The Ultimate Homeschooling Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Is your child taking a standardized test for homeschoolers soon? Our team of experts is working to provide you with all the practice materials you need. Contact Monica, our expert in everything homeschooling at monica@testprep-online.com to learn more about our upcoming PrepPacks or other free practice relevant to your child's progress. 

Homeschool, also known as home education or elective home education, is an alternative to traditional education usually conducted by a parent, tutor or online teacher. It provides a personalized approach for children that have unique learning preferences and parents who are not satisfied with the available school programs.

Homeschooling is a spectrum that can range from highly structured curriculum to a freer implementation where materials are personalized to each student’s needs.

The modern homeschool movement began in the 1970s as an emerging alternative to state education but has rapidly grown in the last 10 years. According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) there were around 3.1 million homeschool students in 2021-2022 in grades k-10 in the United States, which constitutes roughly 6% of school-age children.

In the United States, homeschooling is legal in all states, although regulations and requirements vary. We can divide the requirements in four general categories:

• No notice or low regulation – This means that local school districts or any government agency don’t require notification or any other standardized achievement.
• Low regulation – States that require parents to notify their local district before starting to homeschool.
• Moderate regulation – These require notification, standardized test scores, and/or a yearly progress evaluation.
• High regulation – States that require notification, standardized test scores and/or professional evaluation, and other requirements such as curriculum approval by state, teacher qualification of parents, or periodic home visits.

Learn more about MAP testing for homeschoolers.

For more detailed information map-testing-homeschoolers.

Homeschool programs are comprehensive materials that provide a structured approach to education. These programs often include all necessary lesson plans, assessments, and sometimes even online classes or support from teachers. They are designed to cover a wide range of subjects and are typically structured to help parents looking for a complete educational solution.

Popular accredited online homeschool programs:

• K12 – Online education provider that offers full and part-time learning programs for students in grades K-12. It includes an interactive curriculum that combines traditional education with online tools.
• Connections Academy– Network of tuition-free online public schools for students in grades K-12. It offers personalized learning approach with certified teachers, a variety of extracurricular activities, and flexibility in schedule. 
• Abeka Academy – Christian homeschooling program that provides video-based instruction for students in grades K-12. It offers a structured curriculum based in biblical principles and includes other traditional subjects. 
• Calvert Education – This program offers a variety of homeschool programs for students K-12, focusing on the classical education model. The curriculum focuses on critical thinking skills and creativity with flexible and personalized lesson plans.

Popular independent homeschool programs:

• Time4Learning – Curriculum for PreK-12th graders that includes interactive lessons multimedia reinforcement activities, printable worksheets, and assessments. It is designed to be flexible and accessible for diverse learning needs.
• Khan Academy Kids – Free, educational app designed for children ages 2 to 8. They provide comprehena sive and engaging curriculum with interactive lessons, activities and games that adapt to each child's learning pace.

If your homeschool program or the laws of your state demand your child to take a standardized test, take a look at our practice tests with sample questions. 

Homeschool curriculums are individual courses or subject materials that parents can choose to teach their children. Curriculums can be mixed and matched according to the student's needs and the parent's educational philosophy. This approach offers more flexibility as parents can select different curriculums for different subjects and customize the learning experience.

Online homeschooling courses:

• The Good and The Beautiful – One of the most popular curricula on the market known for its integrated approach to subjects and moral teachings. They also offer a free version of their textbooks to download. 
• BJU Press Homeschool – Christian company with many homeschool options. They provide rigorous and biblically-centered textbooks for grades Prek-12. 
• Apologia – Christian-based science curriculum known for its rigorous and engaging approach to science education, with hands-on experiments and detailed explanations.
• All About Learning Press – Fun and affordable programs to help students with their reading and spelling abilities. Their programs aim for an easy learning process for students that struggle with these subjects.