Maddysmom26
-
Posts
538 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Maddysmom26
-
-
I'm not sure I understand how those state mandated test results are going to show what we learned.
or are they just basic knowledge for the grade level?
Hmmm... I am not sure the tests will 'show what you learned' very well. For us, their sole purpose was to comply with the regs. They are just basic grade level knowledge.
We have always ordered ours from Thurber's Educational. I order the long CAT. I know friends have had success ordering the Short CAT test or the IOWA from Seton. I believe BJU is also a provider.
Thanks for the reminder! It's time to place my order!
Oh Thank you Jen! I guess I will order soon to be sure! Appreciate the info! :)
-
Mid year is quickly approaching and so far I feel we are doing okay for first year of high school. However I know we have to test at the end and I am a little confused.
My question is what tests do you all do for this level? I'm not sure I understand how those state mandated test results are going to show what we learned.
How do you all determine which test to administer? I know there are several to pick from but how do they align with what we are teaching if we choose curriculum ? or are they just basic knowledge for the grade level?
I am trying to sort this out before I have to let the district know which test we will do.
Thank you in advance for any advice and info on this topic.
-
Same here. My kids have never seen their quarterlies nor end of the year assessments. I did show DS his test score when he had to take a standardized test, but that's been it.
I wouldn't know how to give grades. I don't score any of his work in that way. If it isn't done completely right I have him rework anything wrong until it is right. Grades really are a communication tool between a school and parents. Although if my son asked for it, I dunno, I guess I'd score his attitude/effort.
Quick question... I feel the same way about grades. New to homeschooling high school & I find that we work through things until its right , so I don't feel grades are necessary. I am approaching our first quarterly and I don't feel like I want to do grades.
My question is .. If you don't report "grades" in quarterly reports etc.. What do you do for the HS transcripts?
btw we live in NY
Thanks!
-
Wouldn't the public school issue you a transcript for the high school level classes she took there?
They sent everything to the district where we live. Because I was driving her to a different school , when we started homeschooling they needed to do paperwork through the district where we live. However the BOCES now handles Homeschool paperwork for several schools. So I don't know if they have the original transcripts or not.
-
Okay, so my first quarterly is approaching quickly. I have a few questions. ( I did get a few answers in a different thread but that was buried)
First I'm not huge on grades but have been sort of keeping them, however the transcript I am using provides for grades for 1st and 2nd semester, so I am wondering should I only report actual grades at 2nd quarterly and last? or each one? or if you give just a satisfactory evaluation, then how do report grades on transcripts?
How would you show credits that were received in 8th grade PS on a transcript that only shows 9-12 grades ??
DD has her French credit and also one for her elective for Rise of Nationalism class both from 8th grade in PS.
I am trying to do this in the simplest form and found a nice template but there is not room to add these in.
Also do you give grades for PE ? and show this on the transcripts?
I am sure I will have more questions but for now..
Thank you!
-
Hi Lindsay,
This is really a matter of personal preference, to some extent. Since we have always been a 'school at home' type family, I just put textbook titles and page numbers or chapter numbers, for the most part. I don't give a lot of extra info... I just say something like, "Chemistry" Chapters 1-3. Material included: atomic structure, periodicity, etc. The student made satisfactory progress in Chemistry. If we do anything extra I keep track of it for my own info and course descriptions for college apps.
If we are just using a hodgepodge of materials, I say something like: So and so spends approximately 1 hour per day studying Spanish. Resources include: Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish, Asi se Dice, Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal, and Iguana, a Spanish language magazine. So and so made satisfactory progress in Spanish.
There are many New Yorkers that would prefer not to give so much info, though. Maybe some of them will chime in, too. :) As a sort of personal protest (against what I am not sure....) I stopped 'evaluating' my kids for the Qreports. It seemed silly. We don't give tests, the kids just do the work we ask them to do and they do it well. We discuss things. It's all very subjective so I just say satisfactory for everything.
