As the season for portfolio reviews has begun I wanted to repost this. I hope it helps. Please contact me with any questions. ohiohomeschool@gmail.com
Ohio homeschool law states "The parent(s) shall send to the
superintendent an academic assessment report of the child for the
previous school year at the time of supplying subsequent
notification." A parent in Ohio has three choices on what they may
send a with their homeschool notification. 1). Results of a nationally
normed, standardized achievement test. 2) A written narrative
indicating that a portfolio of samples of the child’s work has been
reviewed and that the child’s academic progress for the year is in
accordance with the child’s abilities. (3) An alternative academic
assessment of the child’s proficiency mutually agreed upon by the
parent and the superintendent. (please note my understanding is that you
would have needed to work this out with your superintendent last year
when you sent in your homeschool notification.)
A
written narrative is an option for an assessment report. You have a
certified Ohio teacher review work samples of your student's work to
determine if your child has made progress in accordance with his/her
ability last year. The assessor then signs a form verifying that your
student has made progress, and you send that form to your school's
superintendent along with your intent to homeschool the coming year.
I
am a homeschool mom who is also a certified Ohio teacher. I am able
to review your child's work samples, send you some encouraging notes,
and send you the forms you need to send to your school district with
your intent to home educate. I enjoy reviewing work samples and love
getting a chance to see the many different ways people home educate
their children. The following are a few common questions I hear in
regards to narratives.
What if my student is not reading?
You
may send me a list of books you have read aloud to your student,
maybe the progress they have made in a phonics program, and/or how
many sight words that they know now as compared to the beginning of the
year.
What if I do not have physical samples that are easy to send to you?
You
are welcome to take a picture,send me a link to a YouTube video, or
write up what your student learned in that area. I have enjoyed power
point presentations, pictures of field trips and community gardens, and
wonderfully written explanations about unit studies and cooking
projects. If you have questions on how to communicate what your student
accomplished, please contact me. ohiohomeschool@gmail.com
What are you looking for?
I
am looking for progress. I like to see that your student is
completing more complex math problems than he/she did at the
beginning of the year, I look at handwriting and writing samples to
observe growth, and learn a great deal about your student from looking
at the books they are reading now as compared to the ones they read in
beginning of the year. I look at how your student has changed. I do not
look to see if you completely finished your history text book, made
at least one salt relief map of a continent, and/or if your
bookshelves are organized by the Dewey Decimal system. I am looking
for progress in your student by viewing his/her work samples. (But,
if your bookshelves are organized that way I would love to see a
picture and know how you did it. )
I want to support
you on your home education journey. I greatly enjoy helping other
homeschool families. Let me know if I can help you this year! Click here for how to get started.
Becky Boerner
Mom to 7 home educated children, M Ed. in Reading Education.
Another post I have written dealt with standardized testing vs. a written narrative. You may enjoy reading if you are still pondering on what you would like to do for this year.
I will be doing my assessment soon (with you). We went from following a curriculum to 100% unschooling.
ReplyDeleteI know I won't have much to show you (if anything) but I have a ton of progress to report. It amazes me how much he's progressed in such a short time!
Great Angell. Let me know if I can help you. I look forward to working with you.
ReplyDelete