Testing

All homeschooled students ages 7-16 (or age 17 if the child started homeschooling after age 16) must take a nationally norm-referenced standardized achievement test every year, approved by your local superintendent.  You are required to keep a record of their results but need not share them unless you choose to enroll in a school later.  If a child scores below the 30th percentile, they should also be evaluated for possible learning disabilities.  

Tests that meet the Minnesota Department of Education testing requirement:

• Peabody Individual Achievement Test

• Woodcock Johnson III

• Survey/Battery California Achievement Test (CAT 5)

• Complete CAT 5 Battery 

• TerraNova 2/CAT 6

• Iowa Basic

• Standford 10

• PASS

• MAP

• MAT

• Explore, PLAN, Aspire, or ACT for older students

Tests that do NOT meet the Minnesota Department of Education norm referenced testing:

• PSAT, SAT, Accuplacer, AP, CLEP, or DSST tests

A few of the more commonly-chosen tests are described below.

Peabody Individual Achievement Test: an oral test that takes about an hour; given by a Peabody administrator; many unschoolers choose this option because it’s relatively quick and feels less like a traditional test; typically costs $55-70 depending on location, administrator, group discount, etc. Members in our group often contact Lynn Jorud at 320-339-9959 or jorud.lynn@gmail.com, who serves Central MN and can accommodate virtual testing as well as neurodivergent clientele.

California Achievement Test: a traditional test that can be given at home by a parent, with online and paper options and timed and untimed options; typically takes several hours and may be spread out over multiple days; another top choice because of the untimed, at-home options and low cost; costs $25

Iowa Assessments (formerly known as Iowa Test of Basic Skills): Measures student achievement and growth across the subjects of reading, vocabulary, word analysis, listening comprehension, mathematics, computation, science, and social studies. The efficient test design and powerful reporting cut down on testing time but provide you with more information about your student’s abilities compared to students nationally. 

Stanford Achievement Test: Measures student achievement across the subjects of reading, mathematics, language, spelling, listening comprehension, science, and social science. Available for Minnesota homeschools only.  

Visit the Minnesota Statewide Testing Program (MSTP) for more information on how to test your child per state standards and order tests.

This information was aggregated by volunteers on behalf of the St. Cloud Unschooling Network, but you should always do your own research and reach out to the appropriate resources for updated information.