Great thanks so much for the helpful feedback Jen. I feel same way about the evaluation part, so do you just give a final grade at the end of the year than for the transcripts?
-
I'm not sure I would advise stopping reporting if your dc is still in high school .... and this is why.
In order to be a matriculated student in our local NY Community College, and therefore become eligible for financial aid and graduation, a student must have a high school diploma (or the equiv.). That means: The TASC (new GED), a super's letter, 5 regents, 24 credit hours from the CC (which you would have to pay full price for), or one other thing that I can't recall... lol... it may just be regular old high school graduation!
Anyway... nobody (that I know of) in my district has had a problem getting a letter from the super if they are compliant with the regs through graduation. Lots of other districts around are just as accommodating. It seems to me that the easiest way for my kids to get their HS equiv is just to get the letter... since there are no extra hoops to jump (exams, classes...etc) because I follow the regs.
I would check carefully before deciding to stop reporting.... to make sure you're not making extra work for your dc later.
Just my 2c. :)
Thanks Jen!
I am not going to stop reporting.
Question, for anyone.. My first quarterly report is creeping up at the end of this month I chose 11/30 to give us a little extra time for this quarter. I am a little nervous as to exactly what I should put in this? Like he mentioned I must report hours but you do you all just put total hours required + or do you report hours for each class?
Should I just state what we covered for each class as far as chapters?
And also what about grades ?? Do you report a grade at each quarter or just in the final at the end of year. ?
Also I am not sure how to report for - PE, ART and Nutrition etc.. we are just using various resources?
One other question..
I am going to be working on putting together her transcript and I am wondering how to add in her classes that she received credit in 8th grade at PS for her language - french and a elective class she took ??
Thank you!! :)
-
I hate to butt in here, but I wanted to see how things were working out for you with Power Basics Biology, OP? Did you find a way to schedule everything? How do you like Power Basics?
Also, what did you buy and what did you find useful? Workbook? TM? Textbooks?
Seems to be going well. ( we have been on a break as DD has been on a trip out west) but we will start back up tomorrow. I figured out the scheduling as far as using the activities along with the chapters.
The set I bought came with the student book, the activity book , teachers guide & test pack with answer key. All are condensed and to the point which I like.
The teachers guide which I didn't notice at first has a Use guide in the front that tells you which activities go with which practice sections in the student book. There seem to be a lot of activities so we have skipped a few of those depending on the sections.
I have a labpaq kit from my college bio class with microscope and all kinds of stuff but we have not used it yet ,will try and incorporate it at some point. & there are small experiments that can be done easily and quickly in some of the sections as your reading along in the student book.
-
We are doing okay! I think the initial panic is over! Although every now and then it creeps around :scared:
DD is working quite well on some days and other days she is like a snail! But on the good days she is great! Just not a big fan of school. We are working through Saxon Algebra 1 and although we are not as far as I would like, she is getting it and doing much better with it. :hurray: I sit with her and we do the lesson together , take notes and she works through the problem sets while I sit with her. So I think we finally found our groove with that!
The rest is moving along quite well I think for our first year ! :hurray:
She just left yesterday for a two week trip out west to Montana Elk hunting and I was worried about her getting behind on math and other stuff but I sent work with her and then I realized that we homeschool and this is an amazing trip of a life time! Including stops like Mount Rushmore along the way! So why should I worry, she will be seeing so much of our beautiful country !
Our first quarterly report is coming up the end of November , slightly nervous about that, and next year is lurking in the back of my mind.. but all in all we are doing good! :thumbup1:
-
I agree that you should continue reporting throughout the high school years esp. if you child is heading for college. I know that the state colleges wanted the super letter from us here in NY, but none of the private ones bothered.
Each year in high school, I sent a final year end narrative which included a short letter, transcript, and stating that:
XXXXX XXXXXXX
Grade XX
20XX – 20XX
Year End Narrative
Educational Statement
XXXX studies followed the Classical Educational Studies curriculum, which is characterized by a rich exposure to the history, art, and culture of Global Civilization, including its languages (Latin and Greek), its philosophy and literature, sciences, mathematics, and logic & rhetoric.
