Please review the SCPS Homeschool Information letter which outlines the homeschool process and annual requirements.  The Home Educator's Association of Virginia (HEAV) website has resources and information to help parents who homeschool their children.  Included on the HEAV website, is a flow-chart that explains the Virginia Homeschool Laws.  

The Code of Virginia Section §22.1-254.1(C) requires all parents who have filed a Notice of Intent to provide evidence of academic achievement by August 1 following each year of home instruction - regardless of the time of year you began homeschooling.

There are several ways to meet this requirement:

• provide the results of a nationally normed standardized achievement test; or

• provide the results of an equivalent score on the ACT, SAT, or PSAT (for high school students); or

• provide an evaluation on the child's academic achievement written by someone with a Master's Degree or higher in an academic discipline; or

• provide a final transcript/report card from an online/distance learning program.

A nationally normed standardized achievement test should meet the following criteria:

1. The test must be nationally normed. It must have been given to a large number of students of the same age/grade across the country providing the norming data on which the scores are based.

2. It must be standardized. This means the test is the same for all students regardless of where the test is administered or who administers it. Students are presented with the same administration procedures, allotted time, format, questions, order, and scoring procedures.

3. It must be an achievement test. It must measure a student’s academic performance in skill subjects such as math and language arts.

4. It should include evidence of a composite score. A composite score is derived from a formula (not an average) that usually measures the basic skills–the math and language arts portions of the test. A stanine ranks the student’s achievement on a scale from 1-9 based on the norming data for that test.

Virginia students who take a nationally normed standardized achievement test must have a composite score in or above the fourth stanine in order to continue to homeschool. The fourth stanine begins at 23 percentile.  There are many good tests that measure different aspects of learning. However, not all tests meet Virginia’s statutory requirements for evidence of progress.

A note about MAP Testing: The MAP test is an online, adaptive testing program that can be given two to three times each year to a student. It measures a child’s academic progress and is used to adjust a student’s goals and curriculum. The test questions are changed according to each child’s individual answers. If a child gets a question correct, the next question is more difficult. If the child gets it wrong, the next question is easier. Thus, instead of using standard questions for everyone, it uses a standard process for determining what kinds of questions the child will answer next. Because of this, the MAP test is not considered a standardized test.  Further, although the MAP test is nationally normed, it is not nationally normed as a standardized achievement test and cannot provide a composite score. The composite score is made up of the student’s math and language arts scores or a stanine ranking to report to the superintendent. Therefore, although the MAP test is a good test that can be used for evaluation purposes or curriculum adjustment, it does not provide the information required by the homeschool law.  (Reference)

Information Pertaining to Drivers Education:

• Driver Education

• Home Schoolers