Posts Tagged ‘Transcript’
Preparing the Homeschool Transcript – Step 1
Whether or not your homeschool child plans to go to college, keeping a transcript throughout his or her high school years is very important. For most homeschoolers, one of the reasons you chose this educational path is in order to keep your options open for things like choosing curricula, when you do school, how you do school, etc. It makes sense then, to pursue this same approach to college. Keeping a transcript will increase your options for college, but it is important to be very thorough in your preparation for transcript reporting. This is Step 1.To be thorough, a homeschool transcript should include categories of the core subjects that were studied, as well as the year in which those courses were taken. A final grade, awarded on a standard A, B, C, scale, should also be reflected. Assuming you have done your homework first and have located your state’s graduation expectations for both courses and credits earned, then the easiest way to show these distinctions is by following your state’s recommended listing of core subjects. For instance, if your state requires students to complete 4 credits in English, 4 credits in Math, and 4 credits in Science (in addition to other requirements), then each school year, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior, should show the equivalent of two semesters, or one year of study in each of those subjects. On your transcripts, clearly outline that you are meeting your state’s Recommended, if not Distinguished, standards for graduation. This means that your selection of courses for your homeschool program must begin with meeting the core academic needs as dictated by your state, and then electives can be added in after that.An additional item that college admission offices appreciate seeing on the transcript is the dates and scores for SAT and ACT tests taken by your homeschooler. High school students should take at least one SAT and ACT exam each year of their first three years in high school. In the summer before their Junior year, or in the early fall of that year, homeschool students should spend some time reviewing test-taking strategies that help with these tests. By that time, there will be little anxiety about the test process anymore, and they will be ready to focus on the test-taking skills that improve scores, but have very little to do with basic math, science, and social studies. Homeschool students should take a good course in SAT or ACT Prep to help “break the code” on these tests. When the tests are complete, scores will be reported to the homeschool parent. These scores should be listed on the transcript for ease of reviewing by the admissions officer.Another aspect of the thorough transcript is the GPA. GPA stands for “Grade Point Average” and it is a composite number reflecting the number of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc., assigning a weight to each letter grade, and calculating an average to represent the student’s academic competence. Homeschool students’ transcripts shouldinclude this calculation, even though the college admissions office may or may not put as much merit on this number for homeschool students. There is a tendency by colleges to assume that all homeschool students get A’s because their parents love them so much and not because they have worked hard for their academic growth. However, with the combined data of GPA and the SAT/ACT scores, the GPA becomes a picture of the students’ abilities and the standardized test scores become the validating evidence.Being thorough is the first step in preparing a homeschool transcript. The other steps, layout and documentation, will be covered in separate articles. Take your record-keeping seriously throughout the high school years though, and that will make preparing your homeschool transcript much easier.
Official Homeschool Transcripts and Grades
When I was making my transcript, I worked at it during the END of each school year. Some of the things we fully intended to do never actually happened. At the end of the year I would be aware of the classes we would complete, so I would insert them at that time, work on the course descriptions in the spring (right about now) and then add the final grades and details in June, when we were done. I didn’t choose to use semester grades, I just had the final grade at the end of the class. It just fit my homeschool better – since I didn’t do a lot of real “grading” it seemed to make sense to just have one big grade at the end. Other homeschools do it differently.For packaging, we laid the one piece transcript on top of the spiral-bound comprehensive record. On top of that I had a cover letter explaining what it contained and the student that it was meant for. I put that into a large manila envelope. Only one college wanted my transcript sealed, so they were the only one that got it sealed. They wanted the transcript in a sealed envelope with the “principal’s signature” on the seal of the envelope. So I did that for them – it didn’t hurt anything after all. But when I got ready to mail that transcript, I had a sudden moment of panic – had I put Kevin’s transcript in Alex’s application? Opened them both up, yes I had mixed them (in my own defense, they were both applying to four schools, so I did actually have 8 applications in front of me at the moment, LOL!) I fixed the problem, resealed the envelop, and resigned it. I’m not sure how a sealed envelope helped them .Each college will want their applications submitted in their own unique way. I encourage parents to conform to the wishes of the college, as long as they don’t ask you to compromise your values in any way. If they want an official school envelope, then print an envelope on your computer saying “Official Home School” with your home address. If they want it sealed, then seal it. Notarized? Notarize it at the library for free! Whatever they want, that’s how you do it. Of course, that means you have to read the fine print.
