My local school superintendent says he will not accept your California Achievement Test. Can you give me another test?

A:	We only administer the one test. We have no alternates. We use this version of the CAT for a variety of reasons. First, we feel it is a reasonable measure of a student's

ability to learn. It tests the two most important aspects of learning: Math and Language skills. Modern tests that include subjects like history or science are often testing whether a student has a politically correct view of those subjects. Second, our test was normed in 1970. It is our belief that subsequent standardized tests have been "adjusted" to mask the failure of the public school system. Why go to the effort to actually teach if you can get good test results by changing the test? Third, we actually own the rights to our tests and therefore can authorize you as parents to administer the test. In an effort to control all education, some districts try to forcibly inject themselves by requiring "professional educators" to be involved in the testing process. One would have to question why a nationally normed test that has been accepted for many years across the nation would not be acceptable to your local school superintendent? It may be that they have no real legal basis for such requirements. Check your state laws. In the early days, CLASS was at the forefront of such legal and ideological debate. Today we encourage families to join the Home School Legal Defense Association for help with local legal matters. It may be that your superintendent is philosophically opposed to religious or private education. We are again seeing attempts to control or discourage homeschooling in many states. Our hard-earned freedoms can be lost easily if parents do not have the will to stand on their convictions. We have heard of some families who avoid the confrontation by going to another source for testing that their local school district accepts. Everyone does not have the resources to fight unreasonable bureaucracies. As long as it does not imperil other families who home school or weaken the home school movement, we can understand such decisions.

How can I see your materials before I enroll for next year?

A:

As a not for profit ministry we do not have the resources to mail out (or even produce) samples of our materials. One good way is to visit us at your local state homeschooling convention. You can find a listing of where we will be and when on our web site at http://www.homeschools.org/conventions/in. Also keep in mind that sometimes we use different curriculum materials even within the same grade level. We have some alternatives available. If you find you are not satisfied with the materials for a course you may be able to make a change with a curriculum adjustment form. Seeing the material ahead of time, therefore is not usually necessary or conclusive.

I do not have my family or student ID number; can you look up our account using our Social Security number?

A:

One of the ways we protect your privacy is to require your account number. Believe it or not, it is not unusual for social workers, school officials, and nosey relatives to try to "get the goods" on Christians who home school. On the phone, we have no way to verify with whom we are speaking unless you have one of your ID numbers. We recommend that you guard these numbers and not give them to anyone unless they have a legitimate reason to have them such as a tutor/teacher, or non-custodial parent. We will make every effort to not give any information out unless we are convinced that we are talking to you. If CLASS does not have a signed, written statement giving another person access to your families information we will not interact with them. Consent forms are available on our web site at http://www.homeschools.org/support/password/formsAndSupportMaterials.html#consentForm