Course Work
XXXXXXX has successfully completed, and gone beyond, the New York State’s Department of Education’s requirements for the Grade XXXXX course of study.
.
I then attached a transcript for that school year along with a list of textbooks and short course descriptions for each subject
I didn't do this for the district per se, but rather it forced me every year to do this work so I'd have it up to date for colleges! Also, when it came time for asking for the super letter of equivilency, I didn't need to submit any additionally paperwork and was just given the letter without any fuss.
Myra
That's a good idea just to cover all bases and have everything together. Thank you!
Just curious what did you use for making your transcripts? Also how did you do your grading? I am still trying to figure all this out! thanks
-
Thank you all for your advice! I really appreciate it!
In PS they never had a text book they only used work sheets and notes etc.. from the teacher . Her average was always in the 80s.
I think its more of a boring, when will I use this attitude!! Because when she actually sits down concentrates and does the work she does fine.
Def. going to do the placement & see where we are and what the weak areas are . I think we will continue to work through Saxon while we checkout some other options.
TT was the other option that I looked at originally.. But its so hard to decide what will work or not work. :confused1: but we will def be check out some other options.
thank you again for the suggestions!!
-
Thank you everyone for the advice ! I am definitely not going to stop reporting. Letting the comment go and moving forward! :driving:
I do have another question though.. When do you start making a transcript? ( she already has a 2 hs credits) . Also do you send that in at the end of year? or just keep in your records and keep updating it every year?
Thanks
-
Okay so I just finally got a letter back from the homeschool coordinator. ( Not from the PS it is a separate office in BOCES & they handle several schools )
He basically said that he found my IHIP to be "minimally compliant" to the regulations. & that I need to include hours of instruction in the quarterly reports. ( Which I already knew this was in the paper work )
But he did not offer any reason for why he said that or offer any suggestions/changes.
I don't feel we are doing the minimal work. She is quite busy with all subjects.
She also already has her language credit and an elective credit from 8th grade. We are covering every subject and she has an elective class.
I only listed the main curriculum being used, not all the extra stuff we use and do.
We are in NY and I followed everything exactly as the regulations suggested.
Should I be worried that this is going to be an issue??
It really kind of bothered me.
:confused1:
Thanks!
-
She has always hated math and struggled even in PS. We didn't do the placement but she has done some algebra previously in PS. So she is familiar with some of the work so far which is helping. I guess we will just take our time and work through it. thank you
-
My question is this..
In NY we only need 2 units of Math for high school. My dd HATES math! We are working through Saxon Algebra I . Some days she works right through it and others not so much. Today was frustrating so we just took a break. We are on lesson 8 now for this year.
My question is .. are there other options for math? or should we just take our time and work through this even if it takes longer than a year? Because we have 4 yrs to do 2 units of math. Right now she does not want to go to college.. I am hoping this changes and I am trying to get all her credits in order so that if she changes her mind she has what she needs. But the biggest struggle is math.
Any advice is appreciated!
ps.. this is our first year HS'ing high school. we did HS 5th grade and then she was in a PS for middle grades. So we are still adjusting to the change.
-
Curious if anyone has used this and how do you like it?
I see there is possibly a cost to set up so I want to check before signing up.
thank you!
-
I don't have any advice or suggestions, but am pretty confident you climbed inside my head. I could have written the above. Verbatim. I was working on the same thing last night... Planning out our English course for 9th, looking ahead and mapping out the rest of high school English... As well as reviewing the overall plan I have for this year and the next four. It's overwhelming, but exciting. The moment I woke up this morning I burst into tears, which is not like me at all. My husband asked me what was wrong and I just couldn't even find the words... After a few minutes I pulled it together, got up and am determined to put one foot in front of the other, day after day.
