With the number of students applying to college increasing and the number of parents choosing to home-school their children also rising, universities are becoming skeptical of whether a student lacking traditional transcripts could be as qualified as one who attends public or private school.

Home-schooling is becoming more popular across the country; however, the number of students being home-schooled in Wisconsin is not increasing as rapidly, according to University of Wisconsin professor Michael W. Apple.

In recent years, several universities have launched investigations into the credibility of home-school students. They include Syracuse University, the University of Southern Maine and the entire University of Maine System.

A number of colleges have refused to admit these students lacking a General Education Development diploma or passing a federally approved test, arguing their policies made them unable to admit students who had not earned a high school diploma or an equivalent.

In addition, home-schooled students have been excused from the federal tests given in compliance with the “Leave No Child Behind” education legislation. In that law, which President George W. Bush signed last year, the federal government is also prohibited from overseeing home-schools and the curriculum these students use.

The Bush administration and Republican Congress representatives have been in full support of home-schooling all along and have taken steps such as enacting provisions to ensure the rights of home-schooled children and their families.

“I support the right of people to educate their own children, but I strongly believe it has very negative effects on society,” Apple said. “I would not want home-schoolers to be admitted with any less evidence over another student.”

Apple believes that interviews, overall performance and essays should be looked at more than they currently are in admissions, and less emphasis should be put on test scores and grade-point averages for all students.

He noted the problems with standardized tests being that any student could theoretically take test preparation courses and receive a high score, which does not necessarily qualify an individual for admittance. He did stress, however, the importance of using a wider array of evidence in admissions decisions when dealing specifically with home-schooled students.

UW professor Beth M. Graue oversees admissions within the School of Education and said she has never seen an application of a student who was home-schooled during their high school years. However, she strongly believes that the “very same criteria” should be used when deciding whether to admit a student to the university regardless if he or she has been home-schooled or not.

Graue also believes it is necessary to check to see if a home-schooled student was educated with strong curriculum, is well-rounded and also received high ACT or SAT scores.

“Home-schooled students should work to develop a portfolio of sorts that would help a university see who they are,” Graue said. “However, in a large university this may be difficult to view with careful scrutiny.”