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Are you considering homeschooling your children? Are you wondering how homeschool students can take fair, accurate exams?

Deciding to give your children a complete education through homeschool is one you can be proud of. You can personalise their schedule and teach them about the things they really care about.

Yet how does the curriculum work, and how will your children be evaluated?

Here’s what you need to know.

Why Homeschool?

Many parents prefer homeschooling for a number of reasons. First of all, children are able to learn at their own pace and make quicker progress. 

So, if your child needs more help with their math assignment, you can request more information from the Euka teaching team before they become more confused. Or if your child takes an interest in history and wants to learn more, you can request a higher level or additional units so they can spend more time where their interests lie.

There are studies that suggest that homeschooled students are more active in community life. They may also be more independent, as they have learned to solve problems without needing the approval of their peers.

With Euka, school work can be completed at the child’s pace, without the drain of the afternoon homework. There is also some research that suggests that homeschooled children may be happier and have a higher self-esteem.

You may also have special needs as a family that homeschooling can help accommodate. For example, you may be dealing with illnesses or have a hectic sports schedule. 

In these cases, homeschooling can give you the freedom needed to manage challenging schedules. You will bond with your children in a warm, supportive environment. And kids will get the skills they need to get started on a happy personal and professional path.

What Is The Curriculum Like For Homeschooled Students?

Many parents choose an existing curriculum for homeschool that they can carefully guide their children through. Euka provides all lesson plans, activity sheets, assessments, and suggestions for activities that will enrich learning throughout the day.

All kids also have different learning styles, such as visual learning, auditory learning, and kinesthetic learning. Euka ensures that lessons provide options based on the type of student your child is.

Most importantly you can be assured that your child is covering all that is covered at mainstream school. This means that not only do they have the ability to learn all that school students do, they have the advantage of being able to work at their own pace and excel in areas of interest.

How Do Homeschooled Students Take Exams?

Tests show what a child remembers but not necessarily what they understand. At Euka we use work samples for assessment. This is done to ensure that the child is able to fully understand and use new concepts in relevant ways, rather than just remember them for a test.

The work samples are placed throughout the Term and are just part of the weekly activities. These work sample lessons come with Parent assessment checklists that enable you to mark off the curriculum objectives that your child has been able to cover. If you are working on a work sample and you find your child does not fully grasp a concept, simply stop and go over the concept again.

The whole point is to allow them to understand all new concepts and to slow down when needed to enable each concept to be grasped. In this case, a test is not needed as you already know that they know. In a school setting, the teacher cannot take the amount of time necessary to work one on one.

In this context, there is no alternative to a test. The Work Samples are kept in a separate folder and together form a portfolio of wonderful work that shows full coverage of the curriculum. Not only are these folders invaluable for registration and reporting, but they also become a keepsake of many of the years’ most enjoyable activities and accomplishments. 

Some parents may choose to have their children sit for NAPLAN exams at local schools, but it isn’t required. Euka provides NAPLAN support for families that are keen to do it. The freedom of a homeschool curriculum also allows students to present projects or have other creative ways of expressing their learning.

Who Is Homeschooling In Australia?

Australia has recently seen a big uptick in the number of parents who are homeschooling. The recent worldwide health crisis means that more parents are teaching at home for safety reasons. But those aren’t the only reasons individuals are opting to homeschool. 

Many parents are now looking for a better way. They see school as outdated and find the after-school hours filled with irrelevant homework and assignments.

Some students are being bullied at school and parents homeschool so they can have a better learning environment. In other cases, they may not want their children exposed to destructive peer pressure.

Still, some students may be advanced or have special needs. Parents choose to homeschool to make sure their children have a more individualised education.

Other parents choose to homeschool for religious reasons. They may want their own system of values and morality to become a part of the curriculum.

Some parents believe that it’s important for children to get enough sleep and want a schedule that is more conducive to their child’s sleeping patterns. Or maybe they have moved a lot and want the school environment to remain consistent.

While socialisation is often cited as a concern, homeschool students often have many opportunities to socialise with their peers at sports activities, Homeschool co-ops, music ensembles, or church groups. They can make friends and have a healthy delineation between their social and academic lives. 

If you’re one of the many parents considering homeschooling, you’ll want to know that it can benefit your child greatly.

Moving On

Homeschooled students have the best of both worlds in many ways. They can enjoy the closeness of a family learning setting while still having plenty of flexibility. And their assessment can be a relevant and useful part of a creative curriculum.

For more information on quality Australian homeschool curriculums, contact us today.