Portfolio evaluations explained
A person looks at your child's work and writes down their view. Here is what goes in the folder and which states ask.
A portfolio evaluation is a review of a child's work, such as writing samples, math, a reading list and photos, by a person your state accepts. Peabody's state law pages list the states that ask for an evaluation or let you choose it instead of a test; the table gives each state's wording and links to its statute.
Checked October 27, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.
What to put in
- A short list of what you taught, by subject.
- Dated work samples from the start, middle and end of the year.
- A reading list.
- Photos or notes of projects and field trips.
- Your attendance or hours record if your state asks.
Who reviews it
Your state's law says who counts: it may be a teacher, a person with a license, or another person the state names. Check the table below and your state's page before you pay anyone.
States whose law page lists an evaluation
| State | What the law page says |
|---|---|
| Colorado | In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, each child takes a nationally standardized achievement test or a qualified person (a licensed teacher, a teacher at an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or someone with a graduate degree in education) evaluates the child's progress. The results… |
| Florida | Each year the parent arranges one annual educational evaluation and files a copy with the district superintendent's office. The parent picks the method: a Florida-certified teacher reviewing the portfolio and talking with the student; any nationally normed achievement test given by a certified… |
| Louisiana | State tests are not required for home study students; a parent may ask the local school board to give them. At each yearly renewal the parent sends one of three things: a packet of materials about the year's curriculum, standardized test scores, or a statement from a certified teacher who examined… |
| Maine | Each year after the first, an annual assessment of the child's progress is sent with the notice. Choose one: a standardized achievement test, a test agreed with the school officials, review by a Maine-certified teacher, review of a portfolio by a support group that includes a certified teacher or… |
| Maryland | No test is required. Instead the parent keeps a portfolio, and the local superintendent or a designee reviews it at the end of each semester, at a time that suits both sides, no more than three reviews a year. A child may take the public school's standardized tests on request. |
| Pennsylvania | 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,… |
| Vermont | Each child's academic progress is assessed at the end of each school year and the parent keeps the record. The allowed ways are: a standardized assessment, a review by someone with a current Vermont teacher's certificate, a parent or guardian report and portfolio with a summary and at least four… |
| Virginia | By August 1 after the school year, give the division superintendent either (i) evidence of a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on a nationally normed standardized achievement test (or an equivalent score on the ACT, SAT or PSAT), or (ii) an evaluation or assessment the superintendent… |
| Washington | Every year, either have a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education given to the child by a qualified person, or have a certificated person who is working in education write an annual assessment of the child's academic progress. The result goes into the child's… |
| West Virginia | Every year get an academic assessment of the child for the previous school year, in one of four ways: a nationally normed standardized achievement test (acceptable progress is the fourth stanine or better, or improvement), the state public school test taken at a public school in your county, a… |
Tools
The portfolio page and evaluation pack help you collect the work.
Sources
- Peabody's state homeschool law pages (each lists its statutes and state education department pages) (checked October 27, 2026)