Testing & Evaluation FAQs—Before Ordering

Who Can Order?

Who is considered a homeschooled child?

To be “homeschooled,” the majority of the student’s education must be privately funded and provided at home rather than in a classroom setting. Students whose education is home-based but provided by a publicly funded school would not be considered “homeschooled” for purposes of these tests.

What proof of homeschooling is required to place my order?

Sign the statement on the order form affirming that all students being tested are homeschooled. If ordering online, this statement will become available after you submit your online order. This signature is legally binding and is subject to verification.

May a conventional private school order tests from you?

Yes, the publishers authorize us to provide tests to private schools under certain guidelines:

Every tester must meet the tester qualifications and be preapproved by us.
For The Iowa Tests, the school's total K5-Grade 12 student enrollment cannot exceed 100.*
For the Stanford tests, overseas private schools are limited to a K5-Grade 12 maximum enrollment of 500*; there is no enrollment limit on private schools within the United States.

* Please contact us for possible exceptions.

How may I find my state requirements?

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) lists federal and state requirements relating to homeschooling and testing. See HSLDA for more information specific to your state.

What Should I Order?

What grade level test should I order?

Generally, the test level should correspond to the current grade level of the student’s core subjects—reading, language, and math. If you do not know the student’s grade level in the core subjects, please see the next question about grade placement.

Do you have a placement test?

BJU Press sells the Grade-Level Determiner, a product that helps determine math and reading grade levels. Another helpful resource is the “Scope and Sequence,” also published by BJU Press. This resource lists the concepts taught at each grade level in the BJU Press curriculum; this information can guide you in your grade-placement decisions.

Do you offer practice materials?

Yes, we provide a variety of practice and test preparatory materials. Our test preparation materials can be found here, and our practice materials may be found here.

Do these tests have essay questions?

Because these tests are designed to be an objective measure of a student’s achievement, they are presented in a multiple-choice format. However, if you are interested in a professional evaluation of your student’s writing, consider our Writing Evaluations.

What grades (test levels) may be tested simultaneously?

ITBS^®/ITED^® Grouping Options for spring testing*

K5–grade 2 (Levels 5–8) must each be administered separately by grade.
Grades 3–8 (Levels 9–14) may be administered together.
Grades 9–12 (Levels 15–18) may be administered together.

Stanford Grouping Options for spring testing*

K5–grade 3 (SESAT2–Pri3) must each be administered separately by grade and may not be grouped.
Grades 4–6 (Int1–Int3) may be administered together with minor modifications.†
Grades 7–8 (Adv1–Adv2) may be administered together with minor modifications.†
Grades 9–12 (TASK1–TASK3) may be administered together.

*For fall testing, please refer to the test level rather than the grade level.
†Please note that the Listening subtest must be administered to each grade level separately.

May I administer more than one achievement test to a student?

It is unethical to test the same student within a short period of time (less than three months) with

Multiple levels of the same test
A test from each test publisher
The same test level

Whether intentional or not, the first administration essentially becomes a "practice test" for the subsequent administration, a practice that is unethical and forbidden by the test publishers. If you have an unusual situation that you believe warrants special consideration, or if you need further assistance in selecting the most appropriate test level, please feel free to contact us.

How often should I use the CogAT^® or OLSAT^®?

It is recommended that the CogAT or OLSAT be administered every 2 to 3 years. A learning abilities test may be particularly helpful in the elementary through middle school years, in combination with an achievement test.

What does it mean when tests are "embargoed?"

Sometimes a test publisher makes an agreement with a state department of education or a local school district granting them exclusive use of a particular form of the test for a limited period of time. In these cases, BJU Press Testing & Evaluation is prohibited from shipping that particular form of the test to the area covered by the agreement. In most cases, we can provide an alternate edition of the test. However, occasionally an embargo may be so broad that no other form of the test is available. In those situations, our customers may use the other publisher's test (Stanford in place of ITBS/ITED or ITBS/ITED in place of Stanford). Here is a list of current embargoed areas.

Should I use Stanford or The Iowa Tests?

Both are top-rated, nationally standardized tests, designed to accomplish the same purposes. Both provide thorough results reports. Although both tests are similar, there are some differences that may affect your decision. Whichever test you choose, there are advantages to using the same test from year to year.

Stanford 10 is administered untimed; ITBS/ITED is timed.
ITBS permits a wider grade range of students to be tested at the same time.
Stanford tests evaluate listening skills through grade 8, The Iowa Tests through grade 3.
Both tests require administrators to meet certain qualifying requirements (Stanford / The Iowa Tests).

When May I Order?

When should I order my test?

Test dates between early March and late June

Order at least 6 weeks prior to your test date to allow adequate processing and shipping time. Rush processing is available if needed (see order form for applicable fees).

Test dates between July and February

Orders generally ship within 7 business days.

The tester will have 50 days from receipt of the materials to administer the test and return all test materials. Once we receive your completed tests and required paperwork, results will generally be mailed to you within 6–8 weeks. (Occasional delays at the national scoring center are outside of our control.) Hand scoring, at an additional cost, can provide basic score information within approximately 2 weeks. (See flier included with the tests.)

Does it matter what time of year I test?

Testing is available year-round, although some states stipulate deadlines for testing or score reporting. Students' scores are compared to standardized scores for that time of year (based on when tests arrive in our office for scoring). This means that a student testing in the beginning (Fall) of 4th grade would be compared to other students who were also beginning 4th graders. The "Norms Period/Norms Week" on the results report will indicate the time of year used for calculating scores.