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Seeing as private school students do not have to take these tests in Massachusetts, it is beyond bizarre that this can happen. The parents should maybe connect with a private school and do the homestudy through them. Or, maybe a clever lawyer could get the parents defined as a private school.

I think there might be something in the home-school laws that gives the schools some rights to test the students and some obligations to let those students be involved in activities and maybe some courses. The testing goes both ways. There have been school systems that have been seriously embarrassed when home schooled students get the best grades on Iowas.

Are you sure that private schools in Massachusetts do not test regularly? My nephew attends a private school in Washington state and they test regularly, and not all of it is mandated by state officials, either.

The teachers and school officials use the tests as a way to measure whether their methods are succeeding or not; tests also indicate where individual students need help. Testing isn't evil.

In Washington all home-schooling parents are required to test regularly.