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Currently, the state requires testing
for grades 3, 5, 8 and 10.
A beginning homeschool student doesn't need to test until
these grades. (If your child is playing in an OSAA sport at school you will need to test each year.) However,
you are welcome to test at any grade level.
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Testing Sign Up Form
Homeschool Testing
Last Monday of April (language arts)
First Monday of May (math)
from 9 am -12:30 pm at the Baptist Church on
Nehalem in Clatskanie.
Test: California
Achievement Test (CAT). These tests have been used for decades. If public school parents are interested in testing
their children, they are welcome as well.
Testers: Mike and Linda
Leamy (If you have questions about your child's special testing needs, contact the Leamy's at (503) 325-6432 or email Mike.
Location: Clatskanie Baptist
Church - 415 S. Nehalem, Clatskanie. From Hwy 30 turn south onto Nehalem. The church is about 5 blocks up
on the left. Arrive at least 10 minutes early for check in before testing.
Here's what you need to bring!
- Testing fee for each student ($35 check to Mike Leamy)
- $2 cash / to cover the cost of notification and building use
- 2 sharp pencils
- Scratch paper
- Snacks
Testing Tips: Homeschool
testing is a fun time for kids to gather together and show what they know. Please prepare your child by assuring
them that they know all they need to know and will do fine. Your kids will do just fine! Mike
and Linda are gentle and enjoyable. They have been testing Clatskanie homeschoolers for many years and have a real love
and concern for our children. They want them to do well. The test results are private. No one else will
see them.
Please note: Parents are
welcome to stay. The moms have a great time chatting while the kids test. Be sure and bring a snack to share
and a snack for your testing children. Please also bring entertainment to keep small children busy and quiet.
No red juice. The church playgrounds are too close to the testing rooms, so children will
not be allowed to play outside.
Registration: Send
your child's name, age, year in school and what month of the school year they will be completing at test time (1-9 months).
I also need the parents names and your address and phone number for mailing results. You must pre-register
one week prior to testing. Arrive 10 minutes early to check in before testing.
Payment: Make checks payable
to Mike Leamy. Mail to Marti Gwin, 47177 River Ranch Lane, Clatskanie OR 97016
Deadline for Registration: Third Monday in
April (That gives Marti and the Leamy's time to organize tests.)
Questions: Contact Marti
Gwin 503-455-0114
A note from Amy Grant, OHEN Legislative Liaison regarding
compulsory testing and registration laws:
August 13, 2004
'The unconstitutionality of the homeschooler registration and testing
rests on the balancing of states rights vs. fundamental liberties of parents. The Constitution is based on the idea
that U.S. citizens have rights, and that these rights can be limited or infringed upon by the government only within limits.
The U.S. Supreme Court has identified the right of privacy to be a fundamental right. Parents' rights to
raise and educate their children as they deem appropriate is part of this fundamental right of privacy. (One of the
key cases in this area arose in Oregon when the Ku Klux Klan succeeded in persuading the state legislature to outlaw private
parochial schools in the 1920s.)
When a state has a compelling interest that conflicts with a fundamental right, the state must find a way to meet
its compelling interest in the manner that is least restrictive to the fundamental right.
Oregon asserts that it has a compelling state interest in the welfare and education of the children in Oregon.
(Many will argue this, but the legislature seems quite convinced that this state interest is a legitimate one.) Therefore,
any steps that the state takes to protect its interest that infringe on parents' freedom to educate their children must be
crafted to be the least restrictive means possible.
Oregon does not require children enrolled in private schools to
notify their ESD or to take standardized tests. Therefore, the state has demonstrated that it can address its compelling
state interest without registration or testing of children.
By requiring registration and testing of homeschoolers
but not children in other forms of private education, Oregon is violating the Due Process Clause of
the 14th Amendment
which requires equal protection under the law.
You can read more about the constitutional arguments on the major national
homeschool websites (Home Education Magazine, NHEN, HSLDA). For a more detailed review, do a Google search on "home
education" and any of the major cases:
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1925
"The fundamental theory of liberty upon
which all governments in this Union repose excluded any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing
them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him
and direct his destiny have the right and the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations."
Wisconsin
v. Yoder (1972)
"The history and culture of Western civilization reflect a strong tradition of parental concern for the
nurture and upbringing of their children. This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established
beyond debate as an enduring American tradition."
Troxel v. Granville (2000)
"In light of this extensive precedent, it cannot now be doubted that the Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody,
and control of their children."
Amy Grant
Legislative Liaison
Oregon Home Education Network
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