Educational Evaluation / Homeschool Assessment
Educational evaluations are a great investment in your child’s future. An evaluation might be incorporated as part of a learning disability assessment, or to determine a child’s overall academic ability for purposes of a school transfer or as part of the annual assessment requirement for homeschooled children.
Florida Statute 1002.41 specifies the responsibilities of parents who establish a home education program. Included in the statute is the requirement for an annual educational evaluation of the student's educational progress.
The evaluation must consist of one of the following:
• A Florida certified teacher chosen by the parent may evaluate the child's progress based on a review of the portfolio and discussion with the student.
• The student may take any nationally-normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher.
• The student may take a state student assessment test at a location and under testing conditions approved by the school district.
• The student maybe evaluated by a psychologist holding a valid, active license pursuant to Section 490.003 (7) or (8), F.S.
• The student may be evaluated with any other valid measurement tool as mutually agreed upon by the parent and the superintendent.
You can read more about the requirements for homeschooled children in Florida here.
An educational evaluation is also helpful for determining the strengths and relative weaknesses of a student. For example, it might be found as a result of the evaluation that the student has superior reading comprehension, but their listening comprehension skills are at a deficit to their reading (visual) comprehension abilities. In this case recommendations of converting material to be learned to note cards, summarizing notes, creating lists, or other visual rehearsal strategies might be made.
Conversely, if a child tests higher on listening comprehension and their reading comprehension is found to be a relative weakness, auditory learning strategies might be recommended. This could include listening to books on tape while reading, employing the use of mnemonics or rhymes to learn material, or tape recording class lectures.
How will an educational evaluation or academic achievement testing help my child?
• For parents of homeschooled children in Florida, academic achievement testing satisfies Florida Statute 1002.41.
• For parents of a learning disabled student, academic achievement is critical in advocating for classroom adjustments and accommodations.
• For parents of a high achieving student, knowing your child’s academic strengths is necessary to give them the competitive edge.
To have your child professionally evaluated using a high quality academic achievement test such as the Wechsler Individualized Achievement Test (WIAT-III), please call Dr. Bishop at (813) 454-1050, or use the contact form here.