Guide

Putting together a year-end packet

At the end of the year someone may want to see it: an evaluator, a district, an umbrella school, or just you in five years. A year-end packet is a short, ordered summary with evidence attached.

In short

A year-end packet usually contains a cover page, an attendance summary (days and, if counted, hours), the subjects and materials used, a reading list, a learning log of outings and projects, and dated work samples for each main subject. Order it so a reader can see the whole year in a few minutes.

Who asks for one

Some states require an annual evaluation, a portfolio review, a test, or a report. The format and the deadline come from your state and the option you file under. Others require nothing; a packet is still the best record of the year.

Pennsylvania180 days · 900 hours
Either 180 days or 900 hours (990 at secondary level); document one or the other. Portfolio and evaluation each year.
Official page · checked Sep 4, 2026
New York180 days · 900 hours
900 hours in grades 1-6; 990 in grades 7-12. Quarterly reports and an annual assessment.
Official page · checked Sep 4, 2026

Figures as published by each state, with the date we last checked. Requirements change and depend on the option a family files under; confirm with the official page. See every state on State requirements. This is not legal advice.

The contents

Cover page: child, school year, dates covered.
Attendance: total days, hours if you count them, and a calendar view showing which days school happened.
Subjects and materials: what was taught and with what.
Hours by subject area, where hours matter.
Learning log: field trips, co-op classes, projects, with dates.
Books read.
Work samples: dated, a few per main subject, showing progress.
Test results or the evaluator's letter, if applicable.

Before you meet an evaluator

Ask what format they prefer and what they need to see. Bring work samples in date order, mark the ones that show growth, and be ready to talk about one or two subjects in more detail. Evaluators differ; a short conversation in advance avoids surprises.

How Homeschool Up assembles it

The year-end packet in Reports prints the attendance totals against the required number you set, an attendance calendar where filled days had a recorded lesson or logged learning and grey days are breaks, subjects and materials, hours by area, the learning log, books read and work samples. Print it or save it as a PDF.

Questions people ask

When should I start the packet?

On the first day of the year, by recording as you go. Assembling at the end then takes minutes rather than days.

Do I need an evaluator?

Only if your state or the option you chose requires one, or if you want an outside view. Your state's official page is the place to check.

Is this legal advice?

No. This guide describes common record-keeping practice. For what your state requires, read your state's official page; Homeschool Up's state requirements page links to it with the date we checked it.

A packet that assembles itself

Record the year as you teach it; the packet prints in June. 15-day free trial on every plan.

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