Home school students 'performing better than other schools'
Many New South Wales parents who home school their children are giving themselves a pat on the back because their kids did better in NAPLAN testing.
More than 3000 children are registered as being home schooled across the state but critics insist there's much more to the story.
Kylie Seal is a qualified maths teacher and she and the other mums in their home classroom believe children learn more at home.
NAPLAN results seem to support their claims.
Kids who are home schooled performed better in almost all tests, 70 marks higher than the NSW average in reading, grammar, punctuation and numeracy.
"The more involved parents are with their children's education, the better their children do,” parent Vivienne Fox said.
But the Board of Studies warns the results aren't a true indicator.
Only about 10 per cent of home schooled children actually sat the NAPLAN tests between 2008 and 2013.
"They're not very reliable results. I would take them with a grain of salt," Tom Alegounaria from the Board of Studies said.
A growing number of parents are ditching the classroom in favour of home learning each year.
Apart from the 3000 children who are currently registered, a parliamentary inquiry found many parents are choosing not to inform the Board of Studies, about their decision to teach from home.
Their argument: Too much paperwork.
