Per Colorado state law, students participating in home-based education are required to use a CO-approved standardized test or have a qualified person evaluate the student’s academic progress, in odd-numbered grades (starting in 3rd grade.) As a service to families, Summit South offers the IOWA Basic test for grades 1-8 and the P/SAT for grades 9-12 during the spring semester. Participation is optional. It is the responsibility of parents to submit test results to the location where they turned in their Letter of Intent to Homeschool.

Summit Academy South offers standardized testing for SAS students only. 

Families will be given more information during the year about testing dates and signup requirements; parents must adhere to signup deadlines to participate.

The information above is given as an overview. Please find specific guidelines and requirements here: www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool_law.

In most cases, testing is free. Below are descriptions of the available tests. Please note that many of the tests have sign-up deadlines.

Testing booklets offered for students in grades 1-2 (taken at home, returned for grading in April)

• Testing is offered for grades 3 through 8 at Summit South in Littleton -- April 7-9, 2024.

• Students will arrive at Summit by 8:15 am to begin testing at 8:30 am.

• Testing is offered only to currently enrolled Summit South students at their current grade level.

• Testing is free; however, students must sign up to participate.  Sign up deadline is February.

PLEASE NOTE: These Colorado state-administered tests will be offered at The Summit Academy in Westminster.

• Sign up deadline is in January.

• Like the SAT, the PSAT is a nationally normed standardized test. The PSAT is specifically designed to help students prepare for the SAT, which most students take in their junior or senior year.

• Colorado requires the PSAT (grades 9 and 10) if your student is registered as a full-time student with Summit South.

• The tests are optional if your student is registered as a part-time student with Summit South.

• The tests are free and also meet the requirements for standardized testing for homeschooled students.

• For more information about the PSAT, including the test day checklist, calculator regulations, and practice materials, click on the College Board link.

• To sign up or learn more about Summit's administration of the PSAT, click on the appropriate button. This will take you to the info and signup page at The Summit Academy in Westminster.

• Mrs. Bidwell will be on site for Test Day. Please email me with any questions you have about the tests.

PLEASE NOTE: These Colorado state-administered tests will be offered at The Summit Academy in Westminster in April.

• Sign up deadline is in January.

• The SAT is a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area exams in reading, writing and language, and mathematics.

• Colorado requires and pays for every full-time junior to take the exam.

• The test is optional if your student is registered as a part-time student with Summit South.

• The test is free and also meets the requirements for standardized testing for homeschooled students.

• For more information about the SAT, including the test day checklist, calculator regulations, and practice materials, click on the College Board link.

• To sign up or learn more about Summit's administration of the SAT, click on the appropriate button below. This will take you to the info and signup page at The Summit Academy in Westminster.

• Mrs. Bidwell will be on site for Test Day. Please email me with any questions you have about the tests.

In addition to taking the Iowa test through Summit South and the PSAT/SAT test through The Summit Academy in Westminster, there are other options parents may choose for testing:

• Teacher Evaluation  Parents may arrange with a teacher to do an evaluation.  Any certified teacher in Colorado can do an evaluation that shows that “the child is making sufficient academic progress according to the child’s ability," and that information can be submitted to the school district that received the notification of intent to homeschool. Besides Colorado-certified teachers, other “qualified persons” who can do this evaluation include a teacher employed by a private school, a licensed psychologist, or a person with a graduate degree in education.

• Iowa Testing At Home  Parents who have a bachelor's degree can go here to order the test. Parents can be approved as a tester and order the Iowa test for about $40.

• California Achievement Test  Parents who do not have a bachelor's degree can search the Internet for the “California Achievement Test” and order it, either in online or paper format, from any of a number of suppliers for about $20-25. Orders should include composite scores -- several of the CAT suppliers charge a bit more for that service, but it is needed for Colorado's state reporting requirements.

• Stanford Achievement Test  Parents can also go to HomeschoolTestingServices.com and order the paper or online version of the Stanford Achievement Test for around $40-50. Homeschool Testing Services also offers an on-site test; check their website for more information.

Any of these tests (Iowa, California Achievement Test, Stanford Achievement Test) meet the state requirement for a nationally-normed standardized test and can be submitted to the district or private school that received the notification of intent to homeschool. Summit South can also hold those test results in each student's record if needed.

The following is a summary of laws about homeschooling in Colorado. For complete information, refer to the Colorado Revised Statutes that address homeschooling, linked below.

• For children ages 6-17, you must provide written Notification of Intent to Homeschool within 14 days of starting your school year. This Notice or Letter of Intent is only a statement containing the name, age, place of residence, and number of hours of attendance of each child enrolled in your homeschool. You may mail or turn one in at Summit South for convenience, send it to your resident school district, or you can email Jeffco.

• Students must be evaluated in 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grades. This can be accomplished by completing a standardized test or by having a formal evaluation by a qualified person. Test scores are sent to the district that you sent your letter of intent to.

  • We can keep the results at Summit for you for storage purposes, or you can email them to Jeffco. We also provide the IOWA test as a service to you; we do not keep the results for evaluation purposes for our school. The results are for you, and participation in the IOWA testing is 100% voluntary.

• Your homeschool year needs to include at least 172 school days, averaging 4 hours a day, with instruction being provided by a relative. It is advised that you keep a record of attendance, immunization or a waiver of immunization, and test results at your home.

• At home, you need to provide the following courses when it is age-appropriate: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Math, History, Civics, Literature, Science, and Constitution.

Please click below for the written law, which goes into more detail and clearly lays out all aspects of the law more broadly than the above synopsis.
The Letter of Intent template is provided courtesy.