When I started homeschooling in Washington State, I was super overwhelmed.
There were all of these regulations that didn’t make any sense to me.
Rules about who could homeschool, subjects you need to teach, and then I had to figure out how to get my son a test at the end of the year?
Thankfully, I’ve been homeschooling for a few years now, and those regulations aren’t nearly as scary as I thought they were.
It’s actually really easy to homeschool in Washington State once you figure things out!
And this year, I’m so excited because I’ve found the easiest way to meet the Washington Homeschool Testing Requirement with Affordable Homeschool Testing Services.
This post is sponsored by Affordable Homeschool Testing Services. I was given access to the test to try with my family, and I was compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure for details.
The Easiest Way to Meet the Washington Homeschool Testing Requirement
It’s not shocking that as a mom of five, I am always looking for ways to make my life easier.
Especially at the end of the school year when we’re all exhausted and dying for summer vacation!
But I can finish my Washington State homeschool testing requirement in pretty much no time (and seriously minimal effort from me!) each year. It’s brilliant.
The Washington State Homeschool Testing Requirement
Okay, so what exactly is the Washington State homeschool testing requirement?
Here’s the actual law:
RCW 28A.200.010
“Each parent whose child is receiving home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(4) shall have the duty to:
(3) 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. The state board of education shall not require these children to meet the student learning goals, master the essential academic learning requirements, to take the assessments, or to obtain a certificate of mastery pursuant to *RCW 28A.630.885. The standardized test administered or the annual academic progress assessment written shall be made a part of the child’s permanent records. If, as a result of the annual test or assessment, it is determined that the child is not making reasonable progress consistent with his or her age or stage of development, the parent shall make a good faith effort to remedy any deficiency.”
Now that’s a lot of fancy law wording, but here’s the basics:
If you homeschool in Washington State, your child must either take a “Standardized Achievement Test” OR get a formal assessment of your child’s academic progress written by a certificated teacher.
Then it says you need to keep that record, and if your child is “not making reasonable progress” you need to make a good faith effort to help them reach grade level.
See? It sounds scary, but it isn’t.
You don’t even have to submit your child’s results anywhere, you just have to save them yourself.
Why We Choose to Test Our Homeschooler
We could technically avoid testing by finding a certificated teacher to complete a formal assessment… I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a handful of certificated teachers to randomly assess my child.
Beyond that, getting all my kids into the car and driving to who knows where to meet a teacher who may or may not support homeschooling really doesn’t sound like my cup of tea!
I also like the idea of a test that gives an objective look at how my children compare to kids their age in the public schools.
We are pretty sure we’ll be homeschooling for a long time, but in case circumstances change I like to know what to expect!
But, if I’m being honest, getting all my kids into the car, driving to the closest public school while they gave the kids whatever the state-mandated test is now (when I went to school it was the WASL!) also doesn’t sound like much fun.
That’s why I’m so excited that I found the easiest way to meet the Washington State homeschool testing requirement, and we don’t even have to leave the house!
The Easiest Way to Meet the Washington Homeschool Testing Requirement
Affordable Homeschool Testing Services is an online standardized testing service designed specifically for homeschoolers.
They make it easy and stress-free to administer a standardized test to your child.
Bonus? The low-stress environment really helps your child do their best on their assessment (not that the results are that important).
We take the NWEA MAP Growth Testing Services, and I was really impressed with the entire testing process.
A Test That Adapts To Your Child
The NWEA Map Growth Test is unique in that the questions change based on your child’s answers.
If your child is getting everything right, the questions get harder. If your child is struggling, they ask easier questions.
All of that helps you feel confident that you are getting true results of where your child is at academically, and they aren’t stuck in a typical 3rd grade test because they’re in 3rd grade.
This is essential for us because my oldest is roughly 2 grades ahead, and my second kiddo is 1-2 grades behind.
A Test That’s Accessible
Setting the test up on our iPad was super simple, and I had support over the phone available if I needed any help.
We prefer to use our iPad because the touch screen makes it easier for our kids who struggle with fine motor skills.
Navigating a mouse to a teeny tiny circle for a test can cause a lot of stress, but with the ipad you can just click the answer!
A Test That Saves Time
Setting up the NWEA MAP Growth Test was easy to do, and saved me so much time.
I just scheduled an appointment on their website, and they emailed me detailed instructions.
I called them at my scheduled time, and the lady on the phone explained the rules to us and made sure we had everything set up.
She approved my son’s login and made sure he had access to the test, and then she told us to call if we had any questions!
Then I just had to sit in the dining room reading while my son finished up his test.
The next day, we repeated the process for his math test, and boom. Our year-end testing was done.
Overall the process probably took 2-3 hours.
Schedule With Affordable Homeschool Testing Services
You can schedule with Affordable Homeschool Testing Services here.
They make it super simple to schedule, and there’s hardly any wait time.
Plus they offer discounts for multiple students, which I appreciate having so many kids!
And I am so excited that Affordable Homeschool Testing Services is hosting a giveaway for their homeschool testing! Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
