Homeschool Idaho
TESTING
Homeschool Idaho Online & Paper Testing
<<BJU Press is updating ordering procedures. See new ordering process description below.>>
Homeschool Idaho is excited to be partnering with BJU Press Testing and Evaluation to offer the Iowa Assessments from the comfort of your own home!
Convenient
- Select dates available for online testing
- Set your own test date for paper tests
- Results in 10 days for online testers
- Order by phone directly from BJU Press Testing and Evaluation*
- Test administrator provided by BJU Press for online testing
*Phone-only ordering is temporary as BJU updates our Parent Portal.
Affordable
- Receive a 10% discount on The Iowa Assessments™ purchased from BJU Press.
- No shipping costs for online tests
Options
- Online testing – fastest return of results
- Paper testing – most flexible test dates, greater administrator qualifications
- Cognitive Abilities Testing (CogAT) Learn more about the CogAT
Private
- Your privacy is of utmost importance to us, and individual test scores and student data will, as always, remain confidential. BJU Press provides Homeschool Idaho a report of Idaho testing families. This allows us to continue to showcase to legislators the high test scores of Idaho home educated students.
Questions? Contact info@homeschoolidaho.org.
Testing Schedule
- 2024 Online Test Dates
- Register at least two weeks ahead of desired online testing date.
- When ordering paper tests, set your own test date, and order four weeks prior to desired date.
Phone Ordering Instructions
<<BJU Press is updating their website. Ordering by phone is temporarily the only way to order tests.>>
- Call BJU Press directly at (800) 845-5731 to order your test(s).
- Connect to Testing & Evaluation Dept.
- Ask to be included in Homeschool Idaho’s group.
- Order the Iowa Assessments you need for your students!
- Give the date you selected to the representative.
- The customer service representative should apply a 10% discount to your order.
Why Test?
In Idaho, there is no law requiring testing for home educated students.
While completely optional, there are many benefits of having your child take a standardized test through Homeschool Idaho and BJU Press.
PROTECT HOMESCHOOL FREEDOM
The high test scores achieved by Idaho’s home educated students were fundamental to the passage of Idaho’s homeschool law in 2009. By utilizing BJU Press for your standardized testing, Idaho homeschool families can still contribute to the group data we include in charts each year. This will allow Homeschool Idaho to continue reminding the Idaho legislature of the academic excellence of private home education.
The generally high test scores of Idaho’s homeschool students provides concrete evidence to both legislators and the public that private home schooling succeeds without government funding or oversight.
Your participation is encouraged, not only for your own information, but to continue to safeguard our freedoms.
LEARN TEST-TAKING SUCCESS
Following directions, relaxing under pressure, pacing oneself, and completing work in an allotted time are all great skills that can be honed through taking tests.
Testing can be a valuable preparation for college entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT.
WE PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY
The charts of test scores shown to Idaho legislators are combined scores of homeschool students statewide, never individual scores. Only a compilation of all student scores will be shared at our annual Legislative Day.
PROVIDE A BENCHMARK
Standardized tests indicate how your child compares academically to other children at his grade level.
We have the privilege of seeing our children learn in their own unique ways on a day-to-day basis. However, it is beneficial in certain circumstances to assess a child’s year-to-year development of learning. Homeschool Idaho provides a convenient, private way to meet the need for testing data if it should become necessary for your family.
GRADUATION HONORS
Students in grades 9-12 with a complete composite score of the 90th percentile or higher qualify as Homeschool Idaho Summa Cum Laude Scholars. A score between the 80th and 89th percentile qualifies as a Magna Cum Laude Scholar. Honor designations earned during the 10th-12th year entitle graduates to wear a white (Summa) or gold (Magna) honor cord at the Homeschool Idaho Graduation Ceremony.
DUAL ENROLLMENT QUALIFICATION
To be eligible for certain dual enrollment opportunities in Idaho public schools, principals or athletic directors may ask to review standardized test results.
The 2023 Composite Numbers
Here you’ll find the The Iowa Assessments™ compiled scores for Idaho homeschoolers in 2023. As you can see, the median composite test score for all of our homeschooled students who were tested was at the 82nd percentile, 32 percentile points higher than typical public school student scores.
- Composite Score – 82%
- Reading – 86%
- Language – 88%
- Mathematics – 73%