States that require testing or evaluation
Nineteen jurisdictions check the work each year. What counts as a check varies far more than whether one is required.
The short version
19 of 51 jurisdictions require some annual check; the other 32 require none at all.
In 13 of the 19, a standardized test is not the only route. A written evaluation by a qualified person, a portfolio review, or a narrative report is accepted instead — which matters enormously for a child who tests badly, and is the single most useful thing to know before booking a test.
What each accepts, and when it is due
| State | What counts | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: either a nationally standardized achievement test or an… | Results go to the district that received… |
| Florida | Home education option: annual evaluation filed with the superintendent, by one of five… | Annually (statute sets no calendar date… |
| Georgia | A nationally standardized (norm-referenced) test at least every 3 years, starting at the end… | — |
| Hawaii | Annual progress report to the principal using one of: (1) nationally normed standardized test… | Yearly (no specific date set in the rule… |
| Louisiana | Home study only, at each renewal: submit ONE of (1) a packet with subject outlines… | With the home study renewal: by Oct 1 of… |
| Maine | Annual, filed with each continuing year's letter (not required with the first-year notice). | Sept 1 each year after the first… |
| Maryland | No standardized testing required (a child may join the public school's regular standardized… | — |
| Massachusetts | Set by the approved plan. | As set in the district's approval… |
| Minnesota | Every year for ages 7-16 (and 16-17 if first reported after age 16): a nationally… | — |
| New York | Every year, filed with the 4th quarterly report. | With the fourth quarterly report (on the… |
| North Carolina | Every student, every school year (starting the first year), takes a nationally standardized… | No filing deadline; keep results at the… |
| North Dakota | Standardized achievement test in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10: the district's test or (at parent… | File test results with the district… |
| Oregon | Nationally normed achievement test from the State Board's approved list in grades 3, 5, 8 and… | August 15 at the end of the testing year… |
| Pennsylvania | (1) Standardized tests in grades 3, 5 and 8: PSSA (the district must allow it on request) or… | Evaluator's certification due to the… |
| Tennessee | Independent home school students in grades 5, 7 and 9 must test. | — |
| Vermont | Assess each child at the end of every school year by one of: a standardized test (given by… | — |
| Virginia | Home instruction only: each year submit either (i) a composite score at or above the 4th… | August 1 following the school year |
| Washington | Each year, either (a) a state board-approved standardized achievement test given by a… | — |
| West Virginia | Every year, for the previous school year, pick one: (1) a nationally normed achievement test… | Results for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11 are… |
Shortened from each state's own page; follow the state link for the full rule, the approved test list where one exists, and what happens if a result is judged inadequate.