Homeschooled students are school-age children (ages 5–17) in a grade equivalent to at least kindergarten and not higher than 12th grade who receive instruction at home instead of at a public or private school either all or most of the time.

Approximately 3 percent of the school-age population was homeschooled in the 2011–12 school year. Among children who were homeschooled, a higher percentage were White (83 percent) than Black (5 percent), Hispanic (7 percent), or Asian or Pacific Islander (2 percent).

Parents gave a number of different reasons for homeschooling their children. In the 2011–12 school year, 91 percent of homeschooled students had parents who said that a concern about the environment of other schools was an important reason for homeschooling their child, which was a higher percentage than other reasons listed.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Homeschooling in the United States: 2012.