory rather than as their main result. It is a small finding rather than a verdict, and it is the reason this product exists: unstructured learning is real, and on paper it is invisible.

Argues against usMartin-Chang, S., Gould, O. N., & Meuse, R. E. (2011). The Impact of Schooling on Academic Achievement. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 43(3), 195-202. Read the study
Design · Matched pairs, small
Direction
Argues against us
2022
United States, state law analysis

On child safety, the evidence does not say what either side claims.

A study of what happened after states changed their homeschool rules reports that most of its estimates were not statistically significant, but that some specifications found a statistically significant increase in child homicide rates in the years following homeschool legislation. We have seen this study summarised elsewhere as finding no difference. It does not say that, and we will not repeat that it does.

Argues against usDills, A. K. (2022). Homeschooling and Child Safety: Are Kids Safer at Home? Journal of School Choice, 16(4), 529-554. Read the study
Design · State law analysis
Direction
Argues against us

How children learn and stay motivated

2016
United States, comparative survey study

Home educated teenagers slept about 49 minutes longer on school nights.

This study compared 407 students in grades 6 to 12, 162 homeschooled and 245 in public or private school. Homeschooled students started school around 9:00 a.m. versus 7:57 a.m. for the other group, and got about 49 more minutes of sleep on weekdays (8.92 vs 8.10 hours). 58.0% of homeschooled students got the recommended 9 or more hours of sleep, compared with 28.2% of the other students. Weekend sleep did not differ between the two groups.

Free to readMeltzer, L. J., Shaheed, K., & Ambler, D. (2016). Start Later, Sleep Later: School Start Times and Adolescent Sleep in Homeschool Versus Public/Private School Students. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 14(2), 140–154. Read the source
Worth knowing: this compares two self-selected groups rather than a randomized trial, so other differences between homeschool and traditional-school families could also explain part of the sleep gap.
Design · Comparison
Direction
Favours home education
2022
Meta-analysis of 144 studies, over 79,000 students, multiple countries

Feeling capable predicted a love of learning most strongly.

This meta-analysis pooled 144 studies and more than 79,000 students to study what builds self-determined motivation, meaning learning out of interest and personal values rather than just compliance. Of the three psychological needs in self-determination theory, competence was the strongest predictor of self-determined motivation, followed by autonomy, then relatedness. It also found that teacher support for a student's autonomy predicted motivation more strongly than parental support for autonomy did.

Free to readBureau, J. S., Howard, J. L., Chong, J. X. Y., & Guay, F. (2022). Pathways to Student Motivation: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents of Autonomous and Controlled Motivations. Review of Educational Research, 92(1), 46–72. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is a meta-analysis of correlational studies, so it shows what tends to move together, not proof that one thing causes another.
Design · Meta-analysis
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2021
Meta-analysis of 344 samples, over 223,000 participants, multiple countries

Learning because it matters to you beat learning for a reward.

This meta-analysis pooled 344 samples and more than 223,000 participants to compare types of student motivation and their outcomes. Intrinsic motivation and identified regulation, meaning doing something because you personally value it, were the strongest predictors of success and wellbeing, and were especially tied to persistence. Motivation driven by outside reward or punishment was not linked to better performance or persistence. Motivation driven by guilt or a need for approval went with more persistence, and also with lower wellbeing. Having no motivation at all was linked to poor outcomes across the board.

Paywalled, abstract freeHoward, J. L., Bureau, J., Guay, F., Chong, J. X. Y., & Ryan, R. M. (2021). Student Motivation and Associated Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis From Self-Determination Theory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(6), 1300–1323. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is correlational meta-analytic evidence, not an experiment, and the full paper is paywalled, so this summary relies on its indexed abstract rather than the complete text.
Design · Meta-analysis
Direction
Background, not a comparison

Unschooling families, in their own words

2015
Mostly United States, some Canada and other countries; survey of 75 adults

Most grown unschoolers who answered were glad of it.

This survey of 75 adults who were unschooled as children reports that the great majority said they were very happy with their unschooling. Most described gaining self-motivation, self-direction and personal responsibility, and most reported satisfying social lives with friendships across age groups. A minority had academic gaps, but most said they closed those gaps easily when they needed to. Only three of the 75 respondents said they were unhappy, and they linked that to social isolation or a dysfunctional family rather than to unschooling itself.

Free to readGray, P., & Riley, G. (2015). Grown Unschoolers’ Evaluations of Their Unschooling Experiences: Report I on a Survey of 75 Unschooled Adults. Other Education: The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 4(2), 8–32. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is a self-selected sample of 75 adults who chose to respond to a survey about their own past, so it cannot be generalized to all unschoolers and may skew toward people with a more positive view.
Design · Volunteer survey
Direction
Favours home education
2013
Mostly United States (80%), 19 families in Canada, 26 in other countries; survey of 232 families

232 unschooling families named outside pressure as the hardest part.

