Pennsylvania homeschool evaluation
Who may evaluate, when, and what goes to whom, in the law's words. We name no evaluators and recommend none.
Every year an evaluator (a certified teacher, a licensed psychologist, or a qualified nonpublic school teacher or administrator) interviews the child, reviews the portfolio and writes whether an appropriate education is occurring; the parent gives this to the superintendent by June 30. In grades 3, 5 and 8 the portfolio must also hold results of a nationally normed achievement test or the statewide tests in reading/language arts and math. The parent may not give the test.
Checked October 27, 2026 against Pennsylvania's statute and education department. Information, not legal advice: they are the final word.
In the law's words
“in grades three, five and eight results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests in reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of Statewide tests administered in these grade levels ... An annual written evaluation of the student's educational progress”
“An evaluator's certification stating that an appropriate education is occurring for the school year under review shall be provided by the supervisor to the superintendent of the public school district of residence by June 30 of each year.”
When
- By June 30: Give the superintendent the evaluator's certification that an appropriate education is occurring.
- In grades 3, 5 and 8: Put the results of a nationally normed achievement test (or the statewide tests) in reading/language arts and math in the portfolio.
Each date is on the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania counts them: the reading log, attendance and hours.
- Any test scores you are using: the test-score log. Which tests Pennsylvania 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.