[SWTXBelle]

I still pay the taxes that pay for public education. Therefore, I have a stake, and a right to complain about the system, whether or not I my children are in the system. In fact, every person, parent or not, who is interested in the good of our society should have a voice in determining what to do with public education.
The vast majority of homeschooling parents I know, with a wide range of educational backgrounds, are very good at teaching their children. Teaching your own children is different than trying to manage a class of 20+ kids - and requires a different skill set. The vast majority work with other home schoolers, and you'll find classes and consortiums that mean if you feel weak in a particular subject you can insure your child gets a quality education. I don't speak Italian, yet my daughter learned through a top-notch curriculum (and with the help of a friend of hers in Italy). Home schoolers are very creative in finding opportunities for their children, and taking advantage of the community in which they live and the greater home schooling world.
You'll never convince me that every holder of an education degree is a good teacher - you really don't need me to pull the data on that, do you? - and the same teachers' unions that fight the idea of competency testing for their members tooth and nail are the same ones who want to establish some form of competency requirements for home schoolers. Yes, there are homeschooling parents who do not do a good job, but they are the minority. There are plenty of public schools who are not doing a good job, and until that is not the case I really don't think that public educators should worry about private schools or home schoolers.
The answer is not subjecting home schooled children to the same testing (a la "No Child Left Behind" - ha!) we put our public schooled students through. One of the joys of home schooling is not having curriculum dictated to you - being free to take your child's interest and run with it. Testing doesn't insure that public schooled students are receiving a quality education, and I would argue that it actually gets in the way.
I have a sister in law with a Master's degree in education who was frustrated because she had to give up teaching science to her class in the spring because it was not on the state tests. Think about that - subjects such as history and science (not to mention p.e., music and the arts) being given short shrift because they are not on the tests.
I know many dedicated, educated public teachers who are totally hamstrung by the levels of administrative bureaucracy, the dictates of people in ivory towers in Washington D.C., and whatever the latest fad in education is. They are understandably frustrated, and many of them send their children to private schools. Too often the system doesn't give the best teachers the support they need, and we end up losing them or they end up burning out.
One of my sorority sisters is back working as a paralegal after a year of teaching after getting her certification. The lack of support from her administration and the level of discipline problems lead her to leave after only a year. I'm most familiar with the Houston ISD - where there are 2 administrators for every teacher. Is that in the students' best interest? I don't think so. I think it's a tragic waste of money.
I firmly believe that local control is the best way to make sure students receive the education they need. With the exception of a few nutcases, parents are the ones most invested in their children receiving a good education. Most parents, and most communities, are best able to dictate what is in their children's best interests. That's why I support the right of parents to decide how their children should be educated -whether it is public, private, or home schooling. (And this from the grand-daughter of a public school superintendent and Texas State School board member!)