Portfolio reviewing for homeschoolers

[amyrjoy]

Do you go this route for state requirements? If so, what do you "leave" with from the reviewer. How long does it take him or her to do this? Have you been a reviewer for other homeschoolers? Do you think my dad ( a chemistry teacher in high school and college level) should feel able to review my ker and 2nd graders accomlishments at the end of the year? If so, how should I approach asking him? Lol! Is there anything i could tell him or show him to help the process? We did the Iowa testing last year, but I want to switch the years from testing to review, and so on. This year, our budget is super tight and I wanted to save $60 to $70 by seeing if he'd do the portfolio review for us! If he did it for us, he'd probably have to do that for my sister in law and her daughter as well, since she lives in the same town.

[amyrjoy]

Btt

[dcjlkplus3]

Does your state have specific requirements about who can do a portfolio review?

If you talk to your dad and he seems interested (or if you think he might be and you want to have to facts first), then I would call someone in the homeschooling department for your state or county and find out what the requirements are.

[FO4UR]

I'm in OH too. I did the portfolio review last year.

 

The reviewer has to be a certified teacher. It shouldn't matter that he's your dad.

 

He will need to sign a paper that you mail into the district (wherever you mailed your NOI).

 

It's really very simple. You can print off the subject requirements for OH to make it easier for him. It took us 30-40min maybe...

[PeterPan]

In Ohio the reviewer is typically a certified teacher. They put their license number on the form (mine was printed from HSLDA's website), so he needs to have that. There's no standard for what is necessary in this. The years I've done it, I took basically everything we did, unedited, unculled, and sat at the lady's kitchen table talking for 3-4 hours. She talked with me and was immensely helpful, giving me the straight-up on what she wanted to see us work on for the next year, etc. Although it's cool that your dad could do it, I'm not sure you'd get as helpful a feedback. Have you tried to find someone else? I really appreciated the pointed advice my experienced teacher friend could give me. Unless your kids are in junior high or high school, your high school chem teacher dad might not be so helpful, kwim? Or maybe he has taught lower grades? Like I said, I really appreciated the feedback process. A good reviewer does more than rubberstamp. They're comparing your kids to state standards and to what they know to be typical for kids those ages, so they can help you see your weak points. You WANT to see that. You don't want just to be told you're doing a good job (which you are). You want someone to see the things you don't see.

 

Now I'm drawing a blank on the name (it will come), but there's a standardized test you can do for only $25 that will work for the testing option. Christian Liberty and Seton both sell it. Some years I've actually done both testing and the portfolio. The testing gives the teacher even more to work with.

 

BTW, my experience is not typical. Around here the popular reviewers ask for a portfolio with selections of the dc's work. The reviewer gets the portfolio in advance and talks with the mom a while when their appointment time comes. My reviewer (kitchen table, hours spent) is not the norm.

Edited January 5, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[angela in ohio]

I did testing, as I was opposed to the portfolio review option, the years my dh couldn't do it (he was an Ohio certified teacher for a few years.) I am very familiar with the portfolio review option, though, as it's what just about everybody else around here does. I know a few people who do every other year like you are going to, and it works well. :001_smile:

 

There is no reason your dad can't do it, as long as he has an Ohio teaching certificate. I would print off the form for him ahead of time and give him a copy of the Ohio homeschool regs.

[FO4UR]

In Ohio the reviewer is typically a certified teacher. They put their license number on the form (mine was printed from HSLDA's website), so he needs to have that. There's no standard for what is necessary in this. The years I've done it, I took basically everything we did, unedited, unculled, and sat at the lady's kitchen table talking for 3-4 hours. She talked with me and was immensely helpful, giving me the straight-up on what she wanted to see us work on for the next year, etc. Although it's cool that your dad could do it, I'm not sure you'd get as helpful a feedback. Have you tried to find someone else? I really appreciated the pointed advice my experienced teacher friend could give me. Unless your kids are in junior high or high school, your high school chem teacher dad might not be so helpful, kwim? Or maybe he has taught lower grades? Like I said, I really appreciated the feedback process. A good reviewer does more than rubberstamp. They're comparing your kids to state standards and to what they know to be typical for kids those ages, so they can help you see your weak points. You WANT to see that. You don't want just to be told you're doing a good job (which you are). You want someone to see the things you don't see.

 

Now I'm drawing a blank on the name (it will come), but there's a standardized test you can do for only $25 that will work for the testing option. Christian Liberty and Seton both sell it. Some years I've actually done both testing and the portfolio. The testing gives the teacher even more to work with.

 

BTW, my experience is not typical. Around here the popular reviewers ask for a portfolio with selections of the dc's work. The reviewer gets the portfolio in advance and talks with the mom a while when their appointment time comes. My reviewer (kitchen table, hours spent) is not the norm.

 

 

To get this, I would need to seriously interview the reviewer. kwim. I don't trust a stranger who happens to be a cert. teacher to tell me in 4 hours where my dc's strengths and weaknesses lie. Now, the cert. teacher who did mine last year, I trust...she knew ds pretty well before and I had talked with her/asked advice on helping his reading/ect (her own dc has some LD's)...I just think this may be too much to ask of most HS moms...to find someone who can give valuable feedback. idk.

 

I think you were fortunate.

[mom2att]

Well, it depends on what you're looking for. We have a number of moms in our homeschool group who are certified teachers and do portfolio reviews on the side to make a little extra money. Some charge $25 and just give the portfolio a cursory look-through, sign the form, and that's it. Personally, that's all I'm looking for. I'm confident in what I'm doing with my kids, and just need someone who is certified to sign off on the form so that the county is satisfied and I've taken care of the state requirements.

 

Others I know are looking to not only fulfill that requirement, but also to seek feedback on what their children are learning. In that case they specifically seek out someone with experience teaching the grade level that their children are completing, and they expect to pay more as the teacher goes over the material carefully and gives suggestions and ideas. Some charge as much as $125, and will spend 3 - 4 hours. To me that's more than a portfolio review, it's a homeschool consultation.

[Dawn in OH]

I am in Ohio and use the portfolio review option. I picked my assessor (Certified Teacher) based on a recommendation from another homeschooling mom. I did an email interview with her and one other teacher before choosing who would review our portfolio's. A relative is a perfectly acceptable assessor as long at they are a Certified Teacher in the state of Ohio.

 

For our portfolio's I keep a binder filled with work from the full school year, covering each subject. You do not need to keep every single worksheet or assignment your children have completed. You just need to provide a sample of work. The school board and Superintendent never see the portfolios. My assessor checks over the work checking to see that progress has been made and all the required subjects are being taught. She's actually quite laid back about it, but that may be because our portfolio's are quite thorough and well organized.

 

She reviews the work and talks to the kids a bit. It's really informal for us. She asks them if they like homeschooling, what is their favorite subject, what did they learn this year that they liked the most, liked the least. She signs a form stating that their portfolio's have been reviewed and the children's work is in accordance with his/her abilities. http://www.ohiohomeeducators.net/narrform.htm

 

She will also give recommendations for curriculum that might work better for us if I express a concern over a particular subject.

 

Our reviews take quite some time because I have two children with portfolio's to review and over the years we have become friends, so our children play together and we chat about everything under the sun during our review. I think our first review lasted about 30 to 45 minutes.