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 — Routine Score Submission Is Not

For a non-accredited homeschool, Minn. Stat. §120A.22, Subd. 11 generally requires annual assessment for children ages 7 through 16, extending through age 17 when the Initial Report was filed after age 16. Scores are generally not submitted while a child is homeschooling, but scores must be provided if the child later enrolls full time in public school, for placement.

The testing requirement and the reporting requirement are separate legal obligations. The Initial Report lists the intended annual test when testing is required, and the continuing Letter of Intent is due October 1 each school year and reports changes. While the child is homeschooling, these filings do not require score reports, prior years' results, or percentile ranks.

Once you have completed the required test and received your results, maintain them as private homeschool records, along with proof that the test was administered.

What the Superintendent Can and Cannot Ask

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

Superintendents can:

• Receive the required Initial Report or continuing Letter of Intent
• Agree with the person in charge of instruction on the examination, administration, and location
• Contact you if a required report is missing or incomplete

Superintendents cannot:

• Demand routine submission of test score reports while the child is homeschooling
• Unilaterally impose a specific test, administration method, or location; those details are agreed with the person in charge of instruction
• 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 routine test score reports while your child is homeschooling, point out that §120A.22 does not require that submission. The later full-time public-school placement rule is different.

The 30th Percentile Rule Does Not Change This

Minnesota law includes a provision: if a student's total battery score is at or below the 30th percentile, or performance is one grade level below same-age performance, 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 routine reporting requirement to the district.

If your child meets the testing trigger, arrange the evaluation. You may use a private educational psychologist, learning specialist, or speech pathologist; while the child is homeschooling, the evaluation findings are not routinely submitted to the district.

The testing trigger creates a legal obligation for you to act — to get an evaluation — but it does not create a routine score-submission requirement while the child remains homeschooled.

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 Initial Report and continuing Letter of Intent are the reporting mechanism. They tell the district that a homeschool program exists and provide the information required by §120A.24. The assessment itself is conducted under the agreed administration details, and the results are generally maintained privately while the child is homeschooling.

This design means that a low test score does not by itself revoke homeschooling or require a return to public school. It triggers the parent's additional-evaluation duty when the statutory threshold is met.

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 generally not required to submit scores while homeschooling, maintain the score reports and proof of administration. If your homeschool's compliance is ever questioned — by a superintendent, in a custody dispute, or in any legal proceeding — those records help document that you fulfilled the annual testing obligation. Scores must also be provided if the child later enrolls full time in public school, for placement.

A complete testing record for each year should include:

• The name of the test administered
• The date of administration
• Proof that the test was administered
• 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 Initial Report or continuing Letter of Intent 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 reports 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.

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