This survey asked 232 self-identified unschooling families to describe how they practice unschooling and what its biggest challenges and benefits are. The paper's own abstract states the biggest challenge families reported was overcoming feelings of criticism or social pressure, both from other people and from their own habitual ways of thinking about education. Reported benefits included improved learning, better attitudes about learning, improved psychological and social wellbeing for the children, and increased closeness, harmony and freedom for the whole family.

Free to readGray, P., & Riley, G. (2013). The Challenges and Benefits of Unschooling, According to 232 Families Who Have Chosen that Route. Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, 7(14), 1–27. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is a qualitative survey of families who had already chosen unschooling and volunteered to respond, so it describes their self-reported experience rather than a representative or controlled comparison.
Design · Volunteer survey
Direction
Mixed or no difference
2024
United Kingdom, five families

Five families on why they teach their young children at home.

Researchers interviewed five UK families who home educate young children and observed their routines. Parents chose it for reasons such as disliking the school system, wanting learning suited to their own child, or their beliefs. They described real costs, including money and holding the teacher and parent roles at once, and felt it was worth it.

Free to readZhang, K. C., & Gibson, L. (2024). Exploring the lived experiences of home-educating families with young children in the UK: The untold stories. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(9), 2598-2615. Read the source
Worth knowing: five families: rich in detail, not a sample of all home educators.
Design · Five families
Direction
Background, not a comparison

Children, temperament and the home

n.d.
United States, evidence synthesis (not a single dated study)

Back and forth attention from an adult helps build a child's brain.

This Harvard Center on the Developing Child resource explains serve and return: when a child reaches out, such as a sound, look or gesture, and an adult responds, that exchange helps build and strengthen neural connections in the child's brain, including connections behind communication and social skills. The page states that when these exchanges are inconsistent, harmful, or simply absent, the developing brain's architecture can be disrupted in ways that affect health and wellbeing later on.

Public dataCenter on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Serve and Return: Back-and-forth exchanges. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is a plain-language synthesis of developmental neuroscience for a general audience, not a single study with its own sample or statistics, and it is undated (n.d.).
Design · Explainer
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2017
United States, evidence synthesis (not a single dated study)

For children who come through serious hardship, one steady adult is the most common protection.

This Harvard Center on the Developing Child brief sets out three principles for improving outcomes for children: support responsive relationships, strengthen core skills such as planning and self-control, and reduce sources of stress. On resilience specifically, it states that having at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult is the most common protective factor for children and teens who go on to overcome serious hardship.

Public dataCenter on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2017, updated 2021). Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is a synthesis of developmental science written for policy and practice audiences, not a single study with its own sample size, and the protective adult named in the source does not have to be a parent.
Design · Explainer
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2006
United States, 15-year government study

In the early years, family mattered two to three times more than child care.

A government study followed more than 1,000 children to see what shaped their development most: their family or their child care. Family characteristics carried two to three times more weight than child care quality. Children did better where parents had more education and income, mothers were less depressed, and home had steady routines with books and learning time.

Public domainEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2006). Family characteristics have more influence on child development than does experience in child care [News release]. National Institutes of Health. Read the source
Worth knowing: good child care still helped a little with language and school skills, and more than 30 hours a week in care was linked to slightly more behaviour problems at school.
Design · Multi-site cohort
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2006
United States, government study summary

Over a thousand children followed from birth to four and a half.

A government booklet summarising more than ten years of the NICHD study, which followed over 1,000 children across ten U.S. sites from birth. It reports how the kind and amount of child care related to children's thinking, language, social behaviour and health, alongside family factors such as parent education and income.

Public domainNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2006). The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD): Findings for children up to age 4 1/2 years (NIH Publication No. 05-4318). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Read the source
Design · Multi-site cohort
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2022
United States, National Library of Medicine

Temperament comes from genes and surroundings together.

This government health page explains that temperament, such as how social, emotional, active or persistent a person is, comes from both genes and environment. Scientists estimate genes account for roughly 20 to 60 percent of it, with many genes working together and no single gene in charge.

Public domainNational Library of Medicine (US). (2022). Is temperament determined by genetics? MedlinePlus Genetics, Help Me Understand Genetics (last updated July 12, 2022). Read the source
Worth knowing: an explainer for the public, not a single study.
Design · Explainer
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2023
United Kingdom, practitioner review

Sensitive children respond more to their surroundings, for better and worse.

This review sets out differential susceptibility: some children are more sensitive to their surroundings than others. The same child who struggles more in a hard environment can do especially well in a supportive one. The authors argue this is a more hopeful way to see sensitive children than simply calling them at risk.

