It’s been a busy week with a lot less computer time than usual (yes, we do have lives offline). We finally finished our yard clean-up in time for the township brush pickup on Monday.  Then our oldest boy Matthew picked up a virus (not the computer variety), and of course gave it to the other two.

We’re still helping Brian’s Dad, who’s 86, with his daily activities, and trying to get his kitchen painted as well (we’re about half done). After having sat unused for about a month, our ‘91 Hyundai started up just fine, but then began smoking from under the hood after it’s first drive. So now Brian, admittedly not the mechanic type, is trying to figure out what’s going on, and has just caught the ‘bug’ from the boys in time for his birthday today. Yippee.    

But let’s get to the good stuff. Today we’ll talk about academic testing. Your interest in this topic is likely to be determined by the state in which you live. Why? Because different states (USA and Australia) and nations have different requirements regarding testing.

Some home schoolers live in states where testing is not required. If you live in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut,  Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, or Wyoming  you are not required to test at all.

In California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia,  testing is dependent upon which type of home education program you are implementing. For more information go to http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp and click on your state.

In Massachusetts,  testing is not required by state law but may be a negotiated condition for approval.

New Hampshire, Ohio, and Vermont certain conditions must be met.  These states give the parent the option of either testing or submitting an evaluation of the childs work done by a certified teacher, or other alternatives.  

In Rhode Island an assessment is required.

Annual testing is required in Minnesota and North Carolina.

Oregon requires testing in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10.

South Dakota requires testing in grades 2, 4, 8 and 11.

Arkansas requires some testing in grades 3-9.

Georgia requires testing every three years.

New York requires testing every other year from 4th through 8th grade then every year in high school. Years where testing is not required, parents must submit an assessment.

 In Australia there are six states and 2 territories, each having its own Education Act and thus different requirements and procedures.

In the UK, there are no requirements to inform the authorities when home educating, unless the student was previously enrolled in the government school system. No other requirements for home education exist.

We recommend that you keep yourself updated on changes to the law regarding home schooling. You can do this by visiting http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp regularly.

Whether you are required to test or would just like to know how well your children are learning, you will obviously need some tests.
You can purchase tests for home schooled students from:

BJU Press:  http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing/
(Stanford Achievement Tests ),

Seton:  http://www.setontesting.com/
(CAE-E Survey Test),

Piedmont Education Services: http://www.pesdirect.com/itbs.html
(Iowa Test of Basic Skills)

Christian Liberty Press: http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/pageoflinks/  
(California Achievement Test)   OR

Hewitt: 
http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/test/testOrder.asp
(PASS).

These test are given by a family member and returned to the school for grading.

If you would like to know where your child stands, but are not required to test, visit The Sycamore Tree http://www.mailordercentral.com/sycamoretree/. (Click ‘Store Directory’, then scroll to the bottom) They provide a skills assessment for each grade level.

Or you can get free test to give your child yourself at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/ . 
Then follow the directions for hard copy, PDF (printable), or interactive online versions.