Portfolio Review evaluations--Online/Email Option

• Convenient
• Less expensive
• No appointment needed to begin
  
• Our most popular homeschool evaluation option
  

Basic Process

1. We want to see some of your records: some of the log of educational activities with titles of reading materials and a few samples of work.
   
   So scan, photograph, or get links for some of the portfolio (records of learning you've kept for your child's homeschooling). We don't need to see a lot of it. A little from the beginning of your year and a little that's more recent, for each of a variety of subject areas, is usually sufficient. (See below for more details.)
   
   
2. Send your information (children's names and dates of birth, your address, your name, your contact information, your deadline, etc.) including your portfolio portions to us.
   
   Use our online form or email them to us directly. Using our online forms allows us to provide much more efficient service.
   
   
3. Pay. (Pay on website, or request invoice, or mail check or money order; $38 for 1 child, $58 for 2, $78 for 3, etc.)(Can also initiate payment through SUFS if applicable.)
   
   
4. Phone call. We'll review your materials and then call for a brief phone chat with child (and parent).
   Getting into our queue to get to this point may take three weeks or so in our busiest season (May-Oct.) but should be much faster the rest of the year.
   Speaker phone works great. The parent can be right there during the call.
   
   
5. Forms. Evaluation forms are emailed to parent, along with portfolio review forms for parents records.
   
   
6. Forward forms. Parent sends evaluation form(s) to school district.

Click here to begin online/email evaluation

More Details on Online/Email Evaluations

What information should you send
for a
portfolio review evaluation?

Send a little of each of the:

• Log of Educational Activities
• Titles of Reading Materials
• Samples of Work

One option for a Log of Educational Activities' page.

Titles of reading materials could be from books, websites, apps, etc.

Samples of work--send a few from beginning and end of the year.

A bit of each from the beginning and end of the year, showing a variety of subject areas, is usually enough to see that progress was made.

More Information on the Portfolio

 

Online/Email Evaluation FAQ

Do I have to send all my records?

No, a few of your records from the beginning of your year and a few from the end are usually sufficient.

How many samples of work do you want to see?

Usually a sample or two from the beginning of your year and another sample or two from the end of your year in each of a variety of subjects is enough. (We'll ask for more if we don't see enough.)

What if I don't send enough records?

We'll ask for more records if we need them before the evaluation is finished. We're not here to make your child fail. We're here to verify that your child has been getting an education and will help walk you through the process if needed.

What if I didn't finish the curriculum?

Schools almost never finish their curriculum; not finishing is not a problem as long as the child's been learning and you have some records of that learning.

Besides, Florida law doesn't require home education families to use published curriculum. As long as you have records that show that your child has been learning, passing the evaluation shouldn't be a concern.

What if I don't have a Log of Educational Activities?

The law doesn't say what the Log of Educational Activities should look like. It gives the parent the right to decide what it should look like and what should be included. So there are lots of options. See if one of these sounds like records you've kept.

• A lesson plan book (though this doesn't mean you have to make entries in advance.)
  
• Table of contents pages marked to show what was done
  
• A planner or calendar with notes. (Some parents include details on the lessons done and some focus more on learning activities such as field trips, projects, events, etc.)
  
• A student score (or other detailed) report from an online program used
  
• Diary-style entries
  
• A spreadsheet of lessons done
  
• A blog about the child's learning
  
• A publisher's lesson plan materials marked to show what was done
  
• A form listing subjects covered each day or week or unit of study
  
  If not, talk to us and we'll try to help you figure it out
  

What if my child is working behind grade level?

Florida law doesn't require home education parents to even provide the district with a grade level when sending in a Letter of Intent and it prohibits districts from assigning one as long as the student doesn't participate in a district program. So the evaluation cannot compare the child to a specific grade level. Instead the law asks that the child makes educational progress commensurate with ability--so if the child is farther along at the end of the year than at the beginning, that's educational progress and the evaluation is passed.
Home education students don't have to follow public school standards and schedules--just as private schools don't. Just  show that the child has been educated and is learning and passing the evaluation shouldn't be a concern.

How many book titles do you need to see?

