Home-school testing sought

Sept. 18, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- No other state grants more freedoms to private home schoolers than Alaska. State law allows parents to educate their children at home, free of government intervention, state testing or any other controls.

Critics, however, are fighting for greater government intervention. They claim state law is too lenient and allows for abuses and educational neglect.

On Sept. 7, the Mat-Su School Board voted 6-1 in support of the Alaska Association of School Board's recommended core resolutions, one of which called for continued support for implementing state control over private home-school operations.

AASB represents the interests of local school boards around the state and for the last five years has called for an end to home schoolers' wide freedoms.

Each year since 2000, AASB members have resolved to support increased state control.

Mat-Su School Board President Mike Chmielewski cited potential for abuse as one reason why he supported increased state regulation over private home schools.

"Right now it is very loose," he said. "A discussion needs to take place so we have confidence with what is happening with kids in the state."

If home schoolers are doing well, Chmielewski said tests should prove that.

Private home schoolers, however, say state-mandated tests would defeat the whole purpose of home education.

"Parents need to have the right to seek out the kind of education they want for their children," said Craig Mischenko, president of Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. Mischenko said parents must retain the right to educate their own children, especially when they are unsatisfied with the quality or educational content of public schools.

"The motivation behind this is that our education determines our entire world view on life," he explained. "It is the parent's prerogative to form the boundaries for that."

Mat-Su home-school parent Rhonda Stark said state tests could never accurately assess the quality of her daughter's education.

According to Stark, her 10-year-old daughter currently reads at a junior-high level, but three years ago her reading was remedial at best. While her daughter's reading progress might veer from the public school timelines, Stark said she has become an advanced reader all the same.

"We have long-term goals and we keep moving toward those goals," Stark said. "I feel totally free to do that. I don't have to sit here and worry about standardized tests."

Those arguments echo the sentiments of many in the private home-school community.

"For me it is a matter of my right to educate my child," she said. "I'm not using public money and I should be free to educate my child as I see fit."

If AASB has its way, though, the state Department of Education and Early Development would gain the authority to register, track, and test private home schoolers.

AASB members are expected to take a final vote on their core resolutions in November, during their annual meeting in Anchorage. Each year, AASB uses the core resolutions to guide its lobbying efforts with state legislators in Juneau.

In 2004, state Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, unsuccessfully sponsored a bill that would have assigned 10-digit identification numbers to every child in Alaska, including private home-school children.

Information about the child's educational process would have then been reported to the Legislature each year.

The Department of Education and Early Development was slated to administer this tracking system in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Services.

With heavy opposition from private home schoolers, however, the bill never made it to a vote. The AASB resolution indicates the issue may come up again, though, during the next legislative session.

School board candidates Neal Lacy and Cheryl Turner are both running against Chmielewski for a seat on the Mat-Su School Board. Both Lacy and Turner said they oppose state control over private home schoolers.

"I'm fully aware that we have our percentage of people that abuse the home-school program, but we also have inadequacies in the public system," Turner said. "Your true home-school parents are dedicated to their children's education."

Lacy agreed.

"If they aren't getting state aid, then why should we test them?" he said.

The AASB rationale for the resolution, however, states that "public schools often receive students who have fallen behind due to failed home schooling or the lack of home schooling."

AASB Chief Editor John Greely said the actual percentage of home-schooled students who need remediation when they enroll in public school is unknown. He said the extent of the problem is mostly based on individual testimonies.

"That is anecdotal information, it probably doesn't have statistical verification," he said.

The AASB rationale goes on to state that "public schools will be unfairly held accountable for any inadequate preparation of entering students."

Larry DeVilbiss, the sole Mat-Su School Board member to vote against supporting the AASB resolutions, said he thinks public education should focus on its own students rather than trying to regulate home schoolers.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not against public education," he said, "but I sure don't think public education, when we are having trouble getting kids to pass benchmarks, should be concerned about regulating everyone else."

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.