PEP Standardized Testing and FES-UA Evaluation Requirements in Florida

PEP families discover the testing requirement after they've already committed to the scholarship — often when the SFO portal flags missing test results during renewal. If you came from traditional home education under §1002.41, where you chose your own evaluation method, mandatory standardized testing feels like a significant trade. Here's exactly what's required, which tests qualify, and how FES-UA handles this differently.

PEP Testing: Annual Requirement, No Portfolio Alternative

PEP participants must complete an approved annual norm-referenced test or participate in statewide assessments. This is not optional, and there is no portfolio-review alternative like traditional home educators have under §1002.41.

Test results must be uploaded to the SFO portal annually. If you don't submit scores, your scholarship renewal is blocked — you cannot continue receiving PEP funding the following year without current assessment results on file.

Approved Norm-Referenced Tests

The Florida Department of Education approves these tests for PEP compliance:

• Iowa Assessments (Form E, F, or G)
• Stanford Achievement Test (10th Edition)
• TerraNova (3rd Edition)
• California Achievement Test (CAT)
• Educational Development Series (EdSeries)
• FAST — Florida's statewide Florida Assessment of Student Thinking

Most homeschooling families choose the Iowa Assessments or Stanford 10 because they're widely available through testing services and homeschool co-ops in Florida. Check the selected test's administration rules before scheduling it.

Testing fees are an approved PEP expense. You can use your scholarship funds to pay for the test through an SFO marketplace vendor, or submit a reimbursement claim for tests administered by an outside provider.

When to Test

Most families test in the spring before the renewal window opens. Upload results to the portal with your renewal application (February 1 – April 30); missing assessment results block renewal.

FES-UA Assessment: More Flexibility

FES-UA students must complete an annual assessment or evaluation, but the standard is more flexible than PEP's rigid testing mandate.

FES-UA students must complete an annual assessment or evaluation under the applicable SFO requirements. Confirm the current approved assessment and evaluation options with your SFO.

Additionally — and this is the biggest difference — a licensed physician or district ESE team can document that standardized testing is inappropriate due to the severity of the student's disability. In that case, the testing requirement is waived entirely for that year. This exemption is critical for students with profound intellectual disabilities, severe autism, or multiple disabilities where norm-referenced testing produces meaningless results.

The §1002.41 Comparison

Traditional home educators under §1002.41 have five evaluation options and can choose whichever method works best for their family:

1. Portfolio review by a certified Florida teacher
2. Standardized testing (any nationally normed test)
3. Evaluation by a licensed psychologist
4. Evaluation by a Florida-certified school psychologist
5. Other evaluation methods accepted by the district

PEP eliminates that choice. You test with a norm-referenced instrument, period. This is the assessment trade that concerns experienced home educators most — the loss of evaluation flexibility in exchange for $7,600–$8,200 in annual funding.

What Test Scores Mean for Your Scholarship

Submitting the required annual results is part of maintaining PEP eligibility. If a child produces no results at all (refusal to test, no-show, never scheduled), that's treated as non-submission. Renewal is blocked.

For the complete testing timeline, provider recommendations, and strategies for families transitioning from portfolio evaluations to mandatory testing, see our Florida FES-UA & PEP Scholarship Parent Guide.

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