Free to readAssary, E., Krebs, G., & Eley, T. C. (2023). Practitioner Review: Differential susceptibility theory: Might it help in understanding and treating mental health problems in youth? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(8), 1104-1114. Read the source
Worth knowing: a review of an idea and its evidence, not a new trial.
Design · Practitioner review
Direction
Background, not a comparison

Labels, reports and how others see a child

2025
Italy, 120 children referred for ADHD

No single adult was best at spotting ADHD.

The study looked at 120 children aged 3 to 11 referred for possible ADHD, and compared how well teachers, parents, family doctors and other professionals flagged it before a full assessment. Sixty-four of the 120 children received the diagnosis, and no one type of informant predicted it better than the others.

Free to readEsposito, D., Gigliotti, F., Colotti, B., Di Brina, C., Pisani, F., & Romani, M. (2025). ADHD reporting in developmental age: The role of the informants. Children, 12(7), 914. Read the source
Worth knowing: one clinic's referrals, so not a picture of all children.
Design · Clinic sample
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2021
International, review of 334 studies

ADHD is sometimes diagnosed in children who may not need the label.

Reviewing 334 studies, the authors found real evidence of ADHD overdiagnosis, especially for children with milder symptoms, where the downsides of a diagnosis such as labelling and medication can outweigh the benefits. Diagnosis and medication rates keep rising while research weighing benefits against harms for milder cases remains thin.

Free to readKazda, L., Bell, K., Thomas, R., McGeechan, K., Sims, R., & Barratt, A. (2021). Overdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. JAMA Network Open, 4(4), e215335. Read the source
Worth knowing: a scoping review: it maps the evidence rather than measuring how often overdiagnosis happens.
Design · Scoping review
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2026
Canada, 194 autistic children

Parents and teachers often see the same child differently.

Parents and teachers rated the everyday living skills of 194 autistic children, such as communication and self-care. The children fell into four patterns: parents rating much higher than teachers, teachers rating much higher than parents, and two groups where the adults broadly agreed. The researchers then linked these patterns to the children's planning and thinking skills.

Free to readLees Thorne, R., Wright, N., De Los Reyes, A., Smith, I. M., Zaidman-Zait, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Vaillancourt, T., Szatmari, P., Bennett, T. A., Duku, E., Richard, A. E., Kerns, C., & Bedford, R. (2026). Profiles of parent-teacher discrepancy on autistic children's adaptive functioning. Autism, 30(3), 695-706. Read the source
Worth knowing: specific to autistic children in this sample.
Design · Clinical sample
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2025
United States, two adult surveys

Adults rated a homeschooled student lower before meeting them.

Asked to describe a homeschooled student, adults listed some negative words, such as awkward and sheltered, and some positive ones. In a second study, adults read about an invented homeschooled student and rated them lower on positive social traits than an invented public school student, whatever reason was given for homeschooling.

Free to readZakarian, F., Murphy, N. A., & Fisher, E. S. (2025). Perceptions of homeschooled students among U.S. adult populations: Implications for school psychologists. Contemporary School Psychology, 29(4), 809-824. Read the source
Worth knowing: it measures what adults assume, not how homeschooled children actually are.
Design · Two surveys
Direction
Background, not a comparison

Official numbers we cite

2026
England, government statistics

England counted 126,000 home educated children in autumn 2025.

The Department for Education counted 126,000 children in elective home education on census date in autumn 2025, up from 111,700 in autumn 2024. Across the full 2024/25 school year, 175,900 children were home-educated at some point, up from 153,300 the year before. The most common stated reasons parents gave were mental health (16%) and philosophical or preferential choice (12%), though the reason was unknown to the local authority, or not given, for close to 30% of children.

Public dataUK Department for Education. (2026). Elective home education, autumn term 2025/26. Read the source
Worth knowing: reasons for home education are recorded by local authorities, often as reported to them by parents, and are missing or unknown for almost 3 in 10 children, so the reason breakdown understates some categories. These are official statistics still in development, and councils have had to collect them only since autumn 2024, so part of the rise may be better counting.
Design · Official statistics
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2026
England, government statistics

School absence in England rose again, still above pre-pandemic levels.

The Department for Education reports the overall pupil absence rate was 6.47% in autumn term 2025/26, up from 6.38% in autumn term 2024/25. The release states this remains above pre-pandemic levels, which were under 5%.

Public dataUK Department for Education. (2026). Pupil absence in schools in England, autumn term 2025/26. Read the source
Worth knowing: this is an overall average absence rate across all pupils; the release itself does not break this particular headline figure down by cause, such as illness versus unauthorized absence.
Design · Official statistics
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2026
England, government survey of parents, pupils and 16-19 learners

One in ten older pupils in England reported bullying in the past year.

