Will your local high school award credit for homeschool coursework?

[Colleen]

Seems like a lot of people find, upon a enrolling a student in high school after grade 9, that their district doesn't award credit for high school coursework completed at home. What's the policy in your district?

[Anne in Hawaii]

Homeschool students who want to transfer to a public high school have to start over as a freshman.

[dtsmamtj]

I don't know about a "full time" enrolled student, but so far I haven't heard of anyone having trouble going to take the upper level math/science courses and not getting in with pre-requisit classes not counting here. Here if a student takes one class in the PS the district gets the "full" amount from the government as though the student took "all" classes from there.

 

T

[Kathy in MD]

Our county will credit homeschool classes with one MAJOR caveat. You must bring a complete portfolio with ALL student work, every. single. scrap. of. paper, and have the high school principal review it. Can you imagine doing that for 1 or 2 compete years of work????????

[MicheleinMN]

Our school district is so small and so poor that they are happy just to get students enrolled (and thereby get more federal/state money). At least that was the case when I re-enrolled my step-daughter after homeschooling her for most of her sophomore and junior years.

[mcconnellboys]

According to statute here, homeschools are considered "private schools". We are, of course, unaccredited.

 

There's a written statement detailing how schools shall apply credit when students are transferring in from unaccredited schools. I found it online, so don't recall what larger document it comes from.

 

It states that if a student takes the next higher level class and has at least a 'C' average in it by the end of the first twelve weeks, then credit for the prior course may be granted. Alternately, the school may elect to give a test to determine if credit will be given. However, what it basically boils down to is that each school (which generally means each principal) may decide what they will do.

 

My son enrolled this past year in a private school as a sophomore. They assured us while we were in the process of deciding to enroll that they had handled similar situations in past. They obviously had not. They had no idea how to assign credits. I had to find the above mentioned statement and send it to them, along with the law stating that homeschools are "private schools" - and so fall into the unaccredited, private school category.

 

By the time all this came about, we were almost half-way through the school year, so I argued against testing. It would not be fair to test him on material half a year after the coursework was over. We specifically asked when we were applying whether they wanted to test him in any subjects and were told 'no'.

 

Even though this particular school will not transfer the grade from the prior institution, but only grant a "pass" on their transcript, they waited until after the first semester was over before proceeding to even try to decide which of my credits they would use for his freshman year courses (he had about three times as many as he needed).

 

We are still awaiting receipt of the credit for his Algebra II. Next year, he will take trig/pre-calc and after they see that he has satisfactory grades the first semester, then they will assign that credit. So they have used an overabundance of caution in order to protect their accreditation status, I suppose.

 

Another weird thing that they did was go behind me and attempt to contact outside schools for course descriptions to verify my courses. They became very confused if a course was not listed in exactly the same category that I used. For example, UK just added an art history course to their high school correspondence curriculum because a humanities credit is now a requirement for graduation in our schools. UK just stuck this course under "social studies", or something like that. So the person at the high school became extremely confused about whether or not she could assign it as a "humanities credit", even though the title of the text is "art history" and that's clearly what it's intended for......

 

They never did figure out his classical studies classes and I didn't really offer to help them because I'm just stubborn like that sometimes. Instead of simply asking me to help them find the descriptions for the courses, they tried to contact Indiana University, who of course would not talk to them.

 

I had already given them the grade sheets for the classes, but I know they were looking under "history" and "literature" for the courses, rather than under "classical studies", so they couldn't find them (even though the abbreviation "class st" was on the grade notices). They kept trying to assign a high school half credit each for a freshman and a sophomore college course, each of which was 3 hours college credit (also on the grade notices). I finally told them to forget it. I'll just submit the transcript separately. (They did properly assign the geology class which was from the same college and for which I had the same sort of grade notice....)

 

They ended up giving him an English credit based on the things I had done at home with him, rather than the sophomore college class from IU in Greek Mythology.....

 

The long and short of it is that these schools don't have any idea what they're doing and there really is no hard and fast "rule" that governs every situation. They make it up as they go along and can basically do whatever they want to do. If they want to fit a student into the system and work with you, they will. If they want to be butts about it, they will....

