What do you need for a Florida homeschool portfolio evaluation?
What the law actually requires, exactly what to include, and how to submit it all without an appointment or a Zoom meeting. If you have been putting this off, it is simpler than you think.
The short answer: what Florida law requires
- A log of educational activities that names the reading materials used
- Samples of your student’s writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative work
- A discussion with the student
- Evaluation by a Florida-certified teacher
The statute sets no number of samples and no format. What follows is what I ask for: enough to show a full year of progress, and no more than that.
If you are homeschooling in Florida, the annual evaluation is already on your list. The good news is that most of what you need is sitting in your house right now: in workbooks, on the shelf, saved in an online program. This guide shows you what the law asks for, what I ask for, and how to put it together.
As a Florida DOE certified teacher with an M.Ed. in Reading and a Step Up For Students approved provider, I have reviewed hundreds of Florida homeschool portfolios. Below is what the law requires, what I look for when I review a portfolio, and how to submit yours completely online.
What Florida law actually says
Florida Statute 1002.41(1)(f)1 requires that a Florida-certified teacher evaluate your child’s educational progress “upon review of the portfolio and discussion with the student.” Read the statute →
The statute also sets out what the portfolio itself must contain: a log of educational activities that designates by title any reading materials used, and samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or developed by the student. The statute places that portfolio with the parent to maintain.
The statute does not set a number of samples.
It also does not set a number of school days or instructional hours. The statute states that a home education program “shall be excluded from meeting the requirements of a school day.” What it does ask for is the log: “a log of educational activities that is made contemporaneously with the instruction and that designates by title any reading materials used.”
Portfolio is one of five methods the statute allows. See all five and how they compare.
Florida law also requires you to preserve your portfolio for two years and make it available for inspection if the superintendent requests it, with 15 days’ written notice. Keep your own copies of everything you submit.
What I ask you to send
Your portfolio is the whole year. What you send me is a selection from it. You have already done the work: a full year of it and Florida law asks you to keep that portfolio for two years in case the district ever wants to see it. From all of that, I just need enough to show the year clearly.
These are the amounts I ask for: a guide, not a threshold. If you have more you would like me to see, send it. If one subject has fewer pieces, send what you have and tell me about it: that helps me see the year accurately.
Most of this already exists. Use workbooks? Flip through and photograph pages with your phone. Curriculum online? Log in and screenshot the work. Nothing needs to be printed or scanned, and you can save your progress and come back: it does not have to be done in one sitting.
Reading & writing
5–10A mix of both, in whatever balance your year had.
- Written responses to books or passages
- Essays, stories, or creative writing
- Book reports or reading logs
- Comprehension, phonics, or sight-word work
- Handwriting or name-writing practice
K–2: a page or a few sentences is enough. 3–8: mix short work with one longer piece. 9–12: include an essay or report if possible.
Math
5–10Anything that shows the thinking: even the messy pages.
- Completed worksheets or workbook pages
- Tests or quizzes, scored or unscored
- Screenshots from an online math program
- Written math projects or applied work
Science
3–5Anything that shows science happening.
- Experiments or lab write-ups
- Projects, posters, or reports
- Worksheets or workbook pages
- Labeled diagrams or drawings
K–2: a labeled drawing or a worksheet about animals, weather, or seasons is exactly right.
Social studies
3–5History, geography, culture, or civics.
- Projects, essays, or reports
- Timelines or maps
- Worksheets or workbook pages
K–2: a coloring or labeling page about community helpers, holidays, family, or maps is exactly right.
Photos of your child working are a great addition. An experiment in progress, a project being built, a field trip: add these under Educational Experiences, where they help show the year as a whole. The work samples themselves should show the work: the page, the writing, the problems, the diagram.
Everything else you'll send
A reading listTitles your child read this year. A typed list, a handwritten one, a photo of the shelf, or typed straight into the form. Picture books, chapter books, audiobooks and graphic novels all count: five or six titles is fine for younger students.
An activity logA record of what subjects you covered, kept as you go through the year, naming the reading materials used. A typed month-by-month note, a planner, a calendar, a curriculum tracker, or platform screenshots all work. Weekly or monthly entries are plenty: daily logs are not required.
