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HOW-TO's & RESOURCES
Testing with WVHEA
Order From WVHEA
You can download a test order form, and mail it to your local testing coordinator.
WV Code §18-8-1(c)(2)(C)
WVHEA Testing Service is fully compliant with WV Code §18-8-1(c)(2)(C), providing for annual assessment using a nationally normed standardized achievement test.
The Test
WVHEA uses the TerraNova®, Third Edition, with special permission from its publisher and the WV Dept of Education. The TerraNova®, Third Edition was published in 2008, normed in 2011, and provides scores in the subject areas required by WV law.
WVHEA Membership
Membership is not required, but the annual fee is small and members get a $10-per-test discount, plus newsletters and special mailings. Membership is open to all WV homeschoolers regardless of their reasons for homeschooling.
Fees
Fees cover costs of testing materials, scoring, and operating expenses, and are not intended for profit-making. The basic per-test fee is $40, and you can reduce the cost to as little as $25 with discounts (early payment, membership). Late orders, private testing, and hand-scoring incur additional fees. Our fees do not include local costs for site rental or private testers.
Group Testing
Group testing through area testing coordinators around the state provides an opportunity for families to help each other with testing and keeps costs low. If you test with a private group, please send your order to your group’s coordinator.
Private Testing
If your child is tested privately, you must pay the $10 private testing fee to cover costs, even when ordering through an area coordinator. If your coordinator does not handle private tests, send your order directly to the state coordinator. When testing privately, it is your responsibility to locate a tester who meets WVHEA requirements.
Late Testing
If you do not plan to complete testing by the annual deadline, DO NOT send your order until after May 1. Submit late orders to the state coordinator, not the area coordinator.
Understanding Test Results
The law has recently changed:
The child receiving home instruction takes a nationally normed standardized achievement test published or normed not more than ten years from the date of administration and administered under the conditions as set forth by the published instructions of the selected test and by a person qualified in accordance with the test’s published guidelines in the subjects of reading, language, mathematics, science and social studies. The child is considered to have made acceptable progress when the mean of the child’s test results in the required subject areas for any single year is within or above the fourth stanine or, if below the fourth stanine, shows improvement from the previous year’s results;
There are a couple of significant changes here. First is that parents may administer tests to their own children AFTER May 23, 2016 if the publisher allows. Second, and more important, is the change from requiring a child score at the 50th percentile or better to the 4th stanine.
Stanine is short for standard nine. The name comes from the fact that stanine scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 9. For instance, a stanine score of:
1, 2, or 3 is below average
4, 5, or 6 is average
7, 8, or 9 is above average