Email of the Day:
Hi there,
This is our first year home schooling in the state of Washington.
Can you please help us in the law with yearly testing. I am trying to figure out what test, when, and where.
Our girls are in grades 6-8
Answer:
Here’s the law:
RCW 28A.200.010
(1) Each parent whose child is receiving home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(4) shall have the duty to:
(c) Ensure that a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education is administered annually to the child by a qualified individual or that an annual assessment of the student’s academic progress is written by a certificated person who is currently working in the field of education.
You have a choice each year:
standardized achievement test
or
annual assessment written by a certificated person who is currently working in the field of education
Any standardized achievement test available for homeschoolers has been approved by the SBE. It is the testing companies who qualify individuals to administer the tests. So, for example, to administer the Woodcock Johnson, you have to be a psychologist with specialized training. Some companies will only sell their tests to homeschool parents who have a bachelor’s degree. Many simply require that you be a homeschooling parent in the state of WA.
There are many providers of tests and assessments. We keep a list here: http://washhomeschool.org/homeschooling/whoTesting.html
For many years, I used the CAT-5 from FLO (www.familylearning.org), which has 4 tests and two assessments to choose from (all of which you administer at home, and which are then returned to you for your records).
Let me know if you have further questions.
Warmly,
–Jen Garrison Stuber, WHO Board Advocacy Chair