Colorado Homeschool Testing Requirements: Grades, Tests, and the 13th Percentile Rule

Colorado homeschoolers don't submit portfolios or get inspected by their district. But there's one mandatory checkpoint that catches families off guard: standardized testing in five specific grade years. Miss the testing window, use the wrong test, or fall below the threshold — and you're in a legally vulnerable spot.

Here's exactly how Colorado's testing requirement works, which tests qualify, and what to do when testing feels like the wrong tool for your kid.

Which Grades Must Be Tested

Under CRS §22-33-104.5, Colorado homeschooled students must be tested or evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. These are the only mandatory testing years — all other grades are optional.

"Grade" in Colorado is determined by age, not by what curriculum level your child is working at. A child who turns 9 before August 1 of the current school year is in 3rd grade by the state's reckoning, regardless of whether you consider them to be working at a 2nd or 4th grade level.

The test must be administered by the end of the school year in which the child is in that grade. Most families test between January and May to leave time for any follow-up if scores are unexpectedly low.

The 13th Percentile Rule

Colorado requires a composite score at or above the 13th percentile on a nationally normed standardized test. The 13th percentile is not a passing score in the conventional sense — it's a minimum threshold. Roughly 87% of students nationally score above it. This is a very low bar by design; the legislature's intent was to catch only the most serious educational neglect.

If your child scores below the 13th percentile, you must provide remediation and retest within 12 months. The law does not specify what "remediation" looks like — it simply requires that you address the identified areas and retest. Continued scores below the threshold can trigger district intervention.

The composite score is what matters. Subject-level subscores can be below the 13th percentile without triggering a compliance issue as long as the overall composite is above it.

Which Tests Are Accepted

Colorado law specifies a standardized achievement test that provides composite scores and national norms. Tests families commonly use:

California Achievement Test (CAT/5) — available via Seton Testing, Christian Liberty Press, and others. Paper booklets cost $35-$47.50 depending on grade level and vendor. Widely accepted and familiar to Colorado homeschoolers.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) — another common choice, also available through Seton and other providers. Provides the composite scores Colorado requires.

Stanford Achievement Test, 10th Edition (SAT10) — accepted statewide. Online proctored versions run approximately $45.

TerraNova — accepted; less commonly used but fully compliant.

CLT (Classical Learning Test) — accepted by Colorado; popular among classical homeschoolers.

What Colorado does NOT accept: MAP (NWEA) and STAR assessments are frequently rejected because they do not provide a national percentile composite score in the format Colorado requires. If you've been using MAP or STAR for your own tracking, great — but you'll need a different test for compliance years.

Check with your specific district if you're unsure about a particular test, but in general: if it's nationally normed and produces a composite percentile score, it qualifies.

Where to Take the Test

You have several options for test administration:

Testing services: Seton Testing, BJU Press Testing, and similar providers offer proctored testing by mail or online. Online proctored tests run around $45 and can be scheduled at your convenience.

CHEC (Christian Home Educators of Colorado): CHEC runs an Independent School that tests in spring of odd calendar years — note this is on a different schedule than the state's odd-grade requirement, so confirm the timing works for your child's grade year.

Statheros Academy and similar umbrella schools: Some umbrella schools provide testing as part of their annual fee ($60-$120 annually for enrollment, with testing access included or add-on).

Local testing centers: Some libraries, tutoring centers, and co-ops host group testing sessions — check your local homeschool community Facebook group or co-op for upcoming dates.

The Evaluator Alternative

Don't want to test? Colorado offers a legitimate alternative: a qualified person can evaluate your child's academic progress instead of a standardized test.

A "qualified person" in Colorado means:

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

The evaluator must provide a written assessment of your child's academic progress. Evaluator fees vary widely — a simple email-based portfolio review from a retired teacher can cost $45, while an in-person evaluation runs higher. Some homeschool co-ops maintain a list of local evaluators willing to work with homeschool families.

This option is particularly useful for children who test poorly under timed, standardized conditions, children with testing accommodations needs, or families who philosophically prefer narrative assessment over multiple-choice testing.

Handling Testing Anxiety

If your child has genuine test anxiety, you have a few practical levers:

Untimed or extended-time testing: Some providers offer untimed versions of qualifying tests. This doesn't affect the scores' validity for Colorado compliance purposes.

Familiar environment: Taking a test at home, administered by a parent under proctoring guidelines, removes a significant chunk of the environmental stress that classroom testing creates.

Low-stakes practice: Running through a practice version of the test format — not the actual test, just the question style and timing — in the months before the test year reduces novelty anxiety significantly.

The evaluator route: If anxiety is severe enough that standardized testing would not reflect your child's actual learning, the evaluator option exists specifically for situations like this. A portfolio review and evaluation conversation is a much lower-anxiety assessment experience for many children.

What to Do With Your Test Results

When your child completes a qualifying test, you'll receive a score report. Keep this permanently. It's your legal documentation that you met the testing requirement for that grade year.

You do not submit test scores to your district unless they specifically request them — and a request requires probable cause and 14 days' written notice under Colorado law. Most Colorado homeschoolers never interact with their district at all beyond filing the annual NOI.

The Colorado Portfolio & Assessment Templates include a testing-year checklist, a test comparison worksheet to help you choose the right assessment for each grade, and a score-tracking form for keeping all five testing years organized in one place.

Testing Year Prep Timeline

A practical schedule for each testing year:

• September: Confirm which grade year applies, identify which test you'll use
• October-November: Register with testing provider; note any print/ship lead times for paper tests
• January-March: Administer the test
• March-May: Receive scores; file score report in your records
• If scores are low: Document your remediation plan immediately; schedule re-testing before end of following school year

The testing years feel like a bigger deal than they are once you've been through one. The 13th percentile threshold is low, the test choices are flexible, and the evaluator alternative is always available. The main thing is not letting a testing year sneak up on you.

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