ITBS for Homeschool: Using the Iowa Test for Virginia Compliance

Virginia homeschool parents operating under the Home Instruction Statute have to submit evidence of progress every year by August 1. One of the most common ways to do that is with a nationally normed standardized achievement test — and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, now updated as the Iowa Assessments, is one of the most widely used options in the state.

Here is what you need to know about using the ITBS or Iowa Assessments to meet Virginia's legal requirement, and how to avoid the common mistakes that create unnecessary problems with your local division.

What Virginia's Law Actually Requires

Virginia Code § 22.1-254.1 requires that a homeschooled child's composite score on a nationally normed standardized achievement test reach or exceed the fourth stanine. The fourth stanine begins at the 23rd percentile nationally.

Two things about this requirement are frequently misunderstood:

First, the composite score is calculated from mathematics and language arts sub-tests only. Virginia does not require you to administer or submit science, social studies, or history sections. If the test you purchase includes those sections, you do not need to submit those results. You only need the composite from the core two academic areas.

Second, you are not required to use a specific test. Any nationally normed achievement test is acceptable under the law. The Iowa Assessments (which replaced the ITBS) qualify. So do the California Achievement Test (CAT), the Stanford 10, and the Woodcock-Johnson. The key is that the test must be nationally normed, meaning scores are referenced against a standardized national sample — not a local or state-specific one.

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Iowa Assessments

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills was developed at the University of Iowa and for decades served as one of the most recognized academic benchmarks in the country. The test was updated into the current Iowa Assessments (Forms E and F), which test reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and information sources across grades K through 12.

For Virginia compliance purposes, the math and language arts composite from either the ITBS or the Iowa Assessments satisfies the evidence of progress requirement, provided the composite falls at or above the 23rd percentile.

The Iowa Assessments test reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing mechanics, computation, problem solving, and data interpretation. These domains are well-suited to the kinds of skills that structured homeschool curricula typically emphasize, which is partly why the test remains popular among homeschool families.

Where Virginia Homeschoolers Take the Iowa Test

The Iowa Assessments are not available directly to individual families through most channels — they are administered through testing services or qualifying organizations. Several options are common in Virginia:

Private testing services. Independent testing providers accept homeschool students for individually scheduled Iowa Assessments. Testing is typically conducted at a neutral location (the provider's office, a library meeting room, or occasionally the family's home if the provider offers that service). The provider administers, scores, and returns results. Turnaround times vary from two to eight weeks depending on the provider.

Homeschool co-ops and groups. Some larger Virginia co-ops, particularly in Northern Virginia and the Greater Richmond area, organize group testing days using proctors qualified to administer the Iowa Assessments. This is often the most economical option.

Online Iowa testing. Certain testing services offer remote administration through a proctored online portal. Results typically arrive faster than paper-based testing.

When selecting a testing provider, confirm that they will provide a composite score that clearly identifies the stanine level. Request the composite score only — there is no legal obligation to share sub-test scores with your local superintendent, and submitting full score reports containing science or social studies data that falls below grade-level norms can invite commentary the law does not authorize.

Submitting Test Results to Your Virginia Superintendent

The evidence of progress submission is due August 1. Once you have your composite score, you submit it to your local division superintendent as part of your evidence package.

Best practice: submit via certified mail or through your division's official online portal if available (Loudoun County and Fairfax County both maintain digital submission systems). Keep a copy of everything you submit, including the mailing receipt.

The submission does not need to include an explanation. A parent letter stating "enclosed please find [child's name]'s composite test score demonstrating attainment of the fourth stanine for the [year] academic year" is sufficient. Do not include daily lesson plans, attendance records, or curriculum materials unless you are filing under Option 3 and your division has a specific requirement — and even then, confirm that the additional materials are legally required before submitting.

One important administrative note: Virginia law requires a composite score, not an individual stanine result for each sub-test. If your child scores at the fifth stanine in mathematics and the third stanine in language arts, the composite of those two scores is what the statute evaluates. A child can have a low score in one area while still meeting the composite threshold.

When the Test Score Falls Below the Fourth Stanine

If your child's composite falls below the 23rd percentile, Virginia law allows the superintendent to place the home instruction program on probation for one academic year. This is not an immediate removal of homeschooling rights — it is a structured remediation process.

During the probationary year, you submit a written remediation plan outlining how the educational deficiencies will be addressed. If the plan is accepted and the following year's evidence demonstrates adequate progress, the probationary status ends. If the superintendent rejects the plan, or if progress is not demonstrated by August 1 of the probationary year, the legal right to home instruct that child ceases under the statute.

Families whose children struggle with standardized test formats — including students with test anxiety, learning disabilities, or non-traditional learning histories — should seriously consider the portfolio evaluation alternative. Virginia law explicitly offers this as a fully equivalent path: a letter from a qualified evaluator (licensed teacher from any U.S. state, or holder of a master's degree or higher) confirming adequate educational growth. The portfolio evaluation path eliminates the test-day performance variable entirely.

Keeping Records Alongside Testing

Even when using a standardized test as your primary evidence of progress, maintaining a portfolio throughout the year is valuable. If your child's test score comes back lower than expected, having a well-documented portfolio gives an evaluator the material needed to produce an alternative compliance letter quickly, before the August 1 deadline passes.

The Virginia Portfolio & Assessment Templates include testing deadline trackers, composite score documentation sheets, and the modular portfolio system needed for a smooth transition to the evaluator path if standardized testing does not produce the expected result. The two methods are not mutually exclusive — many Virginia families test in the spring and maintain a portfolio as their backup.

Virginia's evidence of progress requirement is genuinely achievable for any child receiving consistent instruction. The fourth stanine threshold — the 23rd percentile — is a floor designed to catch severe educational neglect, not a standard that requires exam prep or test coaching. Approach the ITBS or Iowa Assessments as a routine administrative step, not a high-stakes performance event, and most students clear it without difficulty.

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