Why thoughtful reflection is beneficial when assessments are optional
Under New Hampshire’s home education law (RSA 193-A), families have been required to complete some form of evaluation each year. That requirement is expected to change when HB 1268 passes this summer, so families will find themselves with something new: a choice. And when something is no longer required, it’s worth asking whether it still has value.
For many families, the answer is yes—not because of the form an evaluation takes, but because of what it offers. A required evaluation has, until now, created a natural pause at the end of the year. Without that requirement, it becomes easier to move straight from one year into the next without ever stepping back to look at the whole.
That pause has value. It doesn’t have to be formal, and it doesn’t have to involve a test, a written report, or submission to anyone outside the family. GSHE is not recommending that families complete formal evaluations or provide documentation to any outside authority. But taking time—intentionally—to look back can provide clarity that is difficult to find in the middle of a busy year.
Part of that clarity comes from simply noticing what actually happened. Over the course of a year, it’s easy for small shifts to add up. Plans change, routines evolve, and what you are doing in practice may no longer reflect what you originally intended. Without a deliberate moment to reflect, that drift often goes unnoticed. A thoughtful look back helps reconnect your daily choices with your current priorities, whatever those may be.
It also allows you to recognize growth that isn’t easily measured. Not all progress shows up on paper, and not all of it can be reduced to a number or a completed lesson. Children grow in emotional maturity, self-control, empathy, and confidence. They deepen in their faith, strengthen relationships, and develop a clearer sense of themselves and the world around them. They gain independence, practical life skills, and physical capability. These changes often happen gradually, and without stepping back, they can be easy to overlook. Reflection makes that growth visible.
There are also practical reasons some families choose to keep informal notes or summaries from year to year. Over time, those records can be useful for building a transcript, documenting learning for future opportunities, or providing information for enrollment in classes or programs. It is far easier to build that kind of record gradually than to reconstruct it later.
At the same time, those notes often become something more personal—a record of a child’s development and a family’s shared experiences. In that sense, reflection can serve as an extension of a memory book, capturing not just what was learned, but what this season of life looked like.
Some families do choose to use more structured tools as part of this process, and there can be good reasons for that. A formal assessment can help with placement decisions, confirm understanding in a particular subject, or provide documentation for opportunities such as advanced classes, community college or dual enrollment, or future post-secondary plans.
Those tools can be useful when they serve a purpose the family has chosen. But they are not the point. Whether a family uses a formal tool or simply takes time to reflect, the value lies in stepping back and seeing the year more clearly.
That reflection does not need to be complicated. It can be as simple as considering a few questions: what went well, what was more difficult than expected, and what progress became visible over time. It can include thinking about what you originally hoped to accomplish and whether your day-to-day choices supported those priorities, or whether your direction shifted along the way. It also makes sense to revisit those goals themselves, since they often change as children grow and as family needs evolve. A plan that made sense a year ago may not fit your child—or your family—today, and recognizing that is part of paying attention, not falling behind.
Including your child in that reflection can add another layer of understanding. A simple conversation about what they enjoyed, what felt frustrating, what they are proud of, and what they might like to try next can reveal insights that aren’t always visible from the outside. This doesn’t shift responsibility away from the parent, but it does provide a fuller picture of how the year was experienced.
It can also be helpful to notice how learning felt at different points during the year. When did it seem natural or engaging, and when did it feel like a struggle? The purpose here isn’t to analyze or fix anything in the moment, but simply to understand the year more clearly as a whole.
Reflection like this doesn’t produce a perfect plan for what comes next, and it doesn’t need to. What it offers instead is clarity. It helps you see what mattered, what changed, and how your child has grown—academically and beyond. It keeps you grounded in your goals while allowing those goals to evolve as needed.
When a requirement goes away, it can be tempting to set it aside completely. But the opportunity it created—the chance to pause and take an honest look at the year—is still there. Whether you use a structured tool or simply take the time to think it through, that kind of reflection can help you move forward with a clearer sense of direction and a deeper understanding of your child and your family.