The curriculum you usedProgram or brand names for reading and language arts, math, science, and social studies. A name is all that's needed.
Three questions for your childAnswered in writing, two or three sentences each, and I respond to every one. Younger students can dictate to a parent; non-verbal students may answer through pictures, drawings, or parent-described responses.
A short parent reflectionWhere you noticed the most growth, how you've grown as a learner, and anything else you'd like me to know about the year.
Optional extrasElective samples such as art, music, PE, foreign language or technology; a report card, transcript or progress report; and educational experiences like field trips, co-ops, clubs, or lessons.
There is no pass or fail. A portfolio evaluation is not a test and there is no minimum standard your child has to clear. I am certifying that learning happened at a level consistent with your child's own ability, not measuring them against anyone else.
What I look for
I am looking for your child’s year: what they worked on, where they stretched, what they can do now that took effort earlier. The standard in the statute is progress “at a level commensurate with her or his ability”: measured against your own child, not against a grade-level benchmark or anyone else’s curriculum.
Most families have more than enough to show that. The usual question is not whether the work counts, but what to send and that part I can help with. If you are unsure about something, send it and I will tell you.
How the student discussion works
Florida law requires the evaluation happen “upon review of the portfolio and discussion with the student.”
At ClearPath, that discussion happens in writing through the submission form. Your child answers three short questions, and I read and respond to each answer as part of the evaluation. Younger students can dictate their answers to a parent, and non-verbal students may respond through pictures, drawings, or parent-described responses.
Because it is in writing, you keep a complete record of what your child was asked, what they said, and what I wrote back: alongside everything else you submitted.
What counts as an acceptable work sample?
Almost anything your child produced during the year counts. Photos, PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, and JPG or PNG images are all accepted. Photograph workbook pages, scan printed work, screenshot online programs, or upload digital files directly.
| Subject | What counts |
|---|---|
| Reading & writing | Essays, book reports, reading responses, creative writing, comprehension worksheets, journal pages, dictated stories |
| Math | Worksheets, workbook pages, tests, online program screenshots, written math projects |
| Science | Lab write-ups, science journal pages, worksheets, labeled diagrams, nature study notes |
| Social studies | Timeline projects, map work, written reports, workbook pages, documentary response notes |
| Electives | Photos of artwork, completed projects, practice logs, recital programs |
Portfolio evaluation or standardized testing, which should you choose?
Under FS 1002.41 you have both options. Note that a standardized test only satisfies the requirement if it is administered by a certified teacher: parent-administered testing does not qualify for home education families.
| Portfolio evaluation | Live teacher-proctored test | |
|---|---|---|
| Requires testing | No | Yes |
| Minimum score | None | None |
| Shows grade-level data | No | Yes |
| Good for anxious test-takers | Yes | Less so |
| Appointment needed | No | Yes: a scheduled session |
| Satisfies FES-UA annual evaluation | Yes | Yes |
| Letter turnaround | 1–3 business days | 1–3 business days |
| Price | $65 | From $150 |
Four things that make this easier
Save as you go
One item per month per subject is plenty, and a folder on your phone makes it painless. Work samples can be gathered whenever you like: if they are sitting in workbooks, they are already saved. The log is the one piece the statute asks you to keep as you go, so start it now even if you are starting late.
It does not have to look impressive
A photographed workbook page showing your child worked through the material is exactly as valid as a polished project. I am looking for evidence of learning, not presentation.
The activity log can be simple
Weekly or monthly summaries are fine. The log shows that school happened across the year, not that you tracked every hour.
Keep your own copies
Florida asks you to preserve your portfolio for two years. That means the whole year’s work, not just the selection you send me: keep it somewhere you could find it if the district ever asked.
Wondering how your child is doing before the year is over? Progress monitoring gives you three Star assessments across the year so you can adjust while there is still time.
Ready to submit your portfolio?
Fully online. No appointment, no meeting, no phone call. Your signed evaluation letter arrives within 1–3 business days, and a live results review is included if you want to go through it together.
Start your portfolio evaluation →Questions first? Call (407) 728-5499 or email [email protected]