What Does Learning Look Like Without Tests?

By Kelly Hutton

How Do We Measure Progress in Home Education?

Home education is specifically not meant to look like school and therefore tracking your child's progress doesn't need to look like a school report or producing test results. The beauty of Home Education is that it allows you to document learning in ways that reflect your whole child, not just scores on a page. The challenge is doing this in a way that feels manageable and meaningful.

Let's Start With Where They Are: The "Before" Picture

Let's think of assessment much like a story; we have to begin at the beginning and this means capturing what your child can already do. This might simply look like:

• A journal with a list of their current skills

• A video or voice recording of them explaining a concept

• Photographs of creations (models, drawings or projects)

• Anecdotal notes during play, reading aloud or conversation

These form your "baseline assessments" but are not rigid in a school sense; they simply capture an observation of who your child is today.

Educational psychologist Kubiszyn & Borich (2024) say it well:

“Instead of relying on a ‘snapshot’ or photograph of student achievement for important decision making, we recommend that test results should be part of a broader ‘video’ or assessment process.”

What Does Progress Look Like?

Home Education allows for the whole child to grow, and therefore progress might not always be linear, and that is OK. Your child may leap forward in one particular skill set, while plateauing in another, so progress may feel difficult to see, but it might look like:

• Longer attention to tasks

• Increased vocabulary in conversation

• Greater persistence at tricky challenges

• Asking more complex or curious questions

• More sophisticated drawings or stories

• Playing out deeper ideas in pretend play.

Progress is growth and growth doesn't always fit neatly into tick boxes.

Research supports this broader view. Raikes (2017) reminds us that child development is holistic, involving emotional, social, physical and cognitive growth which unfolds as a continuum. That is why a snapshot will miss the bigger picture.

Tools to Record Naturally

There are tools and techniques which can support the 'video' style of capturing progress:

• Learning Journeys: Capture daily/weekly log of activities, quotes or questions which your child asks. Invite your child to contribute with drawings, writing or even stickers.

• Project Portfolios: Save photos, scanned work or reflections from you and your child. Free digital tools such as Google Drive or printed scrapbooks can capture this.

• Checkpoints and Reflections: Revisit early work or goals and compare. Use reflective practice every couple of months to visit and see what has changed. Involve your child in this process.

• Video and Audio: Record them explaining how something works, capture storytelling, role-play, music or oral narrations.

• Feedback Conversations: Use open-ended questions for reflection prompts - "What was hard?" "What are you proud of?" This encourages metacognition, which gets them thinking about their thinking (McTighe & O'Connor, 2005)

Observe with Purpose

Aim to notice, capture and respond and avoid testing. The observations you make, in real-life contexts, are more powerful than formal assessments. You are building a mosaic of who your child is becoming, not just measuring what they have memorised.

A personalised Path

Your child's progress is unique to them and in Home Education, you have the gift of following their rhythms and celebrating their growth in ways that really matter.

Always keep in mind:

• Progress is more than academic - it includes curiosity, wellbeing and resilience.

• Your observations and relationships are powerful assessment tools.

• You do not need to replicate a school system to be valid.

Most importantly - trust what you see.

Want to Dive Deeper?

On Wednesday 13th August at 8.00 pm I will be hosting a free online workshop:

Learning Without Tests: How to Track Progress Naturally

Together we will explore:

• Building your confidence in your observations and evidence gathering

• Creating a flexible "learning log" system that suits your family

• Spot and celebrate the subtle signs of growth across key areas of development - including exploring what these areas of development look like.

• Using documentation to communicate progress with others (including the Inclusion Officers at the Local Authority)

• Developing a rhythm of reflection with your child that encourages ownership of their learning.

This will be a warm, practical space which is perfect if you are new to home education or just want to shift away from school-style assessments. You will come away with simple tools, fresh perspectives and the reassurance that you are already doing more than you think.

Reserve your space here: https://fb.me/e/aODzb74uV

Or follow along via @Nurturedtogether on Facebook or @NurturedtogetherUK on Instagram for more event updates.

References:

• McTighe, J., & O’Connor, K. (2005). Seven Practices for Effective Learning. ASCD.

• Kubiszyn, T., & Borich, G. D. (2024). Educational Testing and Measurement: Classroom Application and Practice.

• Raikes, A. (2017). Measuring Child Development and Learning. European Journal of Education.