How do you do homeschool assessments?

What if you need a homeschool report?

Most of us don't realise that we are actually assessing our children's progress on a daily basis. We SEE what they do, we HEAR their conversation, we ASK them questions and get them to TELL us about their learning and sometimes they write tests. (In our homes, the children only do regular Maths tests as part of their Maths curricula!)

What do you do if you need to create a formal or written report? Perhaps you need one to send to your children's other parent, or perhaps to submit to the Department of Basic Education if they require a report.

A mother emailed us: "We had to register with the department this year due to the fact that we unexpectedly received and welcomed a foster son into our home, and we were asked by the Dept. of Social services to register for home schooling. We have a strong Charlotte Mason approach in our home and I have a hard time knowing how to grade my children's work. Do you have any advice and rubrics that you are willing to share to help me?"

We do!

But first, we'd like to remind you yet again, that in a press release on 11 March 2024, the Department of Basic Education confirmed:

“The Department has no intention of taking away the freedom of curriculum choice from the parents.”

You are free to follow a Charlotte Mason approach or any other style of home education that you choose! We encourage parents to always act in the best interests of their children.

Most homeschoolers NEVER need a formal report, but if you do have to create one, we have some tips and guidelines to help you.

We also recommend that you bear in mind that you don't work for the government or the Department of Basic Education - in a sense, they work for you! Stand firm against any unlawful requests or government overreach. It happens frequently!

Here is our three part series on Homeschool Assessments, Reports and Compliance. We hope it will give you confidence IF or WHEN you need to create a homeschool report.