Iowa Test vs Stanford Achievement Test for North Dakota Homeschoolers

When a test year arrives — grades 4, 6, 8, or 10 — most North Dakota homeschool parents face the same question: which test should we use? The state accepts several nationally normed options, and the district test is also on the table. Each has real differences in cost, format, and how scores come back. Getting this choice right before you book a proctor saves a lot of scrambling later.

What North Dakota Law Actually Requires

North Dakota Century Code §15.1-23 mandates standardized achievement testing for home-educated students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 — not grade 11, despite what some older guides say. The test must be administered by a North Dakota state-certified teacher. That certified proctor requirement applies regardless of which test you choose.

The law names the following approved options:

• The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), now branded as the Iowa Assessments
• The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10)
• The California Achievement Test (CAT)
• The standardized test used by your local school district (the ND A+)

Any of these satisfies the statute. The district test is free; all others are at the family's expense.

The District Test: ND A+ (No Cost, but Less Control)

The ND A+ is the state assessment used by public schools and is administered through your local school district at no charge. If cost is the primary concern, this is the path of least resistance.

The practical trade-off is flexibility. You coordinate directly with the district, which means working around their schedule and testing window. Some districts are easy to work with; others less so. You also have no say in the specific content or format — you get what the district uses.

One consideration: the ND A+ is aligned to North Dakota state standards, not a national norm. This means scores are reported relative to other ND students, not a national reference group. For families who want a nationally normed comparison — which can matter if you ever transfer to a private school, apply for scholarships, or simply want external benchmarking — a nationally normed test is a better choice.

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Iowa Assessments)

The ITBS is the most widely used option among North Dakota homeschoolers choosing a private test. It has been around since the 1930s and is norm-referenced, meaning your child's scores are compared to a national sample of students at the same grade level.

Format: Multiple choice, grouped into subject areas: reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The test is designed to measure basic academic skills, not curriculum-specific content. This works in homeschoolers' favor — families using diverse or non-traditional curricula tend to find the ITBS less threatening than curriculum-aligned tests.

What it costs: Expect to pay $30–60 for the test materials through an approved vendor, plus the proctor's fee if you hire a certified teacher independently. Total cost typically runs $75–150 depending on your location and proctor arrangements.

Score reporting: Results arrive as standard scores, grade equivalents, national percentile ranks (NPR), and stanines. The NPR is what ND law cares about. Your 30th and 50th percentile thresholds are read directly from the NPR column.

Where to find a proctor: NDHSA (North Dakota Home School Association) coordinates testing services statewide and can connect families with certified proctors. Approved online vendors like Seton Testing Services and BJU Press Testing also sell ITBS materials and sometimes arrange proctors.

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10)

The Stanford Achievement Test is another nationally normed option that ND accepts. It covers similar subject areas as the ITBS but uses slightly different item types and norming methodology.

Format: Multiple choice across reading, mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies. Some levels include a listening component. The Stanford is considered slightly more reading-heavy than the ITBS at certain grade levels, which is worth knowing if your child is a strong reader but struggles with test-format reading passages.

What it costs: Similar to the ITBS — roughly $30–60 for materials, proctor fee on top. Pearson publishes the Stanford; it is available through homeschool testing vendors.

Score reporting: Reports include scaled scores, grade equivalents, percentile ranks, and stanines — same format as ITBS, same NPR column for ND's legal thresholds.

The Stanford and Iowa tests are genuinely comparable for North Dakota compliance purposes. If you have already used one test in a prior test year, there is a modest argument for consistency — repeating the same test type gives year-over-year score comparisons that mean something. But switching is perfectly legal and sometimes makes sense if a child responds better to one format.

The California Achievement Test (CAT)

The CAT is the third nationally normed option in ND statute. It is less commonly used among ND homeschoolers than the Iowa or Stanford tests, primarily because fewer vendors and proctors are familiar with it. It covers the same core subject areas and reports scores in the same percentile format.

If you have a specific reason to prefer the CAT — a testing vendor you already work with, a co-op that uses it — it satisfies the statute the same way. Otherwise, there is no particular advantage over the Iowa or Stanford tests for most families.

How to Decide

The choice matters most when scores land near a threshold. The 30th percentile triggers a multidisciplinary evaluation for all homeschool students regardless of parent credentials. The 50th percentile affects whether a monitored parent (one without a high school diploma or GED) remains under monitoring for another year. Whatever test you choose, you are reading the same NPR column against those same cutoffs.

Practical Logistics

Book your proctor before the school year's final quarter. Certified teachers who work with homeschool families have limited availability in spring, and this is true whether you are in Fargo, Bismarck, or a rural county west of Dickinson. NDHSA is the best starting point for finding a proctor statewide.

If you arrange a nationally normed test independently, the sequence is: purchase the test from a vendor, confirm your proctor, schedule the testing session, submit materials for scoring, and receive your report. Allow 2–4 weeks for score reports to arrive after testing.

Tracking test results year over year — alongside portfolio documentation, subject logs, and attendance records — makes the compliance picture much cleaner. The North Dakota Portfolio & Assessment Templates include a testing prep checklist and score tracking tools that help you organize this well before test day arrives.

See more United States homeschool guides →