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For years, modern home school education has lived in the shadow of its public and private school kin. Homeschooling parents have had to fight cultural stereotypes that depict them as neurotic recluses or religious nutcases and their children as antisocial geeks. But in recent years the practice of teaching children at home by parents or private tutors has gained many adherents and an increased measure of respect.

The growth in home-based education in the U.S. has been substantial over the past decade. According to a survey by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) (PDF), the number of homeschooled children in the U.S. has increased from an estimated 850,000 students in 1999 to about 1.5 million students in 2007. The odds that a student (aged 5-17) is homeschooled are 1 in 46.28.

The survey was conducted three times over the 8 year period, and while the total number has increased by 77.4%, many characteristics of the homeschooled population have remained consistent. The vast majority—between 80% and 82%—receive no instruction from a traditional school. White children make up between 75% and 77% of the homeschooled numbers. A little more than half have two parents, with one parent in the labor force. And 60-62% of children taught at home live in families with 3 or more children.

There have also been some interesting changes. More and more parents of some financial means are choosing to keep their children at home. In 1999, 17.4% of homeschooled children lived in households with an income of over $75,000; by 2007 the percentage had almost doubled to 33.2%. At the same time, fewer black families were making the choice to do homeschooling; the percentage fell from almost 10% in 1999 to 4% in 2007.

From academic test scores to athletic scoreboards, homeschooled students have been racking up some impressive results. The year after the first survey was taken, homeschoolers scored significantly higher than the national average on both the SAT and the ACT. Even the most elite colleges began to take notice, and homeschoolers now make up a growing percentage of the student body at places like Stanford University. In 2007, 13-year-old Evan O’Dorney became the third homeschooled student to win the National Spelling Bee. And in Georgia and Texas where homeschooled students are prohibited from participating in interscholastic athletics, homeschool sports teams and leagues—especially football—are flourishing

The NHES survey suggests that religious and moral considerations continue to play a significant role in parents’ decisions to teach their children at school. In both 2003 and 2007 parents were asked about their reasons for choosing home schooling, and the percentage citing the desire to provide religious or moral instruction to their children as their motivation for home schooling increased from 72% to 83% during that period.