Iowa's homeschool evaluation: who can sign, what they review, and August 1
Iowa lists an outside evaluation of a homeschooled student's year as one of the options its law allows each year. The signer is a qualified, licensed Iowa practitioner selected by the parent as the evaluator and approved by the superintendent of the local district. The evaluator looks at the portfolio of the student's work, the lesson record, and any other assessments the family submits and produces a report with an assessment of the student's achievement or academic progress.
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Checked against Iowa Code §299A.4(7). Requirements on this page last reviewed October 12, 2026. The regulation text is always the source of truth.
Who may sign
The signer is a qualified, licensed Iowa practitioner selected by the parent as the evaluator and approved by the superintendent of the local district.
What the evaluator reviews, and what it produces
The evaluator looks at the portfolio of the student's work, the lesson record, and any other assessments the family submits. What comes out of that review is a report with an assessment of the student's achievement or academic progress (the evaluator's report).
When it is due
The the evaluator's report goes to the parent, the school district of residence, and the Department of Education by August 1.
Other ways to meet this requirement
Iowa's law also lists these ways to meet the yearly requirement, apart from an outside evaluation:
- a nationally recognized standardized achievement evaluation from the Department's approved list, by May 31
Worth knowing
- This applies to families on the competent private instruction track that reports; independent private instruction reports nothing.
- If the evaluator's opinion is that the student is making adequate progress, the report creates a presumption of adequate progress.
For families
The portfolio, the log, and the samples an evaluator asks to see are easiest to produce when they were kept as the year happened, not assembled the week before August 1. A photo of a finished project, a logged book, a math sample each month: each one is a thirty-second entry, and by the time the evaluator asks, the record already exists.
The record is free for families, forever: capture, the expense log, the portfolio, the verifiable transcript, verification, export. Generating filled-in artifacts, like an annual 529 expense file or an ESA quarterly report, is the one optional paid family service, part of Family Pro at $119 per year, and every document previews filled-in, free, first.
Find an evaluator in Iowa
No verified evaluators are listed for Iowa yet. If you evaluate here, list yourself.
For evaluators
If you are the person who signs this evaluation, Eformogi's free form for Iowa walks through what the regulation asks you to review and produces the evaluator's report in a format built from Iowa Code §299A.4(7). The form is free forever. No evaluator is ever paid by Eformogi for signing, and no evaluator's fee is ever shared with us.
Open the free Iowa evaluator form · List yourself, free, verified by hand
Frequently asked questions
Who can sign Iowa's homeschool evaluation?
The signer is a qualified, licensed Iowa practitioner selected by the parent as the evaluator and approved by the superintendent of the local district.
What does the evaluator review?
The evaluator looks at the portfolio of the student's work, the lesson record, and any other assessments the family submits and produces a report with an assessment of the student's achievement or academic progress.
When is the evaluator's report due?
The the evaluator's report goes to the parent, the school district of residence, and the Department of Education by August 1.
Are there other ways to meet this requirement in Iowa?
Iowa's law names other ways to meet the yearly requirement besides an outside evaluation: a nationally recognized standardized achievement evaluation from the Department's approved list, by May 31.
What else does the regulation say?
This applies to families on the competent private instruction track that reports; independent private instruction reports nothing. If the evaluator's opinion is that the student is making adequate progress, the report creates a presumption of adequate progress.
Read the primary text: Iowa Code §299A.4(7). See also: every state's evaluation rule · Iowa CPI paperwork · the record for homeschool families