 

I will be submitting my transcript and his IU college transcript along with the transcript for the high school he is currently attending.

 

As long as you can get them to assign a "pass" for whatever number of classes are required for freshmen, one way or another, I wouldn't worry about putting a student in school as a sophomore. Same for junior. I would just submit my own transcript to the college in addition to theirs. Colleges seem to understand homeschooling much better than high schools and are perfectly willing, in my experience, to accept homeschool transcripts.

[Kelli in TN]

My daughter did not get credit for all of her courses. My transcript had to be worded exactly like theirs would be and I was not allowed to change any course names!

 

So, while she had the required half credit of "health" this could not transfer as her required half credit of "wellness". Crazy.

 

The courses that did match up did transfer, but she had to take the final that the kids in school had taken. She did take those finals and started her public school career with a 4.0 before she ever walked into the first class.

[LisaNY]

We enrolled our dd in the ps for 10th gr. They asked me for her 9th gr. transcript, and that was it. No problems at all.

[Veronica in VA]

They don't grant credit here. But my ds did enroll in public school for 10th. I had signed him up for Koble in 9th, and they took their transcripts.

 

Veronica

[mcconnellboys]

Yeah, it's sad to see such sad examples in academia of not being able to think outside the box. We can't possibly consider giving you a history credit, ma'am, because you haven't called it "social studies"...... We don't possess enough brain power to actually read your course description or look at your book lists to see if what you actually did would be what we'd consider "social studies". We have no ability to interpret data. You must apply the appropriate label in order for us to serve you. This really brings home for me the contention that we, as a culture, are losing our language....

 

It's sorta like ordering at some restaurants: I'd like the cheeseburger, please. You mean number 16? Yes, the cheeseburger. Number 16? Is number 16 a cheeseburger? Is it the only cheeseburger on the menu? Yes. Then that's what I want......

 

Or at the grocery: What is this? Carambola. Star Fruit. What? It's a fruit. Star fruit...... Because it looks like a star..... Hence Star. Fruit. Not a vegetable. Listed under the fruits.

 

Or: I don't want any vegis on my sandwich. What's a vegetable? A plant that grows in the ground. Don't put any of those on my sandwich..... (I know I'm safe with this because they'll never guess where bread comes from....)

 

Or, I love this one, at Red Lobster. Only one poor, poor little waiter does this, oy.... You get a "side" and a "vegetable" with your meat source. If you don't label the potato specifically as your "side" for him when ordering, then only the Lord knows what will come out to your table. You may get no potato at all. You may get an extra serving of vegetables, for which he will charge you. And there have been other bizarre combinations of rice, etc. upon occasion. I still don't fully comprehend what is going on, but I have learned that Potato equals "Side" is somehow the magical key to producing the correct combination of ingredients on one's plate.....

 

What does any of this have to do with education? You tell me..... (Are you sure you'd *want* a high school to give you credit for anything, Colleen?)

[Crissy]

I hadn't thought about it, but I'll have to ask the school counselor next time I see her.

I do know this. I am open-minded enough that I am giving credit for public school course on my homeschool transcript. :D

[Kelli in TN]

I hadn't thought about it, but I'll have to ask the school counselor next time I see her.

I do know this. I am open-minded enough that I am giving credit for public school course on my homeschool transcript. :D

 

Now Crissy, don't jump into anything without considering the big picture.

 

Did the school word the course exactly the way you would on a transcript? If not, you better reject it. Did you make your son take a final exam written by you to prove he can pass?

 

We don't want to just take the school's word for it, now do we?

 

After all, I discovered that "health" and "wellness" are vastly different even though they cover the exact same things. :D

[SallyMac]

About a year ago a local homeschooled girl enrolled at the public high school for her senior year. She had been homeschooled her entire life, never set foot in a school. They gave her placement tests, she did well, and she graduated with the class. However, I am not sure if she had been using an umbrella school for her previous work (1-11) or doing lots of college courses. There are only about 4 homeschool families in my small town, so I was surprised when I read this in the newspaper as she was the same age as my ds, yet I had no knowledge of her family whatsoever. I also don't know if she was granted full credit for all her coursework. I am not aware of anyone else in my state (RI) having done this.

