Department of Education Data Shows Homeschoolers Excelling Under EFA Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Little Rock, Ark. – Homeschoolers participating in the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program under the LEARNS Act outperformed students in private schools on state-mandated tests. According to data that Family Council obtained from the Arkansas Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act homeschoolers, on average, scored in the sixty-third percentile in math and in the sixty-eighth percentile in reading. Meanwhile, private school students enrolled in the same EFA program scored at the fifty-fifth percentile in math and at the fifty-seventh percentile in reading, on average.

In 2023 the Arkansas Legislature created the EFA program to provide funding for students to cover education expenses at a private school or pay for approved homeschool education expenses. Students who receive EFA funds must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test each year. Supporters of homeschooling say the testing data shows homeschoolers continue to outperform their peers in public and private schools.

In a statement, Family Council President Jerry Cox said, “The test scores speak for themselves. The State of Arkansas is getting more bang for the education dollars invested in homeschooling than anywhere else. When you break down the testing data we received, you find that Arkansas’ homeschoolers don’t just do better, on average. Many of Arkansas’ homeschoolers in the EFA program are outperforming 80% or 90% of their peers. These test scores prove what the Department of Education learned through 30 years of annual homeschool testing from 1985 to 2015: Arkansas homeschoolers score above average in every subject at every grade level every year. These high test scores and the success of homeschooling are evidence that when the government gets out of the way and lets parents educate their children, good things happen.”

Cox said that he hopes this strong showing by homeschoolers will prompt lawmakers and the Department of Education to maintain EFA funding for homeschoolers. “There have always been a few lawmakers and a few people at the Arkansas Department of Education who oppose homeschooling. This opposition has been evident with the introduction of two laws to restrict EFA funds for homeschoolers and with proposed Department of Education rules to place new restrictions on homeschoolers in the EFA program. A lot of homeschoolers are concerned those rules go beyond state law and will make it harder for homeschoolers to educate their children. Lawmakers could vote on those rules soon. The EFA program clearly is working well for homeschool families, and we hope our elected officials will keep it that way.”

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We are urging Arkansans to ask their lawmakers to make sure the new EFA rules are fair to homeschool families. If you need help contacting your state legislators, please call or email our office, and we will assist you.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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