Homeschool Record Keeping in Pennsylvania

Required hours

900 hrs/year, 990 in grades 7-12

School days (either/or)

180 days/year

Required subjects

11 subjects

Notice

Required each year

Testing / evaluation

Professional evaluation

Portfolio

Required

Jump to the full Pennsylvania requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

What to keep in Pennsylvania

Good records are your best protection if anyone ever questions your homeschool. In Pennsylvania, keep an organized set: a running log of what you teach and when, samples of your child's work, and any assessment or filing documents the state asks for. Depending on the rules you'll keep some at home and file others, so keep everything organized and dated.

Attendance and hours

Pennsylvania accepts either measure: 900 hours of instruction, or 180 school days. Meeting one satisfies the requirement, so pick the one you will actually track and stay with it.

Portfolio and work samples

Under 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e), families keep a contemporaneous log of reading materials by title plus samples of the student's writings, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials. Standardized tests in math and reading/language arts are included in the portfolio in grades 3, 5, and 8.

The reading list

Pennsylvania asks for the reading materials your child used, listed by title, as part of the portfolio. Two details trip families up. The first is that the list is meant to be kept as you go rather than reconstructed from memory in June — the statute uses the word contemporaneously. The second is that it's the title that matters; authors, page counts, and alphabetized lists are not required, so a plain running list is enough. Log books the week you start them and the requirement takes care of itself.

Assessment and evaluation records

Pennsylvania requires a written annual evaluation by a qualified evaluator — a licensed psychologist, certified teacher, or nonpublic school teacher with recent experience — based on a student interview and portfolio review. The evaluator also certifies that an appropriate education is occurring, and the certification is filed with the superintendent by June 30.

Filing documents and deadlines

Pennsylvania has filing dates worth putting on your calendar: Affidavit (August 1); Annual evaluation (June 30). Keep a dated copy of everything you file and note when you sent it.

How to organize your records

Keep one folder per child per school year: a running activity log, a stack of work samples, any test or evaluation results, and copies of anything you filed. Homeschool Fox does this automatically, logging hours by subject from your phone, tagging core versus non-core, and generating the Pennsylvania reports and year-end summaries you may need.

Common mistakes in Pennsylvania

• Logging hours without the reading list

  Pennsylvania asks for a contemporaneous log of reading materials by title alongside work samples. Reconstructing a year of book titles from memory in June is the single most common portfolio scramble in the state, and it is entirely avoidable by noting titles as you finish them.

• Coming home from a field trip with nothing for the portfolio

  Pennsylvania's portfolio is a contemporaneous log plus samples: reading materials by title, writings, worksheets and creative work. A museum day counts toward your hours the moment you log it, but it leaves your evaluator nothing to look at unless something comes back with you. Decide what that is before you go, whether it is the trail guide, a page the student wrote that evening, or the exhibit book you then log by title.

From one lesson to a record you can use

Log what your student studied, add the time, and attach a work sample. Those entries form the record you can review or export.

See how your records come together

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

Free Pennsylvania printables

Three ready-to-use PDFs for Pennsylvania homeschoolers. No account needed.

Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Pennsylvania

The records Pennsylvania asks you to keep, plus the rest of your year, in one place. No spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 900-hour goal
• Required subjects
• Days attended
• Portfolio records
• Professional evaluation
• Daily activity logs
• Printable PDF reports
• Progress tracking

More Pennsylvania guides

• Pennsylvania Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Pennsylvania A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Pennsylvania Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• How to Withdraw From School in Pennsylvania The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Pennsylvania What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Pennsylvania Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Homeschool Hours Required in Pennsylvania The number, what counts toward it, and the pace to hit it.
• Required Subjects in Pennsylvania The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Pennsylvania Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Pennsylvania Year End Report What goes in it, when it's due, and who reviews it.
• Pennsylvania Homeschool Portfolio What belongs in it, who can ask to see it, and a printable checklist.
• Homeschool Testing in Pennsylvania What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.
• Homeschool Field Trips in Philadelphia Places to go, how long a visit takes, and what it counts toward.