 

My ds was going to go to the public school for his senior year next year as a precedent has already been set at this school. He was looking forward to going to the public high school to get a noncontroversial diploma and just having the high school experience for a year. But now we are waiting to hear whether the State Regents Board will require a test to graduate (will know by Thurs or Fri). This is a test that almost half the students in the state did horribly on when they took it as juniors...they would not have been allowed to graduate. The test probably does not match up well with the curriculum they are using in the public schools. Presently to graduate, seniors already have to present a lengthy senior project to a panel of community judges (requiring an 18 pg report, many hours of related field work with a mentor, a finished product, etc.) AND present a portfolio of 4 years of work. If they add the Regents (NECAP)test, ds will be receiving a homeschool transcript, taking a class or two at Harvard Extension, and not going to the public high school. You'd think they were going for a Phd. and not a diploma.

[Chris in VA]

Mine will grant full credit, but strangely enough, only counts full year courses--no one semester courses. So, if ds were to transfer, his one semester classes in astronomy, physical geography, Latin, and environmental science would not transfer. Also, he would have to take the state tests (SOL's) for every grade.

[Crissy]

Now Crissy, don't jump into anything without considering the big picture.

 

Did the school word the course exactly the way you would on a transcript? If not, you better reject it. Did you make your son take a final exam written by you to prove he can pass?

 

We don't want to just take the school's word for it, now do we?

 

After all, I discovered that "health" and "wellness" are vastly different even though they cover the exact same things. :D

 

LOL!

You are right. Maybe I'm being a bit hasty. ;)

[Ellie]

I don't know for sure what happens here in Texas, but our experience in California was this:

 

Parents who went to the local public school and said, "Hi! We've been hsing! We want to enroll now!" might or might not have credits accepted. Students who had been enrolled in umbrella schools, whose parents went to the local school and said, "I want to enroll my dc. He's been enrolled in Thus-and-so Private School, which will send you a transcript," were more likely to have their credits accepted. Of the students who had been enrolled in my umbrella school and transferred to any public (or private) school, 100% of them had no problems with their credits being accepted.

 

One friend tried to enroll her ds in a public school in Monterey for his senior year. She had kept meticulous records, and had course descriptions, samples of student work, standardized test scores, bibliograhies of all texts used, and the principal just laughed at her. He said he didn't accept credits from *ANY* private school and that her ds would have to start over as a freshman.

 

As if!

 

Which just points out that public schools don't have to accept credits from *any* private school, not just homeschools. And why it's important to consider this before beginning the high school years.

[gardenschooler]

My oldest was homeschooled for 9th grade, and went to ps starting in 10th. All of her credits were accepted.

 

I had been in contact with the principal since the summer before 9th grade, and we had no problems. I did tell him that one reason I wasn't just starting her off there in 9th was due to the fact that she had major surgery the summer before, but I also just wanted to keep her home one more year.

 

She did have to take end-of-course exams in each subject. These were teacher-designed exams, made specifically for their courses. I knew there would be testing required (beyond just her Stanford scores), but I thought it would be more along the lines of something standardized (like the general Gateway exams). I had made sure her 9th grade courses resembled the school's available courses, so we were fine.

 

Except in English/Lit, where the test was on stories and excerpts from their Literature textbook (Glencoe). We borrowed it, dd read it in a week, and went back to take the exam. She made a 94 on that one. :D

 

I thought the whole process was pretty easy, but I started checking it out waaay ahead of time to be sure, and even then, I didn't know exactly what the tests would entail.

[Kelli in TN]

I had made sure her 9th grade courses resembled the school's available courses, so we were fine.

 

.

 

And what dear friend of yours encouraged you to word your courses carefully? Would that be someone in TN who learned the hard way that the schools cannot handle the rephrasing of high school course names?

