Should the state require teacher certification for parents who homeschool their children?

Every person I have ever met that has been homeschooled is head and shoulders above the rest of the students, everytime. I know this may upset teachers but nothing compares to true one on one time certificate or not. However, I think home students should be required to take a state placement test every quarter online or at a school location to make sure they are on track with that particular grade. If the student consistantly fails and isnt on track than action must be taken. But, if the student shows to be right on schedule than the parents credentials shouldnt matter. I think common sense should be the rule. I understand public school teachers may take offense to the idea that a teacher that lacks a teaching degree couldnt possibly do as good of a job, however, public schools are crowded enough and making it harder for parents to homeschool would only make public school teachers lives more difficult due to too large of class rooms. Thank you.

I to have experience like DCS- and feel that my nieces who are being 'home-schooled' are being robbed of an education. There isn't enough state oversight on this. If there was I would maybe have a different opinion.
Some parents who are dedicated do an amazing job, but others don't and anyone can make up a 'lesson log' to show what they taught their children.

I'm ready to report my brother to the state, but will they really care? There just isn't enough checks and balances for these kids.

I say, either the state needs to truly oversee homeschooling, or only allow certified educators to do it.

Maybe this reality is only so because of going to school and becoming part of the system. The world is full of self-motivated, independent folks that are living a very different "life!"

Do you have a reference to back this up?

What you have presented is called a Strawman Argument.

The homeschooling parents I know have an idea of curriculum but lack any knowledge on delivery and instruction. They dole out the assignments and the worksheets but I wonder if that can even be called teaching? Sure, they may hit the jackpot with a motivated child, but a child who doesn't care about the material will not create connections needed to develop a big picture of concept.

Not true. In my teacher cert. classes no one taught me how to keep track of grades. I wish they had! I studied cognitive theory and inquiry based learning. It saddens me to read of the lack of respect teachers receive from many parents. We are not picked off of the street for this job. We go through rigorous training and the majority of teachers genuinely care for your children. Do your part at home by modeling critical thinking skills, respect for education and a quest for knowledge. Even the perfect teacher will not be fully responsible for a child's learning. The village exists in public-school educated children, as well. Everyone plays a role.

I agree, what are parents so worried about? You'd think that before they embarked on the homeschooling journey they read a book on learning theory & brain-based practices.

Mia,
The majority of findings in mathematics favor the positive effect of fully certified teachers . In science , the findings pointed towards equivalent levels of student achievement for fully certified and less -than fully certified teachers . All the findings associated with reading favored the positive effect of fully certified teachers . It appears that certification may be more crucial to student achievement in reading and mathematics than in science . Across school levels , the overall trend suggests that full certification may be more crucial to student achievement in elementary school than middle or high school .

http://repositories.tdl.org/tdl/handle/1969.1/2229

That's just one. I'm sure there are lots more to find if one cares enough about the topic.

Chelsea Bailey, I realize you are creating an argument but your credentials are equivalent to a certification and you probably know that. How do you determine that your "state government" is failing more children than serving well? What is the test at which they failed? I would like to see all the homeschooled children take this same test and see how they fare, in comparison.