Is it achievable for a homeschool to provide senior high school science
Is it possible for a homeschool to produce high school science that will be acceptable to colleges? My boys had biology, chemistry and physics at home, all with science labs, without any outside help from schools or co-ops. Not only did our chosen colleges accept our science records, they also offered us terrific scholarships, including two full-tuition scholarships at my sons’ first choice university!In our homeschool, we had “Biology with Lab” on the transcript. I gave course descriptions for colleges. The course description was a single paragraph in length, that detailed how we taught biology. Much of the material I got from the catalog description of the textbook we used. I wrote a record of the labs that we did, making use of the list from the book’s table of contents. I demonstrated my grading criteria, thoroughly showing every chapter grade, and a grade for every lab write-up my children completed. A good lab write up got 100%, but several of them “weren’t so good. ” That gave the colleges a detailed explanation of specifically what our transcript meant when it said “Biology with Lab. ” I saved all the tests and all the lab write-ups, in case a college would ask for a example of their work (some did! )#).We did most our work in all our sciences at home by ourselves. In all honesty, I don’t know a thing about physics, so my kids were utterly on their own with that one (with some help from a video tutorial. )#) I just graded tests and looked at the lab write ups. (If the lab write up made sense to me, they got 100% – if it didn’t make sense to me, they got something less. )#) Although I do understand biology and chemistry, they did most of that work on their own as well.A number of (even most) colleges will recognize lab sciences done at home. There are some exceptions, however. For example, the University of Washington wants “proof” of science training. That’s why they prefer the ACT test. The ACT covers more than reading, writing and math. It covers science as well. They allow the ACT test as “proof. ” They also accept SAT 2, AP, and community college lab sciences as “proof. ” Still the University of Washington is in the minority, because most colleges don’t have added requirements. The UW policies have also evolved very much over time. If your child is keen on ANY college, it’s a good idea to check their policies every year, because they can change enormously.Forgetting about record keeping is on of “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School. ” If you are thinking about accreditation and transcripts, you are probably not going to make this mistake! Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.My e-book, “The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts” will show you how to how to package that great at-home education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!
Is it achievable for one homeschool to grant high school science
Is it feasible for a homeschool to provide high school science which will end up acceptable to the colleges? My boys had biology, chemistry and physics at home, all with science labs, without having any kind of outside assistance coming from schools or co-ops. Not only did the colleges recognize our science records, they also offered us excellent scholarships, including two full-tuition scholarships at my sons’ first choice university!In our homeschool, we had “Biology with Lab” on the transcript. I gave course descriptions for colleges. The course description was a paragraph long, and explained how we taught biology. A great deal of the information I found from the catalog description in the textbook we used. I wrote a list of the labs that we did, applying the list from the book’s table of contents. I demonstrated my grading requirements, carefully showing each chapter grade, in addition to a grade for every lab write-up my kids finished. A good lab write up got 100%, but several of them “weren’t so good. ” That offered the colleges a in depth explanation of specifically what our transcript meant when it stated “Biology with Lab. ” I was able to save all of the tests and every one of the lab write-ups, in case a college would request a sample of their work (a few did! )#).We did all our work in all our sciences at home by ourselves. To tell the truth, I really don’t understanda thing with regards to physics, which means my kids ended up thoroughly on their own with that one (with some help from a video tutorial. )#) I simply graded tests and looked over the lab write ups. (When the lab write up made sense to me, they got 100% – if perhaps it did not make sense to me, they got something less. )#) Even though I do fully understand biology and chemistry, they did the majority of of that work by themselves as well.Several (quite possibly most) colleges will approve lab sciences done at home. You will discover a number of exceptions, however. For instance, the University of Washington wants “proof” of science. That is the reason why they like the ACT test. The ACT includes more than reading, writing and math. It contains science as well. They recognize the ACT test as “proof. ” They also accept SAT 2, AP, and community college lab sciences as “proof. ” But the University of Washington is in the minority, since the majority of colleges do not have further requirements. The UW policies have also changed considerably over time. If your child is interested in ANY college, it’s a good idea to check out their policies every year, given that they can change significantly.
