Virginia Homeschool Testing Requirements: Stanines, Approved Tests, and the Probation Year

Every Virginia homeschool family operating under the Home Instruction Statute (§22.1-254.1) has a legal obligation to submit annual evidence of academic progress. The deadline is August 1. Miss it without a plan, and your child is technically no longer legally exempt from compulsory attendance — meaning you'd need to re-enroll them in school until the deficiency is corrected.

The assessment side of Virginia homeschool compliance is where most families experience real anxiety. The stanine score terminology is unfamiliar, the list of acceptable tests is longer than people expect, and the question of what happens if a child scores below the threshold causes genuine dread. This post covers the mechanics in plain terms.

What the Law Actually Requires

Virginia Code §22.1-254.1 gives parents five recognized methods to satisfy the annual evidence of progress requirement:

1. A standardized achievement test — student must score at or above the 4th stanine composite
2. An evaluation letter from a qualified evaluator — must state the child has made adequate educational growth and progress
3. A report card or transcript from an accredited correspondence or distance learning program
4. A program evaluation by the division superintendent (mutual agreement required)
5. A portfolio review using a mutually agreed-upon method with the superintendent

For most families, the practical choice is between standardized testing and an independent evaluator. The other three options depend on either being enrolled in a formal correspondence program or getting your superintendent to agree to something non-standard, which varies widely by locality.

Understanding the Stanine System

The stanine — a portmanteau of "standard nine" — is a normalized scoring scale that divides the national test-taking population into nine bands. Stanine 1 is the lowest, stanine 9 is the highest. Here is the rough percentile equivalent for each stanine:

Virginia requires a composite score in or above the 4th stanine, which means the child needs to score at or above the 23rd percentile on the composite. The composite is calculated using only the mathematics and language arts sections of the exam — not science, social studies, or any other subject area. Your child can perform poorly on history and it has no bearing on the state compliance threshold.

The 4th stanine is a very low bar by design. A child performing at roughly grade level will comfortably score in stanine 5 or 6. Nationally, homeschooled students score an average of 15 to 30 percentile points above public school averages on these same tests. A student who has received consistent instruction and is progressing adequately will almost never be at risk of falling below the threshold.

Where parents get confused is conflating "composite score" with individual subject scores. Virginia does not care if your child scored in the 2nd stanine on the reading subtest — what matters is the composite across math and language arts combined. A strong performance in one section can offset a weaker performance in the other.

Approved Standardized Tests

Virginia does not maintain a single official list of approved tests, but the statute specifies that the test must be "a standardized achievement test" administered to the child. The following tests are well-established and accepted by Virginia school divisions:

California Achievement Test (CAT) — One of the most common tests used by Virginia homeschoolers. The CAT is parent-administered at home in most versions, which keeps costs down and eliminates the need to find a testing center. The CAT-E (Complete Edition) and the CAT-Survey edition are both widely used. Costs typically run $25–$50 depending on the publisher and grade level.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) / Iowa Assessments — A nationally normed test widely accepted across all US states. HSLDA members can order it through their testing service; non-members can access it through Riverside Insights or authorized test administrators.

Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10) — Not to be confused with the college entrance SAT. The SAT-10 is a nationally normed K–12 achievement test. It is widely available through homeschool co-ops and testing services.

Terra Nova — Published by McGraw-Hill, the Terra Nova is another nationally normed standardized test accepted in Virginia. Available through testing centers and some homeschool co-ops.

Classic Learning Test (CLT) — A newer option, particularly popular with classically educated homeschool students. Virginia has accepted CLT scores for compliance purposes.

High school equivalents: Students in high school grades may substitute scores from the ACT, SAT, or PSAT/NMSQT in lieu of a grade-level achievement test. This is common for 9th grade and above since these students are often preparing for college entrance exams anyway.

The CAT stands out for Virginia families because it can legally be administered by the parent at home without a third-party proctor, which lowers cost and eliminates scheduling friction. If you want the simplest, cheapest path to a valid standardized test result, the CAT administered at home is where most families start.

When and How to Submit

Testing should be completed in spring — April or May works well for most families — so there is time to receive scores back before the August 1 deadline. Some tests return scores within a few weeks; others may take longer depending on the publisher.

Results are submitted to your local school division superintendent. Most divisions accept mailed or emailed score reports. Keep a copy of everything you submit. Virginia law (§22.1-254.1(G)) limits what information divisions can legally demand — they are entitled to the evidence of progress documentation itself, but not to extraneous records you haven't voluntarily provided.

You are not required to submit evidence of progress for children who are under age six as of September 30 of the school year. If your child started homeschooling partway through a year and the statutory date has passed, your obligation begins with the following full academic year.

The Probation Year: What Actually Happens

If a student's composite score falls below the 4th stanine (below the 23rd percentile), the division superintendent is required to place the home instruction program on probation for one year. This is the part that causes parents significant anxiety, so it's worth being precise about what probation means and doesn't mean.

What probation does not mean: Your child is not automatically required to return to public school. There is no immediate enforcement action, no truancy proceeding, and no CPS involvement based solely on a below-threshold test score.

What probation does mean: You must file two additional documents with the superintendent:

1. A remediation plan — a written description of the specific steps you will take during the probationary year to address the academic areas where the child fell short
2. A statement demonstrating your ongoing ability to provide an adequate education

The remediation plan is your own document. There is no official form for it. A one-to-two page letter describing what curriculum changes you are making, what additional support the child is receiving, and how you intend to track progress is sufficient. The statute does not require the superintendent to formally approve the remediation plan — you are filing it, not requesting permission.

At the end of the probationary year, the student must again submit evidence of progress. If the child again falls below the 4th stanine, the superintendent has the authority to require re-enrollment in a traditional school. However, parents retain the right to appeal this decision to an independent hearing officer within thirty days if they believe the superintendent has acted arbitrarily or not in accordance with the statutory framework.

Practically, the probation scenario is uncommon among families who are actively engaged in homeschooling. It most frequently arises for students with learning disabilities or neurodivergence, where the standardized test format itself creates the performance gap rather than genuine inadequate instruction. If your child has a learning disability and you're concerned about the standardized test route, the independent evaluator option is worth considering — an evaluator can assess qualitative progress and contextual growth in a way that raw percentile scores cannot capture.

Assessment Options Comparison

Building This Into Your Year

The families who handle Virginia's assessment requirement most smoothly are those who don't treat it as a separate compliance task bolted onto the end of the year. If you maintain a running portfolio of your child's work — dated samples, reading logs, completed workbooks, project records — you have the raw material to either hand to an evaluator or use as confidence scaffolding before a standardized test.

Testing in April or May gives you a comfortable window before August 1. Order the test in late winter. If you're using a co-op testing session, register early — spots fill up.

If you're still in the process of withdrawing your child from public school and haven't yet sorted your full compliance picture, the Virginia Legal Withdrawal Blueprint walks through the complete withdrawal process from Notice of Intent through first-year assessment, including documentation checklists and division-specific guidance.

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