The Pennsylvania Homeschool Portfolio Checklist (2026)

What PA law actually requires

Pennsylvania's home education statute (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1) is one of the most prescriptive in the country. It generally requires an annual affidavit (due by August 1), a minimum number of instructional days or hours (180 days, or 900 hours for elementary / 990 for secondary, per the statute — verify the current standard with your district or HSLDA), instruction in 10 elementary or 9 secondary subjects, standardized testing in grades 3, 5, and 8, and an annual evaluator portfolio review due by June 30. The portfolio is the load-bearing artifact — it's what the evaluator examines and what proves the year of instruction happened.

What "portfolio" specifically means under § 13-1327.1(b)(2): "a log of materials used and samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials." Plus the standardized test results when applicable (grades 3, 5, 8). Plus a contemporaneous quality — the log and samples must be kept as you go, not reconstructed in May.

The log of materials used

The materials log is the inventory of what your child actually used to learn this year. It's not a curriculum-purchasing receipt; it's a record of materials in use. Most evaluators expect three columns: title, type (textbook, workbook, video series, real-world experience, etc.), and date range used.

What counts as materials

• Textbooks (the obvious case): Saxon Math 5/4, Sonlight Core C, Apologia Astronomy
• Workbooks and worksheets: Math-U-See, Spelling You See, Brave Writer The Wand
• Read-alouds (especially elementary): Charlotte's Web, The Hobbit, By the Great Horn Spoon
• Online curricula: Outschool classes, IXL math, Khan Academy units, Beast Academy
• Co-op classes: a logic class, a Latin tutorial, a writing workshop
• Field trips with educational purpose: Philadelphia history walks, the Carnegie museums, state park nature programs
• Documentary series tied to subject (Ken Burns, Ken Robinson, Magic School Bus reruns)

The PA evaluator wants breadth in the log — evidence that the full subject list was actually addressed. A log with three textbooks and nothing else doesn't usually raise an eyebrow; a log with three textbooks and twelve other entries spanning real-world experience reads as a healthier year.

Format: simple is fine

A spreadsheet with title / type / dates / subject works. Lightstead's materials log builds automatically from lesson plans — every material you attach to a lesson rolls into the year's log without separate entry. Either way, the artifact the evaluator sees is the same: a clean, dated inventory of what the child actually used.

Work samples by subject

PA's portfolio law asks for "samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials." In practice, evaluators want 3–5 samples per major subject across the year, dated and labeled with the child's name and subject. The goal is to show breadth (full subject coverage) and growth (samples from early, middle, and late in the year demonstrating progression).

What samples by subject look like

• English language arts: a writing sample from Sept, one from Jan, one from May. A spelling test. A book report. A poetry response.
• Math: a worksheet from the start of the year, one mid-year, one near the end. A test or quiz. A word-problem write-up.
• Science: a lab notebook entry. A diagram of a system. A nature journal page.
• Social studies: a state report. A map worksheet. A timeline. A field-trip reflection.
• Foreign language (if applicable): a vocabulary worksheet. A short translation. A dialogue script.
• Fine arts: a piece of drawing or painting. A music piece practiced. A photo of a sculpture or craft.

Writing samples — by grade level

Writing samples deserve their own section because they're the highest-signal evidence of learning. A 4th grader's three writing samples (one early, one mid, one late) tell the evaluator a story even before the test scores arrive. PA evaluators read writing samples carefully — both for content and for the visible developmental arc across the year.

Lower elementary (K-2): 2-3 samples is enough; a sentence in September, a paragraph by April. The growth is the point. Upper elementary (3-5): 4-6 samples covering different types — narrative, expository, persuasive, response-to-reading. Middle school (6-8): 6-10 samples with one or two extended pieces (a 3-page research paper, a 5-paragraph essay) and shorter responses to reading. High school (9-12): a portfolio within the portfolio — 8-12 pieces showing the writer's range and progression. This is the corpus a college application will eventually want to see, too.

Reading materials list

PA's portfolio requirement explicitly names reading materials — both what was assigned and what was read independently. Most evaluators want to see a list with title, author, and (sometimes) a one-line note on what the child got out of it. For elementary kids, read-alouds count. For middle and high schoolers, the reading list is one of the most-scrutinized portfolio components.

