Camarell Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I'm a little freaked out, it has hit me that my dd is in 8th grade this year and that means high school is right around the corner! I'm not sure what to do, I feel totally unprepared. Now dd has not expressed any interest in secondary education, and we are fine with that, however I'd still like to "do it right" because she has 7 brothers coming up after her and I'm guessing at least one of them is going to want to go to college. What do I need to be thinking about when we plan our year? What should a transcript look like? Is there a benefit to a portfolio over a transcript? I've heard I can use course work done in 8th grade towards high school credit, is this true? Does age matter when it comes to material covered? I've never given my kids grades, we've always worked on the mastery idea, how do I give them a GPA? Somebody point me in the direction I need to go please!! I feel like I'm about to walk off a ledge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Usually, colleges only want the last four years on the transcript. They figure you have had any prerequisites to what you start in 9th grade. (For example, if you start with French III and Algebra II, they will assume you did French I and II, and Algebra I in middle school so you don't have to put them on.) I did not do a portfolio for ds and none of the colleges he applied to asked for one. (He is not an arts major.) Be prepared to at least grade and keep track of grades in high school, even if you don't give them to the child, because some colleges insist upon them (and a GPA.) You can get away with Pass/Fail on the non-academic classes (PE, band) or just list them as extra-curriculars. (I made room for these on the actual transcript.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I never worried much about grades until my oldest hit 8th grade. He did Biology and Alg I that year and I wanted to get ready to keep grades. I spent that year figuring out HS and reading several high school books ( one of them was the one with Sonlight's career class that my son did that year..very helpful. http://www.sonlight.com/580-00.html) It was the Homeschool College Admissions one. First of all it had them exam if college was in their future and then it went into the various ways you can keep track of their work: transcripts, portfolios, etc. It talked about course descriptions and such. And of course I read everything on this board that I could find. It helped a bunch. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Here's some quick info to read through. http://hslda.org/highschool/academics.asp#transcripts I got the ebook of Transcripts Made Easy. planned to do my own transcripts. But then, life changed and we moved to a new state. That meant using an umbrella school that does that for us. They use http://www.homeschoolreporting.com/ to record grades, credits, gpa, and all of that. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Q Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) I feel your pain, Camarell! DS is about to enter 9th this year. From what I've read, the first step depends on the laws under which you are registered as a homeschooler. You should read for yourself what they say about requirements for graduation. Rules for giving high school credit for 8th grade classes are also something to research, as these will vary depending on your state and on how you are registered to homeschool. Are you using an umbrella organization? If so, definitely check with them regarding this issue. There are frequently limits on the 8th grade classes that can count for high school credit. It's also helpful to check out the requirements for admission to any colleges that your DD might possibly consider attending. Most have websites that list the number of courses required in particular subjects. When I did this, I was not pleased to find that the requirements for admission for homeschoolers frequently vary from those for other students. Some colleges are more enlightened than others, fortunately. You are so right to be looking into this now, when your DD is about to start 8th grade. Edited July 1, 2011 by fiddledd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I can tell you're a good homeschooling mother, because you're thinking about this now instead of when your dd is 18. Really. :D I'll just pick a couple of things to comment on. Is there a benefit to a portfolio over a transcript? Most colleges want transcripts first; some want portfolios, but not all. You'll probably know ahead of time which college wants which, so that you'll have time to prepare a portfolio if necessary. Plan on doing the transcript. I've heard I can use course work done in 8th grade towards high school credit, is this true? It may be true. Or it may not. Janet in WA said that some of the colleges to which her sons applied specified that courses on the transcript must have been completed during the four years immediately preceeding their college applications. IOW, a credit earned in 8th grade would not have counted. But this is not true for all colleges. So certainly everything your dd learns is useful to her on a general, life basis, but not everything will work towards college entrance. Does age matter when it comes to material covered? No. I've never given my kids grades, we've always worked on the mastery idea, how do I give them a GPA? GPA: Grade Point Average. This is not the letter grade someone earns for completing course work. This is the average of all the grades on a transcript. A=4; B=3; C=2; D=1. You give your dc the A's, B's, C's, and whatnot based on whatever criteria you decide on; the GPA will be an average of those points. See? