saved1112 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Ok, I'm wanting to do a rough plan for DS high school years to be sure all requirements are covered. Are credits needed to graduate determined by each state? What subjects are required? How many credits of each of those subjects are required? What different sciences does he need to cover? Help please! For 9th grade, so far, I think he'll use Applications of Grammar, possibly Integrated Physics and Chemisty from Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum, MOH 2 (were continuing on chronologically)... Other than that, not sure. I'm a little nervous about high school! Thank you! Meredith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 It depends on the state. Here in VA, the state does not issue diplomas to homeschoolers at all. They come completely from the parents. Wise parents who believe in preparing for college will look at the college requirements that may be relevant. A standard college prep would be 4 years English (including lit and composition) 4 years Math (Algebra 1 and above--Geometry, Algebra 2, and Trig/Precalc or higher) 4 years Science (Bio, Chem, Physics, and 1 other--sometimes advanced studies in one of those 3, or something like Environmental Science) 4 years Foreign Language (or 2 years each of 2 different languages) 4 years some combination of World History, US History, and Gov't or Economics Electives--generally not a set requirement, but could be Art, Music, Music/Art History, Religion-based studies, or others. This is not to say that every college requires the above for admittance--far from it. There is usually a minimum # of credit hours required--for example, Virginia Commonwealth, a large, urban university, requires at least 23 credits. 3 credits have to be in a foreign language (or 4 of two different languages), 4 in English, 3 sciences, 2 world history, and so on. We chose to do about 6 or 7 classes a year with ds. He ended up with 27 credits, including 4 years of Eng, Math, Science and History, with various electives thrown in there, including a CC in Psychology and 3 credits in Bible, and 2 years each of Spanish and French. There are a number of really good books out there detailing standard courses of study for high school, and you can, as I said, look at your state laws and your prospective colleges for more ideas. High School can be nerve-wracking, but it's fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Ok, I'm wanting to do a rough plan for DS high school years to be sure all requirements are covered. Are credits needed to graduate determined by each state? Yes. However, there are no requirements for *homeschooled* students to graduate. What subjects are required? Generally, English, history, math, science, and electives such as foreign languages, computer sciences, fine arts, etc. How many credits of each of those subjects are required? Generaly, 4 years (different states award different number of credits) of English, 2-3 years of social sciences (history, geography, etc.), 2-4 years of math, 2-4 years of science, 2-4 years of electives. Each year of Enlgish includes grammar, composition, and literature. What different sciences does he need to cover? Generally, biology and above--IOW, lab sciences. Other than that, not sure. I'm a little nervous about high school! It's not that big a deal. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajott Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 (edited) Check your state's requirements. In IA there are none...they're finished when you say they are. Check the entrance requirements of local colleges. That will give you a basic idea how to plot this out. Take into consideration his bent...artsy or sciency or whatever. My dd has an almost full ride scholarship to a music & theatre school. She took science for 4 yrs, but it was not the traditional Biology, chem, physics...etc. Nor did she use those wildly popular textbooks. It took her 1.5 yrs to get through enough Algebra for me to be comfortable, then did some practical life skills maths, then did Geometry. I like Barb Shelton's High School Form-U-La. It helped me to see that my life didn't have to change drastically just because I'm facing college. Some folks don't care for the chatty writing style, so see if you can find this at your library or through Inter-Library Loan to peruse it first. "Teaching" high school is not as hard at the PS system would like us to believe. You cando this, and it will be very rewarding. Teresa Edited February 28, 2009 by tajott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy in TX Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 i like to look at what the state requires, then tweak it to fit my goals. That way my kids will at the minimum be accepted in any TX state school. http://www.fortbendisd.com/gifted/grad_requirements.pdf Cathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Here is the one I like: http://www.roundrockisd.org/docs/high_school_graduation_requirement2006-2007_freshmen__soph._juniors.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy in TX Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 That one is organized in a more user-friendly way. Thanks...I'll change my bookmark. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saved1112 Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Ok, I looked up our state's graduation requirements. This is as of October 2008. Minimum High School Graduation Requirements: Communication Arts 4 units Social Studies 3 units Mathematics 3 units Science 3 units Fine Arts 1 unit Practical Arts 1 unit Physical Education 1 unit Health Education 1/2 unit Personal Finance 1/2 unit Electives 7 units Total 24 So, Communication Arts, what would fall under that? Lang Arts? Fine Arts and Practical Arts, what would the difference be? Also if he does an extra year of science for a 4th credit, would that count as an elective or an extra science? Thank you for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saved1112 Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Here's one requirement from the University in town: 3. High School Transcript or Homeschooled transcript with a minimum of six semesters of work (A final copy is necessary after graduation). GED students should request an official copy of their results from the Department of Education - Secondary Education (DESE). Since they're not specific, as the state high school graduation requirements are, I'll assume I can go off of the state requirements... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saved1112 Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Take into consideration his bent...artsy or sciency or whatever. My dd has an almost full ride scholarship to a music & theatre school. She took science for 4 yrs, but it was not the traditional Biology, chem, physics...etc. Nor did she use those wildly popular textbooks. It took her 1.5 yrs to get through enough Algebra for me to be comfortable, then did some practical life skills maths, then did Geometry. He's artistic, enjoys writing comic books, reading, likes science, but lately seems intimidated by the 'new stuff' in science and other subjects... "Teaching" high school is not as hard at the PS system would like us to believe. You cando this, and it will be very rewarding. Teresa Thank you for the encouragement! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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