Have you heard of a homeschool portfolio? Like one a photographer, fashion designer, or other artist maintains, a homeschool portfolio is a record of your work. More specifically, it is a record of the student’s work and information on the curriculum used for a particular school year or grade.
What is a Portfolio?
Homeschool portfolios can take on many forms. It can be a binder in which you store the student’s completed and graded assignments for each subject. Or you can scan the assignments or take pictures of them with your phone to create an electronic portfolio. You can keep some samples of the work the student completed or all of it. It isn’t necessary to keep all of the students work, but, if you do, be prepared to use several binders.
As I said before, you don’t need to keep every assignment that the student completes. However, your portfolio must also include other documents. (We have a portfolio kit in our store.) A complete portfolio should consist of and, depending on which state you live in, may require the following:
Student name, grade, and school year
Copy of letter of intent for the 1st year of homeschooling and any subsequent year, if required by the state
List of curriculum or books and resources used for each subject
Reading log
Grade reports for middle and high school students
List of field trips and extra curriculars (for PE credits, art credits, etc.)
Sample assignments for each subject from the beginning, middle, and end of the school year
Transcript for high school students (we offer an editable electronic transcript and transcript prep service)
Results or score reports for standardized tests taken at year-end (some tests are also available for mid-year checks)
Completion certificate following a teacher evaluation, if required by the state
To assist in the administrative side of homeschooling, we have digital templates of most of these documents available for download in our store. The digital documents are fillable templates and sold in bundles for elementary, middle school, and high school students. Download the letter of intent template for free.
Why Do I Need a Homeschool Portfolio?
Some states, such as Florida, require record keeping in the form of a portfolio and require parents to keep them for at least 2 years. Depending on where you live, a homeschool parent needs to be able to produce their student's portfolio within 15 days of receiving a request from the state or county education department.
Keeping a portfolio as a record of what the student was taught is a requirement in some states as it serves of proof that the student completed schoolwork that meets state regulated standards. A portfolio is also necessary when getting a teacher evaluation. A teacher evaluation is precisely that; a teacher reviews the work samples contained within the portfolio, conducts a brief interview of the student, and provides feedback on the academic growth of the student as well as any suggestions for improvements, if needed.
A good portfolio allows a parent to review what their student did throughout the school year. Portfolios are a great tool for assessing a student's progress. I use teacher evaluations to help me assess my children's educational growth each year and to help me plan for the upcoming school year. For my high school graduates, I kept their high school portfolios as proof that they completed the necessary requirements for earning their high school diplomas. So, whether electronic or in a binder, portfolios are very useful, even when not required by the state.
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