We are excited to offer Mid-Year and End-of Year Assessment Tests for kindergarten through twelfth grade to help parents further assess their children’s academic progress.

These Assessment Tests will help parents identify strengths and weakness per subject, and know if students are ready to pass to the next grade level. There are four subjects covered in the testing process including Spelling, Math, History/Social Studies, and Science.

Assessment test content covers what students should know at grade level and is aligned to Discovery K12’s curriculum with a Mid-Year Test covering Days 1 through 90, and an End-of-Year Test covering Days 1 through 180. All questions are multiple choice, and can be taken independently at your own time/pace.

Key benefits include:

• Know how your student is doing mid-year
• Know if your student is ready to pass to the next grade level
• Diagnose strengths and weaknesses
• Incorporate test results on your transcript
• No extra student or parent test prep-work is necessary
• Test results instantly available

The Assessment Tests are included in the Parent/Teacher Account, optional upgrade. Test results will automatically appear in the Parent/Teacher Account after test submission.

Learn more about our Assessment Tests.

We will be starting our 7th year in serving our free online curriculum for homeschoolers this fall. Our official start date will be September 3rd, 2019. Our school year calendar is now posted, and we have several, new things being launched for the next year!

Please review the following as you prepare to get ready.

Calendar Schedule
The 2019-2020 calendar is now available. We will officially start Day #1 on Tuesday, September 3, 2019. On that day, the Today’s Assignments page will display Day #1, and it will change to the next Day # according to the calendar schedule. You may also go by your own schedule/pace and start at anytime using the Daily Assignments page.

Homeschool Laws
Be sure to review your state’s homeschool laws for any procedures you may need to follow to homeschool in your state. If your state requires notification or forms to file, you will need to do so, according to your state policies.

Curriculum Additions
There are a few curriculum additions being added that will be available starting in September. These include math quizzes and test across all grade levels and Spanish 2 course. Learn more about the 2019-2020 Curriculum.

Platform Improvements
The much needed Course Personalization feature will be launching over the summer. This will be part of the Parent/Teacher Account (PTA) and will support students that need different grade levels for different subjects. We will be releasing more information on this in the coming weeks. We will be fine-tuning and adding some new features to all of the reports within the PTA, including editing permissions for quizzes & tests.

Updating Grade Levels
Please update the grade level for your student(s) for the next year. You can update the grade level inside Student Accounts under the Help menu. If you have a PTA, you will also need to update the grade level by clicking the “Edit Student” link under the My Students area. If you need assistance in changing the grade level in your PTA, please email SUPPORT@DISCOVERYK12.COM

Student ID Cards
We are now shipping photo student ID cards for the 2019-2020 school year. They are currently available for U.S. and Canada only – Order Here

Student Accounts – Free
If you do not have student accounts on our system, please sign up each child in their grade level on our home page. You should receive a confirmation email with login/password within a few minutes. If you don’t receive it, please contact SUPPORT@DISCOVERYK12.COM for assistance.

Parent/Teacher Account – Premium Upgrade
If you don’t already have a Parent/Teacher Account, you may upgrade at any time. It’s for a 12-month period from the date of purchase and your pricing is locked in for any renewal years – LEARN MORE

More announcements to come over the next few weeks.

Enjoy the summer!

Discovery K12 online homeschool adds 36-Weeks of STEM and Maker Activities as part of its new curriculum for the 2018-2019 school year.

Launching this fall, 36-Weeks of STEM & Maker Activities, will give students a weekly hands-on project to accommodate the entire school year. Each project instills STEM, creativity, critical thinking and exploration.

STEM career opportunities span every industry, and the #1 STEM occupation is a software developer, according to U.S. News & World Report. Example STEM jobs include might include a civil engineer, computer programmer, market research analyst, chemist, or environmental scientist.

The STEM acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. According to the National Science Foundation, the fields of chemistry, computer and information technology science, engineering, geosciences, and life sciences are what constitutes a career in the STEM field with the exception of medical.

“I’m excited to introduce our 36-Weeks of STEM & Maker Activities for homeschoolers to easily integrate these projects into their year,” says Sheri Wells, founder of Discovery K12.

The 36 Weeks of STEM & Maker Activities is part of Discovery K12’s new 2018-2019 curriculum which is officially set to start on September 4, 2018.

Each STEM & Maker activity includes instructions, supplies list, vocabulary terms, worksheets, resources, student research questions, and learning objectives. Supplies for each activity are affordable or typically normal household items.

Parents and teachers can learn more about the curriculum at: https://discoveryk12.com

Education and homeschool policies are made at the state level. When you homeschool, it’s important to follow any policies set by your state. If homeschoolers don’t follow their state’s policies, they can find themselves in legal trouble due to compulsory attendance laws.

Each state is different with some states having no requirements to homeschool and others wanting parents to submit forms, maintain certain records, and follow specific curriculum subjects.

How to Homeschool in Your State
For your convenience, Discovery K12 has links to each state’s policies and procedures for homeschooling: HOMESCHOOL POLICIES BY STATE

In addition, homeschoolers should save all student work as evidence of work being done. You may not know how important it will be, until someone asks to see the actual work. Third party annual testing, whether standardized or not, is also highly recommended for homeschoolers to do and maintain for their records. Documenting the education process along the way will be essential for students moving on to college.

To learn more about your state’s legal policies: HOMESCHOOL POLICIES BY STATE

Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes only, and is not intended to be legal advice. You should consult with your own legal counsel for any questions regarding the legalities of homeschooling.

Parents can sign up their kids for free at: DiscoveryK12.com