A common-sense rule of thumb: a healthy reading year for an elementary kid is 30-50 books across read-alouds and independent reading. For middle school, 25-40 books mixing assigned reading and personal reading. For high school, 12-20 substantial books per year (some long, some short) with a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and primary sources for history. Lightstead's reading log builds these counts automatically.

Standardized test scores (grades 3, 5, 8)

PA requires standardized testing in grades 3, 5, and 8 from an approved list of about a dozen tests — including CAT (California Achievement Test), Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Stanford Achievement, Terra Nova, WIAT-III, CTP IV, MAP, Metropolitan Achievement Test, Peabody, Woodcock-Johnson, and the PSSA. The test must be administered by a neutral third party (not the parent). There is no minimum percentile required to pass — the test exists for documentation, not gatekeeping.

Practically: most PA families schedule the test in March or April so results are back by the June 30 evaluator deadline. Test administrators include local homeschool support groups (often the cheapest, $30-80 per child), certified teachers offering test administration as a side service, and a few standardized providers. The score certificate goes into the portfolio.

What the scores actually do

PA's testing requirement is documentary — the scores prove a standardized assessment occurred. The state doesn't set a passing percentile. The evaluator reviews the scores in context with the rest of the portfolio. Below-grade-level scores in a subject sometimes prompt a conversation with the evaluator about that subject's plan for the next year, but they don't trigger probation the way New York's 33rd-percentile threshold does.

The evaluator's letter

After reviewing the portfolio and interviewing the child, the evaluator writes a letter stating that "an appropriate education" occurred for the year. The letter is short (often one page) and goes to the superintendent with the next year's affidavit. Without it, the affidavit is incomplete.

Evaluator qualifications under PA law (§ 13-1327.1): a PA-certified teacher with at least 2 years of experience, a licensed psychologist, or a nonpublic school teacher or administrator. Some evaluators specialize in homeschool review and advertise to support groups — the support group is usually the best lead. Fees vary widely by evaluator; check with your local homeschool support group for current ranges in your area.

The contemporaneous standard — why timing matters

The single most-important word in PA's portfolio statute is "contemporaneous." The samples and log must be kept as you go, not reconstructed at the end of the year. A reconstructed portfolio is usually obvious — same handwriting style across samples that should span 9 months, identical paper, suspiciously similar formatting. It's also a legal vulnerability if the district later challenges.

What contemporaneous looks like in practice: samples have natural date variation, handwriting and skill visibly progress across the year, and the materials log shows entries added rolling rather than all at once. Lightstead's portfolio is inherently contemporaneous because every entry has a server timestamp that can't be backdated — the metadata proves the timeline.

What gets submitted vs kept on hand

A common misconception is that the entire portfolio goes to the superintendent. It does not. Under PA law, the parent submits the evaluator's letter (and the standardized test results in grades 3, 5, 8) with the next year's affidavit. The portfolio itself stays with the family — produced if the district specifically requests it, but not as part of routine submission.

Three artifacts in three different places: • The portfolio → kept by the family (and shared with the evaluator) • The evaluator's letter → submitted to the superintendent with the affidavit • The standardized test scores → in grades 3, 5, 8 only, submitted to the superintendent with the affidavit

The 30-day pre-evaluation checklist

Thirty days before the evaluator review (early June for most PA families), here's the assemble-the-portfolio checklist:

1. Materials log — exported and reviewed. Add anything missed.
2. Work samples — 3-5 per major subject. Dated, labeled, organized by subject.
3. Writing samples — early, middle, late, by grade-level appropriate count.
4. Reading list — exported. Add any books finished in May.
5. Standardized test scores — score certificate filed (grades 3, 5, 8 only).
6. Portfolio export — single PDF, chronological, subject-tagged, with evaluator signature page.
7. Evaluator scheduled — appointment booked, interview prep notes (a few favorite parts of the year per child).

Pennsylvania asks for a lot of paper. None of it is hostile, and none of it is busywork. The portfolio is genuinely the artifact of a year of homeschool — well-organized, contemporaneous, and complete, it makes the evaluator's job easy and the superintendent's review uneventful.