This Department for Education survey, fielded 11 March to 7 April 2026, sampled over 9,000 parents, pupils and 16-19 year old learners across England. It reports that 10% of 16 to 19 year old pupils and learners said they had experienced bullying in the past year. It also reports average wellbeing scores among key stage 3 pupils of 7.3 out of 10 for happiness and 3.5 out of 10 for anxiety, and that 95% of key stage 3 and 4 pupils said they attended school every weekday or most weekdays.

Public dataUK Department for Education. (2026). Parent, pupil and learner voice: March 2026. Read the source
Worth knowing: these are self-reported survey answers from one omnibus wave covering fourteen separate topics, not administrative bullying or attendance records, so this summary covers only a few of those topics.
Design · Official survey
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2025
England, government survey of parents and pupils

More than one in five younger teenagers in England reported bullying by schoolmates.

This Department for Education survey, fielded 4 October to 10 November 2025, collected responses from 7,684 parents and pupils across England. It reports that 22% of key stage 3 pupils said they had experienced bullying from schoolmates in the past year. It also reports an average pupil happiness score of 7.2 out of 10, and that about half of families eligible for free school meals said they worried about affording school uniform.

Public dataUK Department for Education. (2025). Parent, pupil and learner voice: October 2025. Read the source
Worth knowing: these are self-reported survey answers from a single omnibus wave, not administrative bullying records, so this summary covers only a few of the survey's many topics.
Design · Official survey
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2025
Canada, national school survey (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children)

Reported bullying among Canadian students in grades 6 to 10 reached its highest recorded level.

The 2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Canada report states that 32% of students reported being bullied in 2022, a 12 percentage point increase from 2018, the highest level recorded since the HBSC survey began tracking bullying in Canada. The same report's Figure 5.8 shows that among girls in grade 10, the share who said they felt a lot of pressure because of schoolwork rose from 21% in 2002 to 41% in 2022, also the highest level recorded since the survey began in 1994.

Public dataPublic Health Agency of Canada. (2025). The Health of Young People in Canada: A Focus on Mental Health. Findings from the 2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study. Read the source
Worth knowing: these are self-reported results from a school-based student survey, not a count of confirmed incidents, so they reflect what students say happened to them.
Design · National survey
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2023
Canada, government education statistics

Canada's home schooled numbers fell after the pandemic peak, and stayed above where they began.

Statistics Canada reports 67,008 students were home-schooled in 2021/2022, a 20.2% decline from the prior year's pandemic-era level. Despite the drop, home-schooled students were still 1.2% of all students, versus 0.7% in 2019 before the pandemic. Younger grades saw the biggest declines, with kindergarten and grade 1 each falling by nearly a third, while grades 10 and 12 grew, up 12.1% and 7.6% respectively.

Public dataStatistics Canada. (2023). Key Trends in Elementary to Postsecondary Student Enrolments, Graduations and Tuition Fees (Elementary–Secondary Education Survey, 2021/2022, with year-over-year comparison to 2020/2021). Catalogue no. 71-607-X2023024. Read the source
Worth knowing: the prior year's figure reflects pandemic-era school closures and disruption, so the 20.2% decline is partly a return toward pre-pandemic patterns, not necessarily a rejection of home education.
Design · Official statistics
Direction
Background, not a comparison
2024
United States, national school survey (Youth Risk Behavior Survey)

Reported bullying and safety worries at U.S. high schools, 2021 to 2023.

The CDC's 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results page reports that, across 2021 to 2023, the share of high school students who were bullied at school ranged from 15% to 19%, the share threatened or injured with a weapon on school property ranged from 7% to 9%, and the share who missed school because of safety concerns, at school or on the way to school, ranged from 9% to 13%.

Public dataU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health. (2024). 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results. Read the source
Worth knowing: the source page states these as ranges across the 2021-2023 period rather than a single standalone 2023 figure for each measure, so an exact 2023-only number for each statistic is not confirmed here.
Design · National survey
Direction
Background, not a comparison

How to read any of this

None of these studies can prove that home education caused the results. Children are not randomly assigned to a way of learning, and families who choose it differ from families who do not in ways no statistical control fully removes. The researchers say so themselves, repeatedly. What the body of work supports is narrower and still worth knowing: children learning at home tend to do as well as or better than their schooled peers, and a great many careful studies find no meaningful difference at all.

Nearly all of this is United States data. Canada has very little published research of its own, and that gap is one reason we publish what each of the thirteen provinces and territories actually requires.

We post one of these a week

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Last reviewed 1 October 2026. Studies are linked to their publishers, and where a paper is open access we say so. Nothing here is legal advice.

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