Parents who choose standardized testing as their CPI Option 2 with Opt-In assessment:

• Start the testing option when the child is 7 or older. (Parents who select the testing option for 6 year old children for whom they are filing CPI forms do not need to have the children tested, nor do they need to submit any test results at the end of the year.)
  The first year’s testing results are called the baseline and are only recorded, and are not used to determine if adequate progress is being made.
• Choose a test from the list of approved tests published by the Department of Education or request special permission to use another test.
• Arrange to have the child tested - either by the public school or privately - by May 31.
• Upon request, public schools must provide free testing for CPI students. Be aware that public school testing is shifting to new online assessments. Check to make sure they will meet the CPI annual assessment requirements. (More information in the following blocks.)
• Privately-procured testing is also available at a reasonable cost (see below).
• Report the results to the resident school district by August 1. (Exception: Baseline assessment results must be filed by June 30.)
• Make special arrangements if the child does not make adequate progress:
• "Adequate progress" is defined as composite scores which are:
  • above the thirtieth percentile, nationally normed, in reading, mathematics, and language arts (for grades 1-5) or reading, mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies (for grades 6 & above), and which indicate
  • either that the child has made six months' progress from the previous evaluation results or that the child is at or above grade level for the child's age.  

The Iowa Administrative Rule 281-31.4(1) states that annual assessment can be completed with 
a. A nationally recognized standardized achievement evaluation; or
b. Another assessment tool selected by the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian from an approved list provided by the department of education

The Department of Education publishes a list of acceptable tests in its annual Competent Private Instruction Handbook. Find the list in the Tool Kit above.

You may also request the Department of Education’s permission to use a test not on the list of acceptable tests.

The test grade level is to correspond to the chronological age of the student unless the test administrator determines that a different one would be more appropriate for the particular child being tested.

Mandated by the Iowa Legislature, public schools are moving to the new Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP), which replaces the Iowa Assessments as the accountability test for Iowa students.

While the ISASP is available in both paper and online versions, many Iowa public schools are opting for the online version only.

The ISASP is administered between March and May, but because it contains a written component, the test results are not be available until after the public schools closes for the summer.

The Iowa Code states that private instruction students using the annual assessment testing option cannot be required to test beyond the public school grade level and subject area requirements, which are these:
"All students enrolled in school districts in grades three through eleven be administered an assessment in mathematics and English language arts, including reading and writing, during the last quarter of the school year and all students enrolled in school districts in grades five, eight, and ten be administered an assessment in science during the last quarter of the school year." Iowa Code §256.7

Homeschooling parents who want to use no-cost public school testing can request alternative assessment tools through their Area Education Agency as well. Parents will need to provide transportation to the testing site.

Private testing is also an alternative. (See below.)

Yes, as long as you test the child according the test publisher's protocol.

Testing materials can be easily purchased from companies like Bob Jones University Testing and Evaluation Service. or Abeka Standardized Tests.

The available tests, the fees, and the test publisher's protocols are listed there. Check to make sure that the test is on the list of Acceptable Tests provided by the Department of Education. (That list is provided in the toolkit above.)

The sites linked above also give very helpful information on interpreting test results and using these results to build a strong academic program for your student.

Parents submitting privately-procured test results may use the Test Administrator Certification Statement Form when filing their test results with the resident school district. (See Tool Kit above.)

More Information

"Adequate progress" means:

• For children under sixth grade level, “adequate progress” means that the child has achieved evaluation scores which are above the 30th percentile, nationally normed, in each of the areas of reading, mathematics, and language arts, and which indicate either that the child has made six months' progress from the previous evaluation results or that the child is at or above grade level.
• For children in grade levels six and above, "adequate progress" means that the child has achieved evaluation scores which are above the thirtieth percentile, nationally normed, in each of the areas of reading, mathematics, language arts, science and social studies, and which either indicate that the child has made six months' progress from the previous evaluation results or that the child is at or above grade level.

If a child's test scores do not indicate "adequate progress" under competent private instruction, the director of the department of education, or the director's designee, notifies the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child that the child is required to attend an accredited public or nonpublic school, unless approval for competent private instruction under a remediation plan is granted. The director, or the director's designee, may provisionally approve continued competent private instruction under an approved remediation plan to improve instruction for up to one year.

A child may be re-tested, but the test must be administered sufficiently in advance to allow for processing of the test results prior to the first day of classes of the succeeding school year. The child may also undergo portfolio evaluation before the next school year commences.