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBlueMouse Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 There is a great book that put the transcripts fears to rest for me called College-Prep Homeschooling: Your Complete Guide to Homeschooling through High School by Chandra Beyer. It has general information about how to do transcripts and put together class descriptions with a lot of their own examples. It gave me a piece of mind as I read it and highlighted areas that I thought were important. This was our second year in high school and at the end I reread some of those highlighted portions and found it to be very helpful all over again. I most important thing I can stress to you is have faith in yourself. You have been doing this and I found that it really doesn't change too much. You advance your teaching as you have every year. The only thing is make sure you document it. I found homeschool tracker to be very helpful in getting it down. It will keep track of grades - weighted or not and time spent. It's pretty basic and once you have the hang of it very simple to use. They even have a yahoo group for it for resources and lesson plans that others have put together and share. I think it was a one time fee to download and then you get free upgrades for life. There is another program called edutrack (I believe) I hear it's about the same if maybe some bonus features, but last I heard you have to pay each year. I'm not sure if that is true, I can only really say about the homeschool tracker. Take it one step at a time. First find out what is required for graduation and what your state laws are. Take a look at some colleges and see what they say they require. Even if dc are not sure where to go, just to get a feel. Start with the core classes and add from there. Best of luck to you and remember 'breathe'. It's very overwhelming, but you will look back and think, "Gee, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 My oldest is a rising sophomore, so I don't have any first hand experience. I have gleaned a lot of information from the yahoo group "hs2coll." In the files section of that group, you can find samples of a traditional transcript and a narrative transcript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I tagged this thread and if you click on the tags below, you'll find lots of threads dealing with this subject - LOTS of accumulated Hive wisdom... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*~Tina~* Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I have been preparing this year myself :D Two resources I highly recommend are by Lee Binz - Preparing to Homeschool DVD and her book Setting the Record Straight. I have a review of the DVD on my blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camarell Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Thank you everyone!!! I really appreciate the calm voices and resource links. Taking a deep breathe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Welcome to high school! :) It's not so scary as you might think. Check out your local library for books on homeschooling high school; there will be info not only on transcripts, but on all sorts of helpful topics as you transition into high school. Also, I *just* finished refurbishing a packet I made for my home school group that is all about making a high school plan, transcripts, credits, GPA, record keeping, and a "time table" of what to do and when for high school. If interested, please email me and I will send a reply with the text file of the packet attached: neferlla AT hotmail DOT com Also, check out this past thread: Homeschooling High School...Where to Begin?; in it I posted a long list of other past threads on specific topics, including transcripts. You can also do a tag search for "transcript" for additional past threads and advice. Also, Inge Cannon's Transcript Boot Camp is a helpful resource to get you started specifically on transcripts. You might also want to sign up for Lee Binz' free newsletter and videos on homeschooling high school at her website, The Home Scholar. BEST of luck in your homeschool high school planning! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 To keep me accountable for keeping records for high school, we've used NARHS. Their "First Great Book of Course Descriptions" and "High School Resource Adviser" have been a lot of help/inspiration. I have made use of lots of the links already given in this thread also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiec Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) I contacted (some by email and some by phone) last year a few colleges that I thought DS might be interested in attending (one large private university, one large state university and one small private university) about what kind of records do admission officers need/prefer from homeschoolers (and transcript). Here is the short of it: 1. Transcript ~ usually they want a transcipt from your umbrella if your state requires one and from any school your child attended from 9th-12th (this was already stated by someone else - but they do not want to see 8th grade credits). This would include separate transcripts for our 9th grade