The requirement in Virginia, my home state, is "adequate growth and progress" based on the child’s own abilities, not a specific grade-level benchmark. Because I am a homeschool parent myself, I understand that learning is rarely linear. My goal is to document that learning happened, even if it doesn't look like a traditional public school trajectory.

I typically look for 3–5 samples of work from both Math and Language Arts. This can be workbook pages, photos of projects, reading lists, or writing samples. I love seeing "before and after" samples (something from the start of the year vs. the end) to clearly show growth.

The actual meeting (virtual or in-person) usually lasts 20–30 minutes. I spend time chatting with the student about what they enjoyed learning and doing a quick review of the samples provided.

First, please take a deep breath. As both a veteran teacher and a homeschool parent, I know that learning is rarely a straight line. Virginia law specifies that growth should be measured in accordance with the child's abilities. This means we are not comparing your child to a state average or a public school classroom, but to their own starting point. If you are worried about growth, we have several options: • Broadening the lens: Sometimes growth isn't on a worksheet. It’s in the way a child finally started enjoying audiobooks, how they learned to use a calculator for multi-step problems, or a project they built with their hands. • Diversifying evidence: If paper-and-pencil samples are a struggle, we can use photos, videos, or my verbal interview with the student to find evidence of progress that a test might miss. • Consultative pivot: In the very rare case where progress is truly stalled, I won't just leave you hanging. We will use our time to discuss curriculum adjustments or different approaches for the coming year so we can document a plan for future success. I will do everything I can professionally do to find the best in each child. My goal is to be your advocate and to highlight the unique successes your child has achieved this year, no matter how small they may feel to you.

I will email you a signed PDF letter within 48 hours. You can then upload this PDF to your school division’s portal or mail it to your local superintendent’s office. Some evaluators choose to send their evaluation letters directly to the family's school system, but I believe in full transparency and the parent (and child) being able to review the evaluation I compose prior to submission.

While the deadline is August 1st, I recommend booking between March and June. This ensures your paperwork is finished well before the summer rush and allows you to enjoy your break without lingering "to-do" items!

Yes! I offer a 15% discount for families with more than one child being evaluated during the same season.