by Shari McMinn

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:14-16 ESV).

There are many outside the homeschool world who would criticize the choices we make to home educate our often very unique, even special education-labeled students. They question our ability with, “How are you qualified?” or “Why do you think you can do a better job than trained professionals?” They may even ask, “How will your child be socialized to fit into the world as an adult?” I had multiple people — too many times to count — say things like this to me, including relatives, friends, and church members. Their gossip and negative comments were hurtful, but my husband and I knew we had chosen to homeschool for righteous reasons. The Lord helped us prepare our children well and gave them hope for their futures. We were able to justify our ways and their outcomes when authorities questioned us and even requested records of their annual progress. 

Sometimes, when we think about homeschool testing and assessments, it can be a bit intimidating, especially if you have unique learners who are working at what some might term “below grade level.” I had several of these types of learners. They were advanced in art, history, music, and science; yet they were low-achieving in math and English. I must admit that I first avoided assessments and testing like the plague! I eventually realized those were just tools that would help me become a better teacher. 

During my childhood, I always excelled at testing. My late husband, who was smarter than me with a Mensa-level IQ, often talked about his struggles with standardized tests because he was a person who learned best with his hands. I was grateful that we could tag team in helping our wide variety of learners gain academic concepts and skill sets through book-based and real-life learning opportunities. 

Throughout the years, we developed a solution for assessing our children’s homeschool progress with a multi-pronged approach. These strategies might help you with recordkeeping related to your student’s progress over time. As crazy, busy parents, we did not do this as consistently and thoroughly as we would have liked to. However, across a span of nearly three decades, God enabled our homeschooling efforts to succeed, with each child ready for graduation into adulthood. For the most part, my grown children are thriving. A couple of my kids have some struggles; but those are related to their pre-adoption trauma, not their home-based education.

Weekly Progress

As the parent who directly supervised the day-to-day homeschooling of our children, each week, I would:

• Review what did and did not get done by each student in their assigned work for the previous week
• Adjust the following week’s schedule to allow for catching up by that student when they did not complete their assigned work
• Tested for spelling words each Friday (or every other week as our schedule allowed)
• NOT assign any catch-up work in the evenings or weekends; we valued refresh time as a family

My husband allowed for margins in his schedule to:

• Spend time with our children as a group to work hands-on in our garage with electrical circuitry, hand and power tools, vehicle maintenance and repair, woodworking, etc.
• Work one-on-one with a child who struggled with a certain subject, such as math, in a more hands-on way, i.e.: counting/dividing nails into groups or measuring/marking for wood cuts
• Encourage each child to do their best, and in time, God would help them do the rest

Monthly Review

Whether we did this as a couple in casual conversation or I took half a day to go over my children’s workbooks or spiral notebooks, it was worth staying on top of progress (or lack thereof) each month. I accomplished this by:

• Examining the progress each child was making, especially in subjects he or she struggled with
• Adjusting the next month’s assignments accordingly
• Discussing with each child their strengths and weaknesses in a kind and encouraging way
• Keeping abreast of emotional, physical, and spiritual growth, even if it was in very slow or delayed spurts

Annual Testing

I firmly believe you should test or assess your student’s progress on an annual basis so you can adjust your teaching accordingly. The every-two-year annual assessments, required by Colorado’s Homeschool Law, are an important indicator of progress or struggle for each homeschooled student. It is not to be avoided, so I suggest you prepare ahead of time so that your child is ready and you are, too. There are several options you can explore to determine what will be the best indicator of how your student is making progress for their particular abilities by age or grade level. 

For ten years after my husband’s sudden death, we belonged to the CHEC Independent School (CHEC IS). I utilized its parent assessment for my five youngest children still at home, all adopted with special needs labels. They were always at least one year below the expected grade level but eventually caught up by high school graduation, praise God! 

1. If you are a CHEC IS member and it is a testing year, review the policies for assessments described at this link. 
2. For families following the Notice of Intent (NOI) option under Colorado Homeschool statutes and testing in the odd grades of 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11, here is our website link that explains the requirements. 
3. Parents who are certified teachers are exempt from the law (as my husband was while a licensed and employed college professor), but I encourage you to still keep track of each of your student’s annual progress as we did. If you have higher education or military-bound students, you will be well prepared to create their required transcripts, and this HSLDA transcript tool can help. 

Life Integration Assessment

This type of assessment is important for evaluating the progress of your student’s character development and life skill sets. After all, the end goal of homeschooling is to prepare our graduates to successfully navigate adulthood. This would not be assessed by a “standardized” test per se but by first-person evaluation based on your observations. You can record your assessment(s) anecdotally, perhaps with a baseline at the beginning of the year, with goals for achieving progress by the end of the year. Use that to establish next year’s baseline and envision a path forward for increased progress. This might include your child’s:

• Attitude toward accepting directions and completing assignments
• Daily chores around your home that are assigned and completed in a reasonable manner
• Management of money, including counting, earning, saving, spending, and tithing
• Personal responsibilities for dressing, hygiene, and room care
• Social skills, including eye contact, hand-shaking, polite conversation, and respect for elders
• Tasks performed around the house, such as pet care, laundry, and home and yard maintenance

If you have questions about testing required by the Colorado Homeschool Law, you can review this webpage. Scroll down the page to “Assessment (testing/evaluation)” for an explanation of the law based on the three options for homeschooling legally.

Are you interested in becoming a member of the CHEC Independent School? The benefits are described here.

If you are a member of the CHEC IS and have questions on assessments or testing, you can reach out to Katrina Wright, the administrator, at Katrina@CHEC.org. 

To enrich your own skill sets as a homeschool teacher, I hope you will sign up for FREE to attend the October 14-18, 2024, God-Centered Homeschool Summit 2.0.  Steve Demme, the creator of Demme Learning’s hands-on Math-U-See and Spelling-U-See, originally developed these resources to benefit his homeschooled Down Syndrome son. He is a featured speaker, and his programs benefit many families with all types of learners. These Homeschool Summits events are fully online for attending from the convenience of your home as your time allows. 

My next Unique Learner blog, “Fall into Field Trips,” will be posted on October 23rd (the 4th Wednesday).

P.S. If you have a topic I should write about, please email me with your suggestion(s). This blog is for you!

Shari McMinn, your trusted homeschooling friend   

About the Author: Shari McMinn

Shari Howard McMinn has graduated from homeschool teaching and is a professional editor, public speaker, and writer. After living in Colorado for 45 years, she continues to work remotely for Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) from her new home in the Fort Myers, Florida area. Shari is the author of five books, which are detailed on her website, ShariMcMinn.com. She is an advocate for adoption, homeschooling, safe and stable families, and unique learners. A few years ago, she entered a very fun new season of life: grandparenting! She is available to answer your questions via email, Shari@CHEC.org.