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Evaluations and tests this spring

Find out first whether your state asks at all. Most don't. If yours does, the dates are in the table.

Whether you need a homeschool test or evaluation this spring depends on your state. Peabody's state law pages, checked against statutes, found no testing rule in 29 of 49 states. 7 ask for a test, 2 for an evaluation, 8 let you choose, and 3 depend on the route. The table gives each state's dates.

Checked October 30, 2026.

By Peabody editors.

This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.

Does my state require a homeschool test or evaluation?

New York and Rhode Island are still being checked, so they are not in these lists yet.

What the law asksStates
A testGeorgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee
An evaluationMaryland, Pennsylvania
A test or an evaluation, your choiceColorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
It depends on the routeIowa, Massachusetts, South Carolina
No test or evaluationAlabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming

When is it due, and in which grades?

Each state's dated testing steps, from its checklist. A grade list means only those grades test; a date is the deadline in the law or the department's page.

StateWhenWhat
ColoradoIn grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11Each child takes a nationally standardized achievement test, or a qualified person evaluates the child's progress. The results go to the school district that got your notice, or to an independent or parochial school.
FloridaEach yearArrange one annual educational evaluation by a method you choose, and file a copy with the district school superintendent's office.
GeorgiaAt least every three years, from the end of grade 3A nationally standardized test. You keep the scores; they are not sent in. Georgia Milestones tests do not count.
HawaiiIn grades 3, 5, 8 and 10Provide scores from a nationally-normed standardized test, with the yearly progress report.
IowaBy May 31 (CPI routes that report or dual enroll)The annual evaluation is due.
MarylandAt the end of each semesterThe local superintendent or a designee reviews your portfolio.
MinnesotaEach yearGive the nationally norm-referenced achievement test you and the superintendent agreed on, and keep the results.
North CarolinaEach school yearGive each student a nationally standardized test and keep the results for at least one year.
North DakotaIn grades 4, 6, 8 and 10Your child takes a standardized achievement test, unless one of the law's exceptions applies.
OregonBy August 15, in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10Testing must be done by the August 15 deadline.
PennsylvaniaBy June 30Give the superintendent the evaluator's certification that an appropriate education is occurring.
PennsylvaniaIn grades 3, 5 and 8Put the results of a nationally normed achievement test (or the statewide tests) in reading/language arts and math in the portfolio.
TennesseeIn grades 5, 7 and 9Your child takes a standardized test.
VermontAt the end of each school yearAssess each child's progress and keep the record.
VirginiaBy August 1Give the division superintendent evidence of progress for the year just finished: a test score in or above the fourth stanine, or an evaluation.
WashingtonEach yearA state-approved standardized achievement test given by a qualified person, or a written assessment by a certificated person working in education.
West VirginiaBy June 30 (results for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11)Get an academic assessment each year; send the results for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11 to the county superintendent.

Who is allowed to give the test?

  • Pennsylvania: the parent may not give the test.
  • Oregon: a neutral person who is not related to the child.
  • Tennessee: for a nationally normed test the parent picks, someone not related to the student proctors it.
  • Florida: a nationally normed test or the state test counts when a certified teacher gives it.
  • North Carolina: the home school's chief administrator gives it, and the state does not provide or pay for it.
  • Elsewhere, read your state's testing line: it names who may give or review.

How early should I sign up?

Earlier than you think, if your state has a spring or June deadline: evaluators and test proctors can be booked up close to it. Book in winter for a spring review.

For College Board tests, its homeschool guide says homeschoolers must contact a local participating school at least four weeks before the PSAT testing window, and that AP Exams go through an authorized local school because parents cannot order them directly.

What if the score is low?

  • North Carolina: the record says there is no minimum score.
  • Oregon: a score below the 15th percentile means another test within a year.
  • Iowa: on the routes that report, adequate progress is above the 30th percentile in reading, mathematics and language arts.
  • Virginia: the test route asks for a composite in or above the fourth stanine; the other route is an evaluation the superintendent accepts.
  • Florida: If a student does not show progress commensurate with her or his ability, the superintendent notifies the parent in writing. The parent then has 1 year from receiving that notice to provide remedial instruction, and the student is re-evaluated at the end of that year. Continuing in home education depends on showing that progress.

A test or a portfolio review: how do I choose?

Where the law lets you choose, a test gives a number and asks little of you beforehand; a portfolio review shows a whole year and suits a child who freezes on tests, but needs the work saved as you go. If you have kept samples since the autumn, the review is often the easier spring.

Get the papers ready

Print the evaluation pack for the evaluator: attendance, hours, reading log, report card and portfolio in one go. Keep adding to the portfolio until the appointment, and check your state's checklist for the date.

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