Individualized academic assessment is strongly recommended to establish current academic level [grades are useless, what is important is to ascertain what a student REALLY knows]. We use the Woodcock-Johnson IV: Tests of Achievement to establish current academic level. Without this information you do not really know where your child is current, because grade levels in public/private schools are not precise. Additional assessments may include, if desired, psychological, behavioral, personality, and/or emotional/social.

Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) should be established for ALL homeschool students. They should be written for a one (1) year period, to be repeated each year. The IEP establishes objectives. The objectives are based on the understanding of the current academic levels of the student. After a set time period, usually 8-10 months, a second assessment is administered to provide a measure of the child’s mastery of the objectives. The process is repeated annually.

We train the parent in how to develop a homeschool IEP for their child. It is vital to understand that in order to begin any IEP for any child, the curricula must be known and documented AND your child’s current academic achievement levels MUST be known. We recommend a one-on-one assessment, using the Woodcock-Johnson IV: Tests of Achievement. The WJ-IV provides quantitative analysis of current academic levels in mathematics, reading, written expression, and general knowledge, with optional science assessment. We cannot stress enough the importance of the parent being actively involved in the development and maintenance of their child’s IEP.

All teaching and learning strategies should be multi-sensory. The most effective way to ensure the transfer of learning is by optimizing repetition, visualization, language, and learning by doing (hearing-seeing-doing). We encourage the use of Revelation Theory of Learning to perfect the learning transfer.