By Iowa law and rule, testing should be completed by May 31 and the student's scores should be sent to your local school district by August 1. (Baseline year assessment results must be filed by June 30.)

You are only required to report composite scores, so you may submit a photocopy of the test results report with the sub-scores marked out.

For the address of your local school district, check the Department of Education's public school directory available on its website.

Parents who choose portfolio evaluation as their CPI Option 2 with Opt-In assessment:

• Start the portfolio evaluation process when the child is 7 or older. (Parents who select CPI Option 2 with Opt-In for 6 year old children for whom they are filing CPI forms do not need to have portfolios evaluated, nor do they need to submit any test results at the end of the year.)
  The first year’s evaluation is called the baseline, and is not used to determine if adequate progress is being made. .
• Select an appropriately licensed teacher to serve as the portfolio evaluator.
  • A portfolio evaluator who holds an elementary classroom endorsement may assess children in grades 1 through 6.  
  • A portfolio evaluator who holds an elementary content endorsement may assess children in grades 1 through 8.  
  • A portfolio evaluator who holds a secondary content endorsement may assess children in grades 5 through 12.  
  • A person with a current substitute teacher’s license who produces evidence of a previously-held Iowa license with classroom or content endorsements may assess children within the same grade level restrictions as that of a person with a current Iowa license with classroom or content endorsements.
• Supply the resident school district with the name and license folder number of your choice for portfolio evaluator and receive approval before proceeding with the portfolio evaluation.
  Use the Homeschool Iowa form for this purpose, if desired. (See Tool Kit below.)
• Compile a portfolio of representative, dated work samples throughout the school year in each of the required subject areas:
  • For grades 1-5: reading, language arts, and mathematics
  • For grades 6-12: reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
• Include in the portfolio, for each required subject area:
  • a book of lesson plans, a diary, or other written record indicating the subject matter taught and activities in which the child has been engaged,
  • an outline of the curriculum used by the child,
  • copies of any tests or other formal and informal assessment instruments used to measure student progress over the current academic year,
  • a copy of the baseline evaluation,
  • the most recent assessment report of the student’s annual progress,
  • dated examples of the student’s work, and,
  • self–assessments by the student (if desired).
• Add photographs or recordings of student projects and activities, as well as student self-assessments, if desired.
• Submit the portfolio for evaluation before May 31.
• Report the results to the resident school district by August 1.
• Make special arrangements if the child does not make adequate progress:
• "Adequate progress" is determined by the portfolio evaluator.

Make every effort to select a portfolio evaluator with an educational philosophy similar to your own.

It is best to meet with your evaluator at the beginning of the school year to formulate a plan and come to an agreement on what items must be included in the portfolio. It is also wise, but not required that you meet with your evaluator during the year and make sure the work your child is doing is acceptable to the evaluator.

Use the Homeschool Iowa Contract for Home School Portfolio Evaluation to clearly delineates duties and responsibilities, and protects the privacy, of all parties involved. (Find it in the Tool Kit above.)

By May 1, the portfolio evaluation should be complete and the evaluator’s report should be sent to your local school district by August 1. (Use the Homeschool Iowa report form created for this purpose, if desired. Find it in the Tool Kit above.)

For the address of your local school district, check the Department of Education's public school directory available on its website.

Yes, but only if the correspondence school is a member of an accrediting association recognized by the federal department of education and accredited for elementary and secondary education.

Homeschool Iowa has compiled a list of accredited correspondence schools whose final report should be accepted by the Department of Education and the school district. (See Tool Kit above.)

This list is neither guaranteed nor exhaustive, but is provided as a tool to assist you.

Parents using correspondence school reports as evidence of annual educational progress bear the responsibility of confirming that the school they use is appropriately accredited and has maintained this accreditation while the student was enrolled.

• Decide whether you and your child can commit to all of the correspondence school’s requirements, including costs, curriculum choices, and timelines for completion.
• Verify that the correspondence school’s worldview is compatible with your own.
• Certify, each year you use the correspondence school for annual assessment purposes, that the school is appropriately accredited and obtain printed verification of this fact.
• Understand that utilizing end-of-year reports from accredited correspondence schools for competent private instruction annual assessment purposes does not automatically ensure that credits earned through an accredited correspondence school can be transferred to a public school, if you should ever desire to do so.

A copy of your student's report card from an accredited correspondence school, with any non-applicable subject courses redacted, can be sent to your local public school district office by August 1.

For the address of your local school district, check the Department of Education's public school directory available on its website.