Colorado Homeschool Evaluation: Using a Qualified Person Instead of Testing

Every year, Colorado homeschool families reach a fork: hand your child a standardized test, or find a qualified person to evaluate their portfolio instead. Most families assume testing is the default. It isn't. Colorado law gives you a genuine choice, and the portfolio evaluation route is often faster, cheaper, and less stressful than booking a proctored exam.

Here is exactly how it works.

What Colorado Law Requires

Under CRS §22-33-104.5, homeschool students must complete an annual assessment at the end of grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The law gives you two options:

1. A standardized achievement test, with a composite score above the 13th percentile
2. An evaluation by a "qualified person"

The qualified person evaluation is not a workaround or a loophole. It is the law's explicit second track.

Who Counts as a Qualified Person

Colorado defines a qualified person as:

• A Colorado-licensed teacher
• A licensed psychologist
• A person holding a master's degree or higher in education

The evaluator cannot be a relative. That's the only family restriction. A neighbor who retired from teaching, a curriculum coordinator at a co-op, or a private educational consultant with the right credentials all qualify.

You are responsible for verifying credentials before the evaluation. Ask for a copy of their license or a brief summary of their degree. Most evaluators are accustomed to this request.

What the Evaluation Actually Involves

A qualified person review is not a formal exam or a sit-down interview with your child. In practice, most Colorado evaluations work like this:

1. You assemble a portfolio — work samples, reading logs, project documentation, math workbooks, writing pieces
2. You send or share the portfolio with the evaluator (many do email reviews)
3. The evaluator reviews the materials and confirms the child is making adequate progress in the required subjects
4. You receive a written statement you keep in your homeschool records

The required subjects for Colorado homeschoolers are: communication skills, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and the US Constitution. Your portfolio should show evidence of work in each area.

You do not need to submit evaluation results to your school district. Colorado does not require you to file them anywhere. You keep the evaluator's written statement in your own records in case a question ever arises.

What the Evaluation Costs

Fees vary significantly depending on the evaluator and format:

• Email portfolio review: $45–$75 (most common)
• Video call review with a brief portfolio walkthrough: $75–$125
• In-person session: $100–$200+

Compare that to standardized testing. Paper tests (CAT, ITBS, SAT10, TerraNova, CLT) run $35–$47.50. Online proctored options run around $45. Testing also requires scheduling, test prep, and your child sitting through a timed exam. For many families — especially those with younger children, anxious test-takers, or students with learning differences — the portfolio evaluation is the easier path even if the fee is slightly higher.

Finding a Qualified Person Evaluator in Colorado

Start with your co-op or homeschool group. Most established groups in the Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins areas maintain informal referral lists. Retired teachers and educational consultants often evaluate for local families year after year.

If you are newer to homeschooling or in a rural area, search for Colorado-licensed educators who offer evaluation services online. Many will do remote portfolio reviews via email or Shared Drive — the law does not require an in-person meeting.

Questions to ask before booking:

• What credentials do you hold? (You need teacher licensure, licensed psychologist, or master's in education)
• What subjects do you want to see in the portfolio?
• Do you provide a written statement I can keep on file?
• What is your turnaround time?

Building a Portfolio That Passes

The evaluation standard is "adequate progress," not perfection. Evaluators are not grading your curriculum or comparing your child to grade-level peers. They are confirming that learning is happening.

A solid portfolio typically includes:

• Writing samples — a few dated pieces showing the child's written communication across the year
• Math work — completed pages or photos of workbook pages, math games logs, or project-based math documentation
• Reading log — titles and brief notes; even a handwritten list works
• History and civics — unit study notes, timeline projects, book reports, or field trip write-ups
• Science — experiment write-ups, nature journal pages, or curriculum completion records
• US Constitution — even a brief note on what was covered (Amendments studied, civics workbook pages, Constitution Day activity)

You do not need a binder with 200 pages. A well-organized portfolio of 20–40 representative items, one per subject area, is usually sufficient for an email review.

If you want a ready-made structure for collecting and organizing these materials — including checklists aligned to Colorado's required subjects and the specific documentation evaluators look for — the Colorado Portfolio & Assessment Templates were built exactly for this.

Timing and Scheduling

Colorado's assessment requirement applies at the end of grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 — not every year. "End of" means before you file your next Notice of Intent if you are moving to the next assessment grade, or by the end of that school year.

Evaluators in Colorado tend to book up in April and May as families race to complete their annual paperwork. If you are planning a portfolio evaluation, reaching out in February or March gives you the most options.

Keep your evaluator's written statement indefinitely. Colorado does not have a mandatory retention period, but families who later pursue concurrent enrollment, apply for college, or face any district inquiry will want that documentation on hand.

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