Developing a curriculum is the way to go. However, one needs to know the standardized state curriculum so that you know what is on the standardized tests.
BTW: The URL in your profile goes to a virus page. I would get that thing fixed. I did a domain search. It says you are with Bluehost . Their tech support is good at ridding sites of viruses.
Yes, it is good to have a curriculum to check against and we do that, but we don't have to deal with standardized tests. We established domicile in Texas and the easy rules (as in none!) for homeschooling was one big reason for that.
Thanks for noticing that something was up with the link to our website! Someone else said something simular a few days ago and then I could not find anything wrong or reproruce the issue. Today I found and fix a malware issue and it should work fine now. Thank you!
I am glad you fixed the site before it was thrown into Google's quarantine. I once had malware installed on a site of mine. It took several years to completely clean up every nasty thing that the miscreants did.
NOTE, in my case it was the webhost that installed the malware, not just a hacker.
PS: I dropped a link to it on my directory. Good luck with your travels.