Homeschool testing in Pennsylvania
Verified against primary sources on July 19, 2026
At a glance
- Testing required
- Yes
- When
- grades 3, 5, 8
- What qualifies
- Nationally normed test required
- Who administers
- Parent/guardian may NOT administer; PDE guidance recommends a trained evaluator at a suitable site.
- Results
- Filed with the state
- Score floor
- None numeric; results feed the evaluator’s certification of progress.
- Test recency
- PDE approves only “the most current version” of each listed test.
What the law says
“Results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests in reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of Statewide tests… The department shall establish a list, with a minimum of five tests… from which the supervisor… shall select.”
— 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e)(1)
Alternatives to testing
Statewide (public school) tests. Annual evaluator review required in addition to testing.
Worth knowing
PDE list (11): CAT, CTP-IV, ITBS, MAP, Metropolitan, PIAT-R, Stanford, TerraNova, WJ-R, Woodcock-Johnson, WIAT. No published vendor petition process. Private-tutor and religious-school routes have no testing.