In January of 2022, homeschoolers across the state of Virginia responded to a VaHomeschoolers survey question asking them to describe the method they use for providing the annual Evidence of Progress (EOP).  Submitting an annual EOP is a requirement for those who educate children in accordance with the Home Instruction Statute in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Note that educating children according to the Home Instruction Statute is not the only type of “homeschooling” in the state. The code of law separately provides for homeschooling under the Approved Tutor provision and the Religious Exemption. The survey question about EOP is only applicable to those following the Home Instruction Statute.

This article reports the survey responses, and is not intended to enumerate all possible methods for showing educational progress, nor is it intended to present one method as better than others. It is common for parents/guardians to try more than one way, to see what works best for the individual child. It is also not unusual to switch methods as the child grows older, or as the household budget changes, or as the child’s goals for future education come more into focus.

With respect to testing, the Home Instruction Statute specifies that school divisions recognize the results of any nationally normed standardized test; yet survey comments indicated that at least some school divisions currently accept results from tests (such as MAP) which are not nationally normed standardized tests, treating those test results as being equivalent to an evaluator’s report. Since individual school divisions have some flexibility in that regard, a parent/guardian may want to contact the homeschool liaison of their local school division, if using a test that is not a nationally normed standardized test (or submit the EOP well in advance of the August deadline, with an alternate test or evaluator in mind if the school division does not accept it).

Though not a comprehensive list, the following sources for acquiring tests were mentioned in the survey comments:  Seton Testing, Academic Excellence, and Homeschool Boss. Survey comments also indicated that some tests are available either online or in paper form.

A majority of survey responders who currently use an evaluator did not disclose the evaluator’s name, or specified that their evaluator is retiring and not accepting new families. However, evaluators whose contact information was mentioned in the comments are:

Sarah Blunkosky

Sherry Wolfe sherrywolfehomeschool@gmail.com or Anchored Homeschooling on FaceBook

Evaluators through www.aimandflourish.com

Malia Phelps Waller   maliaphelpswaller@gmail.com

Evaluators through Blue Mountain School in Floyd, Virginia

Please note that the schedules of many evaluators fill up by early spring. In fact, new homeschoolers may wish to contact an evaluator at the beginning of their “homeschool term” in order to get some helpful guidance about the evaluation process and what documentation to save throughout the homeschool term. Refer to the VaHomeschoolers website for more information on finding evaluators.

The VaHomeschoolers Board of Directors appreciates the time and effort of those who took part in the 2022 survey!