The 5 W’s of Testing

I.          Who must test?

a.   All homeschooled children who have reached their 6^th birthday on or   before September 30^th and have not reached their 18^th birthday.

b.   Families with a “Religious Exemption” are not required to test.

c.   An evaluation can be submitted in lieu of test results.

II.         What is testing?

a.   “Testing” means administering a nationally standardized achievement test

III.        When should you test?

a.   Results must be submitted to local superintendent by August 1^st for previous year.

b.   Testing can take up to three days, and results can take 6-8 weeks to come back.

c.    Allow time for “Plan B”

d.    Date of test is taken into account when applying norms.

IV.        Where can you test?

a.    At home.

b.    With a  homeschool group.

c.    With the local school system.

d.    With a professional educational service.

V.        Why test?

a.    Required by VA law.

b.    Identify weaknesses early.

c.    Track progression from year to year.

d.    Documentation of success – “transcripts”

e.    Independent evaluation for teacher.

f.     Added credibility

g.    Valuable practice for college & jobs