Assessment

Achievement tests are standardized assessments measuring what students have learned in specific subjects, often required by states to verify homeschool academic progress.

An aptitude test measures natural abilities and potential for learning specific skills, helping students identify career paths that align with their innate strengths rather than testing what they have already learned.

Authentic assessment measures student learning through real-world tasks, projects, and portfolios that demonstrate meaningful application of knowledge rather than selecting answers on standardized tests.

A benchmark assessment is a test administered at regular intervals throughout the school year to measure student progress against learning standards, helping identify strengths and gaps before high-stakes testing.

A criterion-referenced test measures student performance against fixed learning standards rather than comparing students to each other, showing whether specific skills have been mastered.

A diagnostic assessment is a pre-instructional evaluation that identifies what a student already knows and where learning gaps exist, helping homeschool parents determine appropriate curriculum placement and teaching approaches.

An end-of-year evaluation is an annual assessment of a homeschooled student's academic progress, required in some states and optional in others. Options include standardized testing, portfolio review by a certified teacher, or professional narrative evaluations.

Formative assessment is ongoing evaluation during instruction that helps teachers and students understand learning progress in real-time, allowing for immediate adjustments rather than waiting for final tests.

Gifted screening is the formal assessment process using standardized IQ and achievement tests to identify children with exceptional cognitive abilities, typically defined as the 98th percentile or higher.

A grade equivalent score compares a student's test performance to the average performance of students at different grade levels, expressed as a grade and month (like 5.7 for 5th grade, 7th month).

A growth score measures how much a student has learned and progressed over time, comparing their improvement to peers with similar starting points rather than measuring achievement at a single moment.

Learning objectives are specific, measurable statements describing what a student will know or be able to do after instruction, used for planning curriculum and meeting state compliance requirements.

A mastery checklist is an assessment tool that tracks a student's progress toward specific skills or learning objectives, documenting what has been mastered rather than assigning traditional letter grades.

Mastery learning is an instructional approach where students must demonstrate thorough understanding of material (typically 80-90% accuracy) before moving to new content, recognizing that learning speed varies but all students can achieve mastery with adequate time.

A norm-referenced test (NRT) is a standardized assessment that ranks student performance relative to a comparison group of peers, yielding percentile scores rather than pass/fail results.

Percentile rank indicates what percentage of students in a comparison group scored at or below your child—a 75th percentile means your child performed as well as or better than 75% of students in the norming group.

Performance assessment evaluates student learning through real-world tasks like projects, portfolios, and demonstrations rather than traditional multiple-choice tests—focusing on application of knowledge and skills.

Portfolio assessment is an evaluation method where a qualified reviewer examines a collection of student work samples and educational records to determine academic progress, serving as an alternative to standardized testing in many states.

Progress assessment in homeschooling is the systematic evaluation of a student's academic growth and skill development over time. Methods range from standardized testing and portfolio reviews to daily observations and self-assessments.

A rubric is a scoring guide that lists specific criteria for evaluating student work, with descriptions of what performance looks like at each quality level—helping parents assess assignments consistently and giving students clear expectations.

A skills checklist is an assessment tool listing specific competencies students should demonstrate, allowing parents to track mastery and document progress without traditional letter grades.

Standardized testing for homeschoolers involves nationally-normed assessments like the Iowa Assessments, Stanford 10, or CAT that measure academic progress compared to students across the country in core subjects.

A stanine score is a standardized testing scale from 1-9 that groups student performance into nine categories, with 4-6 considered average. The term combines "standard" and "nine."

Summative assessment is any evaluation performed at the end of a unit, course, or academic period that measures a student's mastery of learning objectives, including standardized tests, portfolio reviews, final projects, and end-of-year evaluations.