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What Homeschool Records Do I Need to Keep in Pennsylvania?

If you are wondering what homeschool records you need to keep in Pennsylvania, state law boils down to four things: an attendance log, subjects and objectives, student work samples, and standardized test results in certain grades. That sounds clinical, but the part nobody explains is what "good enough" actually looks like. After eight years of homeschooling in PA while running a company, I have learned that a simple system beats a perfect spreadsheet. Here is exactly what to keep, how to organize it month by month, and what your evaluator really wants to see.

The four Pennsylvania homeschool records required by law

Pennsylvania's Act 169 sets the baseline. You file an affidavit and proposed objectives before you begin, then maintain four records throughout the year. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the statute is specific, but the execution is up to you. Unlike Texas, which requires nothing, PA is one of the higher-regulation states — so knowing the four records cold is the difference between a calm June and a frantic one.

Record 1: The attendance log

Pennsylvania requires 180 days of instruction per year. You do not need a traditional school calendar. Field trips, co-op days, and educational travel count if you log them. I keep a simple spiral notebook with one page per child. Each day gets a checkmark and a one-line note like "math unit 4 + zoo mammals." That single page satisfies the law and takes thirty seconds.

Record 2: Subjects and objectives

You must teach English, math, science, social studies, art and music, and physical education. The law asks for "a brief outline" of your objectives. I write mine as bullet-point goals for the semester: "Finish 4th-grade math text," "Read eight novels," "Complete nature journal." You do not need state-standard language. You need proof you thought about the year.

Record 3: Student work samples

This is the record that usually panics parents. You do not need to keep every worksheet. You need a representative sample from each subject. For a third grader, that might be one strong math test, a paragraph about the Revolutionary War, a photo of a science experiment, and a sketch from music appreciation. I toss these into a labeled folder each Friday. By June, the folder is the portfolio.

Record 4: Standardized testing

In third, fifth, and eighth grades, you must administer a nationally normed standardized test. The results go in the portfolio. You do not need to hit a specific percentile. You just need to show the child was tested and the scores are documented. The Education Law Center notes that this requirement applies to all PA homeschool students in those grades.

What does the PA homeschool affidavit include?

Before your first year, you file a notarized affidavit with your district superintendent. It names the parent-teacher, confirms a high school diploma or equivalent, and states that you will provide the required subjects. The affidavit is not a daily record, but it is the legal foundation for everything else. I keep a scanned copy with my objectives so I am not hunting for it in June.

How I organize records month by month (without a filing cabinet)

I use what I call the "Friday Folder." On the last Friday of every month, I spend ten minutes doing three things:

1. Log attendance days in the notebook.
2. Pull one or two work samples per subject from the week.
3. Snap photos of anything bulky and save them to a cloud folder named "PA Portfolio 2026."

By the end of the year, I have a slim binder of physical samples and a digital backup. The evaluator never sees chaos; she sees a parent who stayed on top of it.

This table is my June sanity check. If every row has an entry, the portfolio is ready.

What happens at the Pennsylvania homeschool evaluation?

By June 30, you must have your portfolio reviewed by a qualified evaluator — a PA certified teacher, licensed psychologist, or non-public school teacher with two years of experience. The evaluator signs a letter stating that "an appropriate education is occurring."

They are not looking for Pinterest perfection. They are looking for evidence that instruction happened. When my evaluator opens my Friday Folder, she sees dated work, clear attendance, and a page of objectives. Our meetings last about twenty minutes. If you have the four records, the conversation is easy.

How long should you keep Pennsylvania homeschool records?

Keep the current year's records until your evaluation is complete and the superintendent acknowledges it. For high school, keep everything. Colleges and the military may request complete transcripts, course descriptions, and sample work years later. I store old portfolios in a plastic bin in the attic. It is not fancy, but it is fire-safe and labeled.

Once your teenager is applying to nursing school, you cannot recreate a transcript from memory. If you saved your course list and grades, you can make a homeschool transcript in about twenty minutes. Start in ninth grade, and let a simple homeschool gradebook hold the grades so you are not carrying them in your head.

The biggest record-keeping mistakes I see in PA

• Saving every worksheet. Panic-hoarding creates overwhelm and buries the good samples. Less is more.
• Writing objectives in edu-jargon. "Utilize differentiated literacy strategies" is not required. Use your own words.
• Waiting until Memorial Day to start. May is too late to build a year of evidence. The Friday Folder prevents that.

If you are worried you are not doing enough

Most PA moms I know do not fear the law itself. They fear the quiet question: "Is my kid behind?" If your stomach drops every spring, you are not alone. Mapping the whole year instead of just this week helps more than any single record — our curriculum planner walks you through the big picture without the overwhelm.

And if you want to see exactly where your child stands in core subjects before the evaluator ever opens the portfolio, you can do a quick behind check inside ClassGenie — it takes a few minutes and it is free. Start a free ClassGenie account and run it. This is part of why I built ClassGenie — but the Friday Folder system works with or without it.

Frequently asked questions

Pennsylvania asks more of homeschool families than most states, but the four records are manageable when you collect them a little at a time. Records are not about impressing an evaluator. They are about making sure that on the day someone does ask — an evaluator, an admissions office, or your own tired brain at 2 a.m. — the answer is already sitting in a folder.

Filing in a different state? Our companion guides cover what records to keep in Texas and California record keeping requirements.

— Laura, founder