school (public school), our local community college (Dual Enrollment classes), our umbrella (our state has that as one legal option if you do not register with the local school district) and from our AP classes organization (PA Homeschoolers). I was told by all three universities, that in our case (since we were all across the board and not straight homeschooled) that they would calculate GPA and all. I had already spents hours making a very nice homeschool transcript with everything on it and designated by where classes were taken. I plan on sending it anyway (in addition to all the stuff above) since it looks so nice and to be able to see everything at a glance :) 2. CD - two of the three admissions officers said that it's been a recent trend for homeschoolers to send a CD with the transcript on the CD, papers, scanned tests etc for most every class they took in homeschool (basically a digital portfolio). They basically said that it was total overkill and to please NOT send that to them (because they are not likely to look at it anyway unless you are applying for a special program that requires a portfolio - fine arts?). What they would like to see instead is a course list with books used and a short course description. Again, one officer said they have seen homeschoolers send in a small bound booklet with a course syllabus that was 2-3 pages long (or also on the CD they sometimes send) for each course and to PLEASE not send that. However, a solid one paragraph description of the course with materials/texts would be fabulous. I have been writing these at the beginning of each school year, which has about 2-3 course descriptions per page. I found it was a stretch for me to go back and do the prior year's classes after the fact. But that is probably just me. Again, every college will be different and I know some folks like to plan for every possible scenario and therefore will save most everything, just in case. I have only kept (in my own personal file as a reference) syllabi from outside courses, test, papers, projects (or pictures of projects) and any grade report from an outside class. Usually this is about 3-4 items per class I keep, if even that. It's unlikely DS will ever need those and we do not plan to submit any of that unless it is requested. But, I have it. There are some nice transcript forms on-line. I know some folks have purchased software because it probably saves them time, but a transcript is much easier than you think. If you search the forums, there are links to various free on-line formats. Some colleges even have added blank ones on thier websites for homeschoolers to have a format they prefer (and that varies). I just found one that made sense to me, saved it to my computer, modified it a tad, added all DS's info and saved. I update it at the end of each semester when I submit grades to our umbrella (record keeping organization). I stress over everything and that is one thing (the transcript) not to stress about. 2. Edited June 30, 2011 by debbiec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I have been preparing this year myself :D Two resources I highly recommend are by Lee Binz - Preparing to Homeschool DVD and her book Setting the Record Straight. I have a review of the DVD on my blog. :iagree: We're starting 9th grade in the fall and I'm in the process of getting my brain wrapped around all this and a system set up to help me track all the stuff I feel like I need to track in order to sleep well at night (lol). I've found this book and DVD to be the most helpful resources I've come across so far, except possibly other homeschool moms who've BTDT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Welcome to high school! :) It's not so scary as you might think. Check out your local library for books on homeschooling high school; there will be info not only on transcripts, but on all sorts of helpful topics as you transition into high school. Also, I *just* finished refurbishing a packet I made for my home school group that is all about making a high school plan, transcripts, credits, GPA, record keeping, and a "time table" of what to do and when for high school. If interested, please email me and I will send a reply with the text file of the packet attached: neferlla AT hotmail DOT com Also, check out this past thread: Homeschooling High School...Where to Begin?; in it I posted a long list of other past threads on specific topics, including transcripts. You can also do a tag search for "transcript" for additional past threads and advice. Also, Inge Cannon's Transcript Boot Camp is a helpful resource to get you started specifically on transcripts. You might also want to sign up for Lee Binz' free newsletter and videos on homeschooling high school at her website, The Home Scholar. BEST of luck in your homeschool high school planning! Warmest regards, Lori D. Ooooh...thanks for that list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I did a transcript and a portfolio (actually two big three-ring binders, but I pulled things from those according to what colleges asked for). My transcript was not at all fancy. I believe there are various templates available online. You might look at Paula's Archives, for instance.... I loved Cafi Cohen's books for suggestions on how to keep track of time and count credits. I don't know if you can find info by Inge Cannon (she doesn't write books, but does have things on tape), but she has some good info, too.... I