Wow, Christie….my homeschooling friends and I have paid in the range of $30-$50 per child (some evaluators offer a discount for larger families) for our portfolio reviews here in Ohio.
I have an interesting, praiseworthy story about that. Last August, I was getting nervous because we had to have our first portfolio reviews in a few years (since we had been enrolled in an online school until 2010-11), and my budget was so tight I nearly had to borrow the money to pay for the reviews. I asked around and was given the name and number of someone who usually charged $25 or $30 per child, with the suggestion that I mention my friend’s name to see if the teacher would offer me a discount. Turns out my friend had copied down the wrong phone number. I was confused upon hearing a different name on her voicemail but left a message anyway.
When the lady called me back, we both realized I had contacted the wrong person, but she graciously closed the phone call by saying, “Well, if you still need an evaluator, call me back. I charge $15 per child.” (Actually, if I recall correctly, she further discounted my second and third children’s portfolio reviews.) I ended up saying, “Oh….well, maybe I ought to just schedule it with you, then.” Praise God, I actually had the money for the reviews!
She was very nice and it all went very well. She told me that she only has one child left in high school and she offers her reviews at a steep discount mostly as a ministry to larger families. She has one mom who has 7 children and lives about 90 minutes away but whose sister lives nearby, so she just schedules a family visit to combine with the evaluation appointment and saves a lot of money on that!
