4.º ano tests for homeschooled children (end of 1.º ciclo)

4.º ano is the first year with external tests for a homeschooled child. It is also the year most families find hardest, because it combines two different sets of tests in a few weeks. This guide covers both. For the general rules, see the exams overview.

Two sets of tests, two purposes

	Provas ModA	Equivalence tests (PEF)
Purpose	National monitoring	Approval of the 1.º ciclo
Registration	Automatic	By the parent, in March
Written by	EduQA	Your school of enrolment
Format	Digital, plus a practical test in some years	Written, oral and practical
Counts for approval	No	Yes

Sources: DN 3/2026 arts. 6.º, 11.º to 13.º, 27.º and 29.º 11. Despacho Normativo n.º 3/2026, de 23 de fevereiro (Regulamento das Provas de Avaliação Externa e das Provas de Equivalência à Frequência)Diário da República / Júri Nacional de Exames.

Provas ModA in 4.º ano

The ModA tests (provas ModA) cover Português (or Português Língua Não Materna, PLNM, for pupils at level A2 or B1) and Matemática every year, plus one rotating subject 1:

Year	Rotating subject
2026	Educação Artística (practical)
2027	Educação Física (practical)
2028	Ciências Naturais

Written ModA tests last 105 minutes. The tests are not public and the results come as a report, not a grade 1. In 2026 they ran between 27 May and 9 June 33. Despacho n.º 14616-A/2025, de 9 de dezembro (calendar of provas and exames 2025-2026)Diário da República. The 2027 dates will appear in the next exam calendar, expected around December 2026.

Equivalence tests: the list

A homeschooled pupil in 4.º ano must sit, in the 1.ª fase, the equivalence tests (provas de equivalência à frequência) in every subject of Table A 122. Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, de 3 de agostoDiário da República:

Subject (code)	Type	Duration (minutes)
Português (41)	Written + oral	90 + 15
Matemática (42)	Written	90
Estudo do Meio (22)	Written	60
Inglês (45)	Written + oral	60 + 15
Educação Física (46)	Practical	45
Educação Artística (47)	Practical	45
Cidadania e Desenvolvimento (48)	Oral	15
PLNM A2 (43) or B1 (44), instead of Português	Written + oral	90 + 15

Source: DN 3/2026, Quadro V, Table A 1.

Some practical points from the regulation:

Oral tests last no more than 15 minutes, are open to the public and take place before a panel of three teachers 1.
For two-component tests, the subject grade is the simple average of the two parts. Both parts must be taken in the same phase 1.
Tests are marked from 0 to 100 and converted into the 1.º ciclo descriptive grades (Insuficiente, Suficiente, Bom, Muito Bom) 1.
Pupils with "adaptações curriculares significativas" do not sit the PEF 99. Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2025, de 11 de fevereiroDiário da República.

Approval

Your child is not approved at the end of 1.º ciclo with "Insuficiente" in both Português and Matemática, or with "Insuficiente" in one of them plus two other subjects 44. Portaria n.º 223-A/2018, de 3 de agosto (consolidated)Diário da República. A subject without a grade, because a test or a component was missed, also blocks approval 1. In the 2.ª fase, your child retakes only the subjects graded Insuficiente, and may sit just those needed to reach approval 1.

Timeline from March to July

When	What to do
Before March	Ask the school which Informação-Prova documents apply and when they will be published
5 to 18 March 2027	Register for the PEF (1.ª fase) online. Free if on time 1
April and May	Read each Informação-Prova, practise the oral and practical parts
Late May to early June	ModA tests (2026: 27 May to 9 June) 3
End of June 2027	End of the school year for 1.º ciclo; confirm the exact date with your school 88. Despacho n.º 8368/2024, de 25 de julho (school calendar 2024-2025 to 2027-2028)Diário da República
July	PEF 1.ª fase (2026: 6 to 15 July; results 22 July) 3
22 July 2027	Registration for the 2.ª fase, if needed 1
Late July	PEF 2.ª fase (2026: 22 to 29 July) 3

The official test lists (call lists (pautas de chamada)) are posted on paper at the school at least 48 hours before the tests, and the paper list is the only official notice 1. Check them in person or ask the school to confirm by email.

How to prepare

Start with the Informação-Prova. Each school writes its own PEF, so the Informação-Prova from your school tells you the structure, the content, the weighting and the materials allowed 77. Informação-Prova de equivalência à frequência (example index of a school cluster)Agrupamento de Escolas Henriques Nogueira. Ask for it if it is not online.

Practise the format, not just the content. Seven subjects in a few weeks is tiring for a nine-year-old. Timed practice at home, one subject at a time, helps with stamina. The free official Provas-Ensaio on testes.iave.pt let your child try the digital format used in ModA, with marking criteria 55. Provas-EnsaioIAVE / EduQA.

Prepare the oral and practical tests. Português, Inglês and Cidadania e Desenvolvimento have oral parts in front of three teachers who do not know your child. Short, regular conversations about a book or a project, with someone other than the parent, are good rehearsal. For Educação Física and Educação Artística, the Informação-Prova usually lists the tasks.

Use the portfolio. Work that is already mapped to the Aprendizagens Essenciais shows you what is covered and what is thin. The free Estudo Autónomo guides are ordered by the Aprendizagens Essenciais and are useful for filling gaps 66. Guiões de Trabalho AutónomoEstudo Autónomo (DGE / EduQA). See What the curriculum requires and Portfolio.

Our sample tests for 4.º ano let your child practise under timed conditions; see plans and pricing.