So thank you for sharing and hugs to you. And thank you to all of these wonderful ladies (and gents) of the hive. I needed this post today!
Right there along side both of you ! Yesterday was rough, today was better. Some moments there are no words, other times I say, I've got this! So hugs to you both and thank you for your posts & yes thank you everyone here!! Your support is beyond appreciated!!
-
Hmm... is there something in particular you are having trouble with?
No, we didn't find it confusing at all. Maybe there is something that clicked for us that I could walk you through if you have a specific question.
I'm finding the layout of the text rather confusing. In the text it says the first module first week to do the reading and write an approach paper. But then on the schedule chart it says that the approach paper is for AP? I guess I just feel like I am doing a lot of flipping around in the text to try and figure out what to do. But maybe I just need to review it more.
-
If you are doing this system, you would divide points earned by total points available.
Right , okay Think I got it now! Thank you!
* I am thinking this might be the easiest way to keep track
-
I do things a big differently.
I give 5 points for daily lessons (some subjects 10 points)
I give 20 points for quizzes and most writing assignments
I give 50 points for a research paper
I give 100 points for a test
With this system. A point is a point.
I am really struggling with how to do grades as this is basically our first year with them.
When you use that system at the end of the year do you add up total points and total points missed then divide to get your grade??
-
We are using the EIL Intro to Literature.
Is it me or is this layout of scheduling and assignments rather confusing to follow??? My head is spinning! :confused1:
-
Studio Art and Art History are two different subject. A good Studio Art class will include some art history, but it won't be emphasized. If you're interested in giving credit for either or both of these subjects, it's a good idea to look around the web for course descriptions and syllabi. Google "Art History Syllabus" or "Studio Art Syllabus" and add "high school" to the search if you find it necessary. Once you read some course descriptions you will have a feel for what is included in each course. Once you know that, you can customize your own plan and then chart out your course.
What constitutes a full credit will depend somewhat on your homeschool laws - are you required to spend a certain amount of time on a subject? Do you have to record hours? Generally speaking, a full credit means a student has spent at least 120 hours on the subject matter. So, to get both an art history and a studio art credit, there would be 120 hours of work in each area.
There are some great posts on TWTM boards about designing your own courses. I think Lori D. has done a few outstanding ones, so search for her posts to get you started.
There are pre-packaged art and art history courses for high school as well - search for those on the high school forum to get some recommendations.
Thank you very much! I do have the schedule set with the required time for the subject. I was unsure about the curriculum but I will do the searches you recommend & I Think we will do the Studio Art this year with the touch of history.
Thanks again for your help!
-
If we do a combo of different things, studio, art history etc... and use various resources ? Or do you all stick to either studio or art history as separate classes?
DD found a great book about caricatures , the history and a guide to draw them which she is very interested in , but I don't want to just list that as our resource because it probably wouldn't be considered a years worth of work.
Does anyone know of any good free lessons online for different studio art projects??
So I guess what I am asking is how should we write this on our IHIP?? if we don't have a specific curriculum?
Thanks!
-
I just worked out our plan for the PowerBasics govt (which is terrific btw, just what I wanted), and I was surprised how little correlation there was. I ended up going through and making a list of which activities to skip. Then I made a chart laying everything out into days, with appropriate chunks for work for each day. Helped me wrap my brain around it too and gave me a chance to schedule in field trips and whatnot.
So a typical day on the checklist says something like "read lesson 8, do practices, do workbook activities 25-27." Yeah, you could probably do that on the fly. It's just easier for us to have it all figured out. I don't know how the biology is, but the gov't activities I really liked. I found I didn't really want to skip a lot of them.
Thank you! I tried to do a google search for a syllabus to see if anyone had it planned out but no luck. So I am going to scan through like you mentioned and plan it out!
Thanks again!
New York - 9th Grade & End of Year Testing?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
Yes was referring to the Standardized testing. Thank you! Appreciate the info :)