According to state law and court opinions, there are four areas a superintendent or school committee may consider when reviewing a notice of intent:

1. The proposed curriculum and number of hours of instruction
2. The competency of the parents (parents do not need college or advanced degrees)
3. Textbooks, workbooks, and other instructional aids to be used
4. The method of assessment used (to ensure educational progress and attainment of minimum standards); the superintendent or school committee can require standardized testing or may substitute, with the approval of the parents, another form of assessment

Massachusetts law requires that all students be taught the following subjects: spelling, reading, writing, English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, United States history and Constitution, duties of citizenship, health, physical education, and good behavior.

There is no explicit legal requirement that homeschool records be kept. However, certain assessments may require various records and work samples.

A superintendent or school committee may require periodic standardized tests or “other means of evaluating the progress of the children [that] may be substituted for the formal testing process, such as periodic progress reports or dated work samples.” Testing or evaluation must be mutually agreed upon by the parents and the superintendent or school committee.

According to the Massachusetts Supreme Court opinion issued in the case Care and Protection of Charles, the standard of review to determine adequate progress is if the education is equal in “thoroughness, efficiency and progress made therein” to that of the schools in the district.