If you suspect your homeschool child has a special learning need, you can request a FREE comprehensive evaluation through your local public school. The guaranteed free testing falls under the Federal law – IDEA – that governs special education services in public schools. While homeschool families will most likely not be able to obtain special education services, if their child is found to have a disability, they at least can obtain a copy of all the test reports.

Families who do not wish to access free testing through their public school can opt for private testing within their community. A full comprehensive evaluation conducted by a team of trained psychologists and educational diagnosticians can costs up to $4,000.

The cost of private testing can be out of reach for many families. Luckily, there are some free and low-cost community-based resource options available.

1. A number of universities host on-campus clinics, which train graduate students and PhD candidates in conducting different types of testing. While the evaluator may be a graduate student, they work under the supervision of a more experienced, licensed professional. College clinics charge a fee for their testing, usually in the range of $500 (or less). The type of test report you receive will vary, but will unlikely be long.
2. Research hospitals often recruit children to participate in studies. Each study will have a unique focus, but generally includes a series of psycho-educational tests. Sometimes the studies will also include an MRI of each child’s brain. Research studies will pay the family for the child to participate. Parents usually receive a copy of test results, but no written report that explains the findings. Parents may share those results with a 3rd party evaluator for help in understanding their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Such consults usually cost less than $500.