Minnesota Homeschool Test Scores: What You Must Share With the Superintendent

One of the most common points of confusion in Minnesota homeschool law is what you are actually required to give the school district regarding your child's test results. Many families assume that because testing is mandatory, scores must be reported. That assumption is wrong — and it matters.

Here is a clear explanation of what Minnesota law says about test scores, what your superintendent can legally ask for, and what you are not obligated to provide.

Annual Testing Is Required — Score Submission Is Not

Minnesota Statute §120A.22 Subd. 11 requires that homeschooled students ages 7 through 17 be tested annually with a nationally norm-referenced standardized test. The law does not require you to submit, file, or share those scores with anyone.

The testing requirement and the reporting requirement are separate legal obligations. The annual Statement of Assurance (SOA) that you file with your district by October 1st confirms that you are homeschooling, names your subjects, identifies your instructor qualifications, and states which assessment method you plan to use. The SOA does not require you to attach score reports, submit prior years' results, or share percentile ranks.

Once you have completed the required test and received your results, those results belong to you. They are private family records.

What the Superintendent Can and Cannot Ask

Your district superintendent has limited authority over homeschool families under Minnesota law. Specifically:

Superintendents can:

• Receive and review your annual Statement of Assurance
• Ask which test you plan to use (because you disclose your assessment method on the SOA)
• Contact you if your SOA is missing or incomplete

Superintendents cannot:

• Demand that you submit test score reports
• Require that a specific test be used (beyond the legal standard that it be nationally norm-referenced)
• Require that the test be administered at a district facility or by a district employee
• Condition your right to homeschool on achieving any particular score
• Access your child directly without your consent for testing or evaluation purposes

If a superintendent or district administrator contacts you demanding test score reports, they are exceeding their authority under §120A.22. This happens — districts sometimes push boundaries, particularly with new homeschool families who don't yet know what the law requires of them. Knowing where the line is gives you a factual basis for the conversation.

The 30th Percentile Rule Does Not Change This

Minnesota law includes a provision: if a student's total battery score falls at or below the 30th percentile, the parent is required to obtain an additional evaluation for learning problems by a qualified professional. This is a requirement on the parent — not a reporting requirement to the district.

If your child scores below the threshold, you arrange the evaluation privately. The evaluator's findings belong to you. You are not required to submit those findings to the district either.

The 30th percentile rule creates a legal obligation for you to act — to get an evaluation — but it does not create a right for the district to access your child's scores or evaluation results.

Why Scores Stay Private: The Design of Minnesota Law

Minnesota's homeschool statute was structured to keep the instructional authority with parents. The testing requirement exists to give families a tool for monitoring their child's academic progress — not to give the district ongoing access to that monitoring.

The annual SOA is the accountability mechanism. It tells the district: a homeschool program exists, here are its parameters, here is how it will be assessed. The assessment itself is conducted privately, and the results stay with the family.

This design means that a district cannot use a low test score to intervene in your homeschool program. Short of a child welfare proceeding (which is governed by different law entirely), a below-average test score does not give a district administrative authority over your instructional approach.

When Score Sharing Might Be Voluntarily Useful

There are situations where you might choose to share test scores — not because you're required to, but because it serves your child's interests:

College applications. Consistent multi-year test scores demonstrating academic progression are compelling evidence in homeschool college admissions. Some families include score reports in application portfolios.

Dual enrollment / PSEO. Minnesota's Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program allows eligible homeschool students to take college courses. Eligibility criteria vary by institution, but some schools use standardized test performance as part of their assessment.

Accessing special education services. If your child has a qualifying disability and you want to access public school special education services as a nonpublic student, you may need to engage with district evaluation processes. In that specific context, sharing evaluation results is part of the service-access process — but this is a choice you make to access services, not a mandatory disclosure.

Umbrella school or accountability program enrollment. Some families voluntarily enroll in programs that include score reporting as part of their accountability framework. That's a program requirement, not a state law requirement.

Keeping Records That Protect You

Even though you're not required to submit scores, maintain them. If your homeschool's compliance is ever questioned — by a superintendent, in a custody dispute, or in any legal proceeding — your test records are objective evidence that you fulfilled the annual testing obligation.

A complete testing record for each year should include:

• The name of the test administered
• The date of administration
• The grade level tested
• The total battery composite score and national percentile rank
• Any sub-scores by subject area (useful if a total battery score raises questions — sub-score patterns provide context)
• The name and contact information of the testing provider or administrator

Store these alongside your annual SOA copies and your subject instruction records. If you're building a documentation system that can serve multiple purposes — compliance evidence, college prep portfolio, evaluation baseline — the Minnesota Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes a structured framework for maintaining homeschool records under Minnesota law, with templates for annual testing documentation integrated alongside the SOA and subject logs.

What Happens If a District Pushes Back

If your superintendent contacts you requesting score reports and you prefer not to share them, a calm factual response is sufficient: "Minnesota Statute §120A.22 does not require submission of test score reports to the district. I have fulfilled the annual testing requirement and maintain those records privately."

You do not need to be confrontational, and you do not need legal representation for a routine inquiry. Most districts, when reminded of the statutory framework, will accept this. If a district takes formal enforcement action on the basis of your refusal to share private test scores, that is a different situation — but it is extremely rare and would represent significant overreach beyond what the statute allows.

Knowing the law precisely is the most effective tool for these conversations. Most district friction with homeschool families stems from administrators who are applying public school assumptions to a different legal framework. The information, not the confrontation, resolves it.

See more United States homeschool guides →