Home-schooled children in Canada and the United States are more "academically advanced" than their public and private school-educated peers, according to a noted policy research group.

The Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Policy Analysis, citing a Canadian research group's findings last week, said North American home-schoolers' average test scores were higher "at every grade level."

In the U.S., "home-schooled students' average scores were between the 82nd and the 92nd percentile in reading and reached the 85th percentile in math – with home-schoolers' overall test scores placing them between the 75th and 85th percentiles," the NCPA report said.

By contrast, "public school students scored at the 50th percentile, while private school students' scores ranged from the 65th to the 75th percentile," said the center.

In Canada, the results were similar, said the report, quoting Canada's Frasier Institute, which conducted the study.

"The largest study to date in Canada found that home-schooling students, on average, score at the 80th percentile in reading, at the 76th percentile in language and at the 79th percentile in mathematics," said the center. "The Canadian average for all public and privately educated students is the 50th percentile."

The center said the Canadian experience with home schooling appeared to mirror the success of the United States.

"Home-schooled students also surpass the national averages on both of the major college-entrance tests – the ACT and the SAT," said the Canadian study, as quoted by the center.

Parents who choose to home-school their kids also seem to be, on average, better educated.

"Among American parents who home-school, 81 percent have studied beyond high school compared with 63 percent of parents nationwide. Interestingly, having at least one parent who is a certified teacher has no significant effect on the achievement levels of home-schooled students," the study said.

School choice advocates say the Canadian study's results mirror similar studies in the U.S. that highlight the failure of public schools when compared to home schooling or even a private school alternative, where available.

Also, the NCPA said the cost of educating kids in government schools remains high in comparison to non-government alternatives.

The per-pupil cost of education in a public school is about $7,000 a year, according to Department of Education statistics. That compares with about half that amount for private-school children, and anywhere from $300 to $1,000 a year for a home-schooled student.

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