Homeschool High School – College Placement Tests
As homeschoolers, our job is to teach our children at their level, in every subject, all the time. It is difficult to determine what “at their level” means, because even if they have finished their math book, that does not mean they are ready for the next level. What if they missed a critical concept? What if it was so easy for them they should really skip the next level?Colleges feel the same way. They want to teach young people at their level in every subject all the time. Unfortunately, they cannot determine “at their level” based on SAT scores or transcripts. With so many public and private schools having their own standards and sequences, kids with the same-looking transcripts can have widely varying skills. Some kids come to college with stellar records but lack-luster preparation in reading, writing, math, etc.What to do, what to do? Often, colleges may start the year with a test to solve this problem. College placement tests are usually quite different than CLEP or AP. They were developed for this generation of students entering college with an accredited high school transcript but without the ability to do college level work.These placement tests are often given during or before the first week of college to decide whether students need remedial help in reading, writing, or math. They will help the college in placing children in the proper level of foreign language, science, or other subject area. Those tests usually do not include college credit or the financial benefit of speeding the college degree. On the other hand, extremely poor performance may lengthen the time in college if remedial help is required. Again, these tests have become common as the result of the poor quality of high schools in general. If your child is reasonably well-educated, I don’t think you will need to worry about that.At some colleges, these tests are required for every freshman. Other colleges will use SAT or ACT scores for a portion of the placement. One common college placement test is the COMPASS placement test. Some college and professors will create their own placement tests, and require a passing grade to register for their class.Florida recently enacted such a state-wide placement test. Their press release says, “New Placement Test Designed to Help Florida Increase College Graduation Rates: Florida post secondary readiness test to better measure college readiness skills and placement.”This highlights the fact that a placement test may be a better measurement of college readiness than an accredited transcript from a public or private school.The press release also underscores the benefits of teaching students at their level, citing improved college graduation rates. Homeschoolers can keep their students working at their level and also see wonderful benefits.Keep your homeschool curriculum challenging but not overwhelming. Understand that college placement tests may be used to do the same thing at the university level.
Is it practical for a homeschool to deliver senior high school science
Is it possible for a homeschool to provide high school science that will be satisfactory to colleges and universities? My boys had biology, chemistry and physics at home, all with science labs, without any outside assistance from schools or co-ops. Not only did our targeted schools accept our science records, they also supplied us great scholarships, including two full-tuition scholarships at my sons’ first choice university! In our homeschool, we had “Biology with Lab” on the transcript. I gave course descriptions for colleges and universities. The course description was a single paragraph in total, that described how we taught biology. Much of the material I got from the catalog description of the textbook we used. I wrote a list of the labs that we did, using the list from the book’s table of contents. I demonstrated my grading considerations, carefully showing every chapter grade, and a grade for every lab write-up my children completed. A good lab write up got 100%, but some of them “weren’t so good. ” That gave the colleges a thorough clarification of specifically what our transcript meant when it reported “Biology with Lab. ” I kept all the exams and all the lab write-ups, in case a college or university would ask for a sample of their work (several did! )#).
We did all our work in all our sciences in the home by ourselves. To be honest, I don’t know a thing about physics, so my kids were utterly on their own with that one (with some help from a video tutorial. )#) I just graded tests and looked at the lab write ups. (If the lab write up made sense to me, they got 100% – if it didn’t make sense to me, they got something less. )#) Although I do understand biology and chemistry, they did most of that work on their own as well. A number of (even most) colleges will accept lab sciences done in your house. There are several exceptions, however. As an example, the University of Washington wants “proof” of science instruction. That’s why they have a preference for the ACT test. The ACT covers more than reading, writing and math. It covers science at the same time. They allow the ACT test as “proof. ” They also recognize SAT 2, AP, and community college lab sciences as “proof. ” But the University of Washington is in the minority, because almost all colleges and universities don’t have additional conditions. The UW regulations have also changed very much as time passes. If your child is serious about ANY college, it’s a good idea to check their regulations every year, because they can change enormously. Forgetting about record keeping is on of “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School. ” If you are thinking about accreditation and transcripts, you are probably not going to make this mistake! Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course. My e-book, “The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts” will show you how to how to package that great at-home education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges! Comprehensiverecordsolutions.com offers in-depth information and recommendations on home school work, which can help homeschooling parents plan much better for their kids home schooling. They do also have a blog, in which they positively write educational content on college scholarships for high school seniors