ODE Homeschool Testing Update
As I wrote in my previous article, President Trump announced that end-of-the-year testing would not be required of public school students, nationwide.
In response to the president’s declaration, Annie Marges, from the Oregon Department of Education, clarified the Department’s position on the testing of home schoolers. She wrote:
I have received several questions about this (the president’s statement) as it relates to home school testing; the short answer is that it doesn’t. The laws and rules that govern Home School instruction and testing in Oregon are not impacted by this waiver and, at this point, home schooling families are still required to test their children at the ends of grade levels 3, 5, 8, and 10 by the August 15 deadline.
She went on to say that the Department would be evaluating the home school testing rules sometime in May. In the meantime, the rule stands.
We hope on-site group and private testing through examiners around the state will resume sometime in late May or June. In the meantime, we’ll be offering a new option that will enable your children to be tested at home. We’re looking at offering three choices to families:
- Group testing hosted remotely by Basic Skills and independent examiners
- Testing administered by the parent (for information purposes only)
- Private and semi-private testing remotely administered by Basic Skills examiners
We’ll update you when one or more of these options is available.
Stay well and safe.
Curt Bumcrot, MRE
Director, Basic Skills Assessment and Educational Services