1. Titles of reading materials might be titles of books, but they could be titles of magazines, textbooks, workbooks, articles, stories, websites, apps, or other reading materials.
2. Florida law doesn't specify a number, but since the word "titles" is plural, we need at least two. Most people have many more and show us about a dozen titles.

What will you ask my child?

Our evaluations aren't tests; we simply discuss the progress that the child has made--as required by Florida law. Using a speaker phone usually makes the call less stressful as the child knows the parent can hear, and it makes it less likely that the child will accidentally hang up.
For example, we might explain to the child, "At the beginning of the year you were learning to count but more recently you've been adding, subtracting, and telling time. You've learned a lot this year in math, and your reading skills have improved, too."

Will you send the records to the school district for me?

No, Florida law requires the parent to send the records to the school district, but we'll talk you through it. Forwarding the emailed form(s) can be easy. (We want parents to maintain control of how much information districts receive--as intended by Florida law.)

How long will it take to finish the evaluation?

This varies depending on the time of year. During our busy season (May-Sept.), it may take us up to two weeks to review your materials and call to finish the evaluation. If you need the evaluation faster, consider using our Online/Email Evaluation RUSH form instead.
The rest of the year, the evaluation is typically done within a few business days.
We recommend beginning the evaluation process four to six weeks in advance of your deadline if possible, but the evaluation should be completed much faster assuming that we are given all the information needed. (If not, we'll ask you for more information.)

When is my evaluation deadline?

If you plan to continue homeschooling, the evaluation is due each year no later than the anniversary of your Letter of Intent. So if you started homeschooling in February, your child's evaluations are due each February.
If your child will no longer be home educated in Florida (due to graduating, or moving out of the state, or being enrolled in a school), the evaluation deadline is based on when the Letter of Termination is sent in telling the district that you are done homeschooling. We recommend sending the evaluation and Letter of Termination to the district together if possible. The Letter of Termination should be turned in within 30 days of finishing homeschooling.

When should I schedule an evaluation?

We recommend starting 4 to 6 weeks before your deadline--especially during the busy summer months. This allows ample time if we need to see more documentation or someone gets sick or such, but isn't too early that a district might reject it.

However, outside of the busy season, we can typically finish an evaluation in one to two business days.

What if my child fails the evaluation?

We're here to help you. We'll ask for more records of your child's learning or coach you if you need help figuring out what to share with us. If your child has regularly been learning and you've kept some records of that learning, you should not worry about your child passing an evaluation.
If you get a failing evaluation, you could choose not to share those results with the district and have a "do over" and get another evaluation done.
If you choose to turn in a failing evaluation, the student will be placed on probation for a year and if a passing evaluation isn't turned in the next year, the child will have to be enrolled in some school program instead.

What if we didn't use workbooks or textbooks or other curriculum?

Florida law doesn't require the use of workbooks or textbooks or other published curriculum--though those are options you can use, there are lots of other ways to learn, too. As long as you've kept records of the learning, passing the evaluation should not be a concern.

Start here

Click the picture to access a form for starting the email evaluation.

Our online forms are optional but help get all the needed information to us efficiently.

Trouble with the form? Feel free to email us instead.
See below.

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Or read about our other  options

Reviews

"We have had Cheryl evaluate our two daughters last year, and I'm getting ready to repeat the process before the end of this month. Wow! I cannot say enough about this lady and her knowledge regarding Florida legislature on the subject of homeschooling portfolios! If you are stressing this part of homeschooling - don't. Cheryl is fantastic about answering all your questions, suggestions regarding what to turn in, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It really is a straightforward process. Wouldn't dream of hiring anyone else for the job." Iwona A.

"Thank you Cheryl for always making evaluations a stress free process. My children are very relaxed speaking with her. No stress no pressure. It is a joy dealing with her each year. Thanks again for another positive experience." Caren V.


"Cheryl is absolutely fantastic at her evaluations for home education families. We have hired Cheryl for our daughter's home education evaluations for the last three years. She has always given our family the confidence needed to continue home education, despite the challenges that parents often encounter during this journey. Her expert writing skills in her FL Homeschool Evaluations Q & A sessions on Facebook always answer all the questions that may come up during the year...." Rabia

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