Pasco County families with students registered in the district's Home Education program can now review the 2026–2027 testing calendar. The schedule brings together registration deadlines, eligible grade levels, possible fees and testing windows for statewide assessments, the SAT, Advanced Placement exams and the Florida Alternate Assessment.
The first remaining deadline is November 6, 2026, when registration closes for Advanced Placement exams, commonly known as AP Exams. The other major registration periods will take place between January and February 2027.
The notice is a Pasco County Schools procedure for organizing homeschool student participation in assessments offered by the district. It is not a new state law, and it does not require every family to select one of these tests.
Who can participate
The calendar applies to Pasco County residents in grades 3 through 12 who are registered with the district as Home Education students. Eligibility varies by assessment, and testing takes place at the public school assigned to the student's home address.
Students in the Personalized Education Program, or PEP, should not assume they are automatically included in the district's Home Education procedure. PEP is a separate program: participants register through a Scholarship Funding Organization rather than as district Home Education students.
According to the Florida Department of Education, PEP students must complete an approved standardized test or statewide assessment each year and submit the results to the organization administering the scholarship. Families in PEP should follow the rules and deadlines established by their Scholarship Funding Organization.
AP Exams have the nearest deadline
Students in grades 9 through 12 who want to take AP Exams must register by Friday, November 6, 2026. Testing will take place from May 3 through May 14, 2027.
After registration is processed, the assigned testing school will contact the family regarding a nonrefundable fee. The district page does not list one standard price for the exams.
AP Exams measure mastery of specific course content and skills. The district calendar does not identify AP Exams as assessments intended to fulfill the annual educational evaluation requirement for Home Education.
SAT will be offered to 11th-grade students
The SAT will be available to students in grade 11. Registration closes February 5, 2027, and testing will occur within the March 1–31 window.
Depending on the student's academic situation, the exam may provide a concordant score for certain graduation requirements, including Grade 10 ELA or the Algebra 1 EOC. A nonrefundable fee may also apply and will be communicated by the school after registration is processed.
The PSAT/NMSQT is also listed for students in grades 9 through 12, but registration for the October 2026 administration closed September 18.
State assessments may fulfill the annual evaluation
Registration for BEST Writing, FAST, Statewide Science and End-of-Course Exams will be open from January 4 through February 12, 2027. These assessments are free and may be used to meet the annual educational evaluation requirement for a student registered in Home Education.
The published state testing windows are:
- BEST Writing: March 29 through April 9, 2027.
- FAST PM3 ELA: grades 3–10, May 3–28, 2027.
- FAST PM3 Mathematics: grades 3–8, May 3–28, 2027.
- Statewide Science: grades 5 and 8, May 3–28, 2027.
- EOC Exams: Algebra, Biology, Civics, Geometry and U.S. History, May 3–28, 2027.
Each school selects its exact testing date within the district window. Families should retain their registration confirmation and monitor instructions from the assigned school.
Florida Alternate Assessment
The Performance Task version of the Florida Alternate Assessment is available to students in grades 3 through 12 who follow alternate achievement academic standards and for whom the general statewide assessment is not appropriate, even with accommodations.
Testing is scheduled from March 1 through April 16, 2027, for grades 3–8, and from March 8 through April 23 for grades 9–12. There is no fee. The district will publish the registration process later.
Key dates
Summary of the major dates. The assigned school selects the exact testing day within each published window.
What families should keep
Families selecting a statewide assessment as the annual evaluation method should retain the registration confirmation, the assigned school's name and address, all instructions received and the final test results.
Florida law requires the parent of a registered Home Education student to submit an annual evaluation demonstrating educational progress commensurate with the child's ability. A district-administered state assessment is one legal option, but it is not the only one.
Other options include a portfolio evaluation by a Florida-certified teacher, a nationally norm-referenced test administered by a certified teacher, an evaluation by a licensed psychologist or another valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon by the family and the district superintendent.
The individual annual deadline is not necessarily the end of the school year. Pasco County Schools says the evaluation should be submitted approximately one year after the date recorded on the family's Letter of Intent.
Next steps
- Determine whether the student is registered in Pasco County Schools Home Education or participates in PEP.
- Confirm that the student's grade level is eligible for the selected assessment.
- Complete registration by the applicable deadline.
- Wait for the assigned school to provide the exact date, location and any fee information.
- Retain registration documents and test results.
- Do not wait until the testing week to address the annual evaluation requirement.