won't get into the eighth grade debate. Some folks regularly say that you can't count it, but kids doing advanced work in many states take high school classes (go next door to the high school for math or science, etc.) and get credit for it. I think you absolutely can do it and if you want to do it, then I just wouldn't put a date on it. I labeled my transcript with freshman work, etc. and listed the credits for each level of work, sans dates. If it's high school level work, then it's high school level work. The speakers I have heard on this subject agree. I began to give grades without a second chance at correction for high school level work. You can still work to mastery, but they need to get warnings to study because this or that is going to count as a grade without a second chance. Even high school teachers allow corrections and re-do's, by the way.... You'll be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiec Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) I did a transcript and a portfolio I won't get into the eighth grade debate. Some folks regularly say that you can't count it, but kids doing advanced work in many states take high school classes (go next door to the high school for math or science, etc.) and get credit for it. I think you absolutely can do it and if you want to do it, then I just wouldn't put a date on it. I labeled my transcript with freshman work, etc. and listed the credits for each level of work, sans dates. If it's high school level work, then it's high school level work. The speakers I have heard on this subject agree. You'll be fine! I think the confusing thing for new high school parents about the 8th grade credit issue is that we are actually talking about two different things - credits for (high school) graduation and credits for (college) admissions. Those two things are not always the same thing. I'm only mentioning this for any new upcoming high school parents that may be reading this. It took me a while to figure all this out but in our state (if one cares about state requirements), 8th grade credits count toward high school graduation (likely the same in most states). However, some of our state's private universities (our more higher tier) do not accept 8th grade credits in meeting the university's admission high school course requirements. Our state universities accept them. So, I think a lot of it depends on where one may attend. And since one seldom knows where that is (and we were college bound), we made sure we met the higher tier requirements, but I have an academic kid. Mostly this concerned Math and foreign language. He had foreign language in 8th-9th. We added the 3rd year in 10th to cover that base, just in case he attended a college that was more particular. But we had planned that 3rd year of of foreign language anyway. But, we do count 8th grade credits toward high school graduation. Same with math. Although, counting the 8th grade credits will not really matter anyway, because he will have met all this graduation requirements without them. They will bascially just count as extra credits above what he needs to graduate. However, I will NOT include them on his transcript for college admissions. Yes, I have heard many speakers about the credit issue and I understand their view (and I don't disagree in theory).I'm not talking graduation credits but admission credits. But for those colleges that are more particular about it, I'm going to play by the book since DS, as it turns out, is applying for one of those schools that specifically states they count credits for the "last four years of high school only". But, I am kind of one of those "by the letter" kind of people and I knew those higher tier schools could possibly be in his future and didn't want any bumps down the road about it. Edited June 30, 2011 by debbiec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 If you do nothing else, keep a list of projects, papers, textbooks, field trips, performances, travel, experiments, books, etc.. Make a copy the front and back of the title page and the table of contents of everything your child uses or reads and put them in a notebook. Make copies of any papers, too, and put them in a notebook. It isn't a bad idea to pull work samples from each subject each year and put them in a notebook, either, and make a note of what the student covered and what skills he learned in each class. That way, if whatever you have done as you go along (course descriptions, reading lists, work samples, transcript, or whatever) isn't the right thing for the colleges your child chooses, you will be able to create additional paperwork easily. Make sure you think about outside validation of your mummy transcript. The most common way to do this is by outside classes, community college classes, AP testing, SAT2 testing, SAT or ACT testing. I tried to have some sort of outside validation for most of the main subjects (math, English, science, etc.). I made an excell spreadsheet with the subjects across the top and the dates down the side and I try to fill in what we do every day. I also have a notebook roughly divided up into subjects and when my son reads a book or does a project or paper or goes on a field trip, I write it under the appropriate subject. This allows us to work more loosely than a traditional school format. In the end, I organize the transcript by subject rather than by year. One of the best things I ever did, homeschooling-wise, is