 

Who's got your back?:D

[Cheryl B in VA]

/

[Ellie]

And what dear friend of yours encouraged you to word your courses carefully? Would that be someone in TN who learned the hard way that the schools cannot handle the rephrasing of high school course names?

 

Who's got your back?:D

 

I had to put that in writing for my umbrella school parents. They were always coming up with, um, creative names for their dc's classes, and I would send them back with instructions to use names that schools could relate to :-)

[Claire in NM]

I live in New Mexico. Although our state is pretty much hands off on most of what homeschoolers do, our state does allow the acceptence of homeschool credits towards a diploma but only if the courses are taken through an accredited correspondence high school.

 

Claire in NM

[gardenschooler]

And what dear friend of yours encouraged you to word your courses carefully? Would that be someone in TN who learned the hard way that the schools cannot handle the rephrasing of high school course names?

 

Who's got your back?:D

 

:) And thanks to you, I didn't even fiddle with the whole health/wellness thing. I knew whatever test they'd give her would most likely NOT cover what I'd cover. She had to take it there, but at least I didn't waste my last year with her on that.

 

She has to take another mandatory (for her school) class next year, Mythology & Etymology. I didn't know about it then, but I could have certainly claimed credit for that and not have had to do much to prepare her for a test (after Latin, Ancient history and lit - she would have been fine). But she'll take it this year there, and it will be an enjoyable class.

 

Thanks, Kelli! You certainly did help me tremendously in knowing how to approach the school, what to have ready, and the whole process. I was so worked up over it at the time, if things hadn't gone smoothly, I would have been incredibly stressed out.

 

We're getting ready to start our summer reading for AP classes. :)

[Kareni]

...

 

We're getting ready to start our summer reading for AP classes. :)

 

Hello Gardenschooler,

 

Enquiring (read curious) minds would like to know -- which AP classes and what are the readings?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane Elliot]

I didn't vote because our high school decides to grant/not grant credit on an individual basis. I have a homeschooling friend they call in to help them make their decision. I don't know the numbers of how many have been granted or not been granted credit. I do know of one person who was denied credit, but I don't think his mom kept any records.

[MyThreeSons]

From what I've seen (just a couple of cases), our local high school gives credit with minimal documentation of work done at home.

[gardenschooler]

Hello Gardenschooler,

 

Enquiring (read curious) minds would like to know -- which AP classes and what are the readings?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

For AP US History, the assigned reading is John Adams by David McCullough. She has to turn in her book (annotated) and write a long paper on it, complete with notecards, etc. - the whole nine yards.

 

For AP English Language, the assigned reading is Sophie's World and Amusing Ourselves to Death. I'm not sure exactly what her writing assignments are with those, but I imagine it's the same. She'll take care of it - I'm only reading them with her for *my* self-education, and to try to keep up with her.

 

I wasn't thrilled with last year's literature choices by the Pre-AP English teacher, just because I thought so many were too mature and graphic. They were on the recommended AP list, though, so I got over it. I kind of think I'll enjoy and approve of her reading a bit more this next year. Either way, she's off! I'm just trying to keep up. :)

 

Seeing what she's doing in school does help me gauge the level of rigor I should introduce to dd#2, who will be homeschooled for high school. Not that we're necessarily going the AP route (dd#2 is only 13), but we want to at least venture into that neighborhood. Since I only homeschooled dd#1 through 9th grade, the upper levels of high school are still uncharted territory for me - but I'm going there. :D

[Sandra in NC]

Our local H.S. gives credit for classes it can specifically match to its own course offerings. As such, I have been careful to read the "Course Planning Guide" for our local school system and try to match core course descriptions.

 

One thing that's tricky is that some public high schools in our city offer courses that our neighborhood H.S. doesn't. My older son (who went to public school) took Japanese for 2 years and although it's offered at some high schools in town, it's not at our neighborhood school, so my son wouldn't get credit for it! I've been very careful since then to make sure that my homeschooled 15 y.o. has transcript entries that would transfer (in case of emergency).