A 2009 Department of Education report shows that the number of home-schooled students has surged by 74 percent over the past eight years, to 1.5 million. The National Home Education Research Institute puts the number higher, at just over 2 million.

Leading reasons for the move include concerns about religious or moral instruction, the school environment and the quality of academic instruction. The institute’s research indicates that home-schooled students score 15 to 30 percentile points above their public school peers on standardized tests.