Iowa homeschool evaluation
Who may evaluate, when, and what goes to whom, in the law's words. We name no evaluators and recommend none.
In Iowa this rule varies: it depends on what your district agrees to. The rule below says how.
Only on the CPI routes with a parent teacher who reports or dual enrolls: an annual evaluation by May 31 (a nationally recognized standardized achievement test, or portfolio or accredited correspondence-school report options), results to the district by August 1. Adequate progress is above the 30th percentile in reading, mathematics and language arts (plus science and social studies from grade 6). Not meeting it can mean returning to an accredited school. No evaluation on CPI Option 2 without reporting or on independent private instruction.
Checked October 27, 2026 against Iowa's statute and education department. Information, not legal advice: they are the final word.
In the law's words
“shall either be evaluated annually by May 31, using a nationally recognized standardized achievement evaluation or other assessment tool developed or recognized by the department of education”
When
- By May 31 (CPI routes that report or dual enroll): The annual evaluation is due.
Each date is on the Iowa checklist with its source.
What an evaluator looks at
Whatever the method the law allows asks for, and no more than the law asks. For a review, that usually means work across the year in each subject the state names, with dates on it; for a test, the score report. Bring what fits your method:
- Dated work samples from the start, middle and end of the year: the portfolio keeps them by subject.
- The reading list and the days or hours, if Iowa counts them: the reading log, attendance and hours.
- Any test scores you are using: the test-score log. Which tests Iowa accepts.
- All of it on one printout: the evaluation packet.
What it costs
Fees vary; ask before you book. We list none, because they differ by person and change from year to year.
Ten questions to ask an evaluator
- Which of the state's allowed methods do you use, and what makes you qualified for it under the law?
- What do you want to see: how many work samples, from which months, in which subjects?
- Do you meet the child, for how long, and where?
- What do you write, and in what form does it reach the office it goes to?
- When will we have the written result, and is that before the state's date?
- What is your fee, and what does it include?
- What happens if you have a concern about progress?
- Do you keep a copy, and for how long?
- Can you see more than one child in one visit?
- Will the result say which method was used, in the law's words?
Finding one
Families usually find an evaluator through a local homeschool group or co-op; see homeschool organizations by state. Check the person against the law's own words above, not against a list: we keep no list and endorse no one.