Home schooling is a "choice".
It is a valid alternative to any form of conventional schooling, and is often times academically the better choice as well.
No one "needs" to be home schooled; they choose to do so.
You can choose home schooling from the beginning, and go all the way through high school, or do it partly for one, or several years.
Home schooling gives the parents, and students the freedom to adjust any curriculum, if they want to use one, to their own schedule, and interests.
Some students do choose to go to a conventional high school after being home schooled from K through 8Th grade.
Some will stay, and others will go back to home schooling because they see that they can finish a regular high school program often times in as little as 2 years, and start college early.
They may find out that they are either to far ahead, and do not want to repeat classes they have already done, or they are bored with the other non-academic activities, and want to direct their own education once again.
We home/unschool because it is a way of life.
Home schooling is much more than academics, and is definitvely not merely doing school @ home.
To fully understand home schooling is almost impossible because their are as many reasons as their are families.
Home schooling does however provide a truly individualized education for each student, something no conventional school could provide no matter how many "good" programs, or teachers they have.
It is simply not set up to do so.
See this free little video, it illustrates it well.
Click on the little purple box.
http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/
This web site has been posted several times by another home school mom, and provides a good comparison of home schooling versus public schooling, and as to why so many parents choose this option.
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/…
Another great home school web site with much information is;
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/
A book I would recommend you reading to get another view on home/unschooling is;
http://www.lowryhousepublishers.com/Teen…
Hope this helps a bit.