to write up our philosophy and our educational goals at the beginning of high school. That has kept me on track and reminds me why I have chosen to do things a certain way when I begin to panic. Panic is inevitable, especially around February. If you can come up with a consistent way of counting credits and a consistent assessment policy, that helps as well. You will have to write about both of these things in your school profile. I have one in college and this is what was in his application packet: Application Guidance councilor recommendation (written by me - explained my son's strengths) School profile (written by me - explained why we homeschool, how we organized our homeschool, our educational philosophy, how we counted credits, why I didn't give grades) Community college advisor recommendation (requested by school) Letters of recommendation (scout master, community college professor, gymnastics coach) Transcript Community college transcript A form from the town's school department showing that my son was homeschooling under their supervision and had graduated Medical forms HTH -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiec Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) One of the best things I ever did, homeschooling-wise, is to write up our philosophy and our educational goals at the beginning of high school. That has kept me on track and reminds me why I have chosen to do things a certain way when I begin to panic. Panic is inevitable, especially around February. HTH -Nan Several homeschool supplements for college admissions require a description of your homeschool philosophy. I never did this (and we are moving into the senior year and I still have not written one). It never occured to me to do this early on. I agree with Nan, do it early on for yourself if no other reason. If you do it early on, you have it to keep yourself on track and then you have it for admissions later if anyone requires it. Four year plan ~ I actually met with a fellow homeschooler for lunch recently to talk "school" and graduation since her DS is a year behind mine. I was rather astonished that she had not made a 4 year plan on paper so she could get a picture of what she was doing to meet her educational objectives for her son. Every spring/summer she is at a loss what she should be doing for the following year (and she is rather well educated herself. Maybe just overwhelmed?). So we sat at the restaurant, whipped out a sheet of paper and wrote a four year plan so she could stay focused on her high school objectives. So, for anyone coming into the high school years, I would highly recommend that if you have not already thought about it,to do this, so you can stay focused on your goals. It was interesting because she had in her head all the goals, but she crammed them into his first two years of high school, and the kid already had enough credits to graduate at the end of his sophomore year, though still needed his last two years of English and one more credit of math and science. Her DS was very overworked and unhappy. After she saw on paper what she had done, she could see why he was tired and unhappy and realized had she written it all down, she could have spread the classes out better and it would have been better for everyone involved. However, I think she may be the exception, and not the rule. I was just rather surprised. Edited June 30, 2011 by debbiec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reet3 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I'm in the same boat--with an 8th grader. These suggestions are a comfort. I guess I have some reading to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) I just did some for my 10th grade Dd who is headed back to public HS and I had a thought-that if I just went in every year and filled out the list and grades, it would be done! I just left it in a folder on my screen and filled it in as we went along. Just keep a scope and sequence or major list of what you read and curric and you'll be fine. It's not that hard, really. I was wigging out, but alas, there really was nothing to wig about. Here are some samples, just grab it, throw it on your desktop and go in and edit out what is in as a sample and put your own info in. I also attached a very long list of books read. Edited June 30, 2011 by justamouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camarell Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 So how many tabs does Firefox support?? LOL I must have 50 open right now, one link leads to another! I can't thank you all enough for the reassurance that it's not as hard as I have it in my head! The resources are wonderful as well. DH and I were talking and we agree we need a 4yr plan. Up to this point it's been okay to take it year by year and try things out, but there isn't room for "do overs" in high school. Which I think is where my stress really comes from. I don't want my poor record keeping, or procrastination to hold my kids back from whatever it is they want to do. I did discover that OK requires only 23 credits for graduation (seems kinda light to me) and our community college will let anyone take 9 semester hours, no transcript needed :) and they seem to stress ACT/SAT scores for home schoolers, for general admission. This make dh think I'm stressing over nothing and just need to make sure they do well on the ACT/SAT. Again thank you all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.