Just curious -- should you list on a transcript/college application those awards won as part of a team/group effort? DS16 participates in our public school's marching band, and they have won quite a few awards at the regional/state level. Does this count (both for the poll and for inclusion on college applications)?

Sooo bummed about DS's score (and I feel very guilty because it's a good score...188). BUT he DROPPED 8 points from last year's score after a fair amount of test prep. Last year, as a sophomore, he scored a 196 and I was thrilled, thinking that with some test prep, he's close enough to the cut off that he just might achieve it in his junior year. I knew it was very possible to increase your score by 10-20 points from year to year. Well, his score decreased this year and I'm SO disappointed. Trying hard not to convey this to my son. And please know that I realize it is a good score and I should be proud of my son. And I am. But I truly never expected a DECREASE, esp. after all the time we took out of our school schedule and during the summer to devote to test prep. I am not really into the "competitive high school race" that so many parents are into (no AP courses here, except an AP Art Drawing Portfolio course), but I always expect to see improvement from year to year. Worst of all, his scores decreased in Critical Reading and Writing...his two strongest areas. Feeling very frustrated and doubting my decision about curriculum we used, about homeschooling through high school, etc.

He's not a poor test taker -- just not a great one. He's done pretty well (but not great) on PSAT & ACT. But in actual course tests (perhaps at the end of a chapter), his grades can range from A-D, mostly in the B-C range. (We've been brushing up on test-taking strategies this year, so maybe that will help.) But I was just curious if taking a CLEP exam after a low AP test score was a possibility. I really don't like the idea of a one-time-only test determining whether or not you get college credit for a whole year's worth of work. DS will do a mix of a few APs, a few more CLEPs and mostly CC courses. I don't want to rely on any one credit-earning method, although his 1st choice college accepts all three.

DS16 is smart but not a great test-taker. I want him to take at least a couple of AP classes, but I'm worried he might not score well enough on the AP exam to earn college credit. So I'm wondering...if a student gets only a 1 or 2 on an AP exam, can he then go and take a CLEP test on the same subject and still earn college credit? Is this frowned upon? Is this breaking any kind of rule that I don't know about? I'm just trying to have a back-up plan in place in case the test score is low. (He's going to take AP classes in his areas of strength, so I know he can handle the content.)

Thank you! Looks like a good resource.

I would absolutely encourage her to be involved in the play, but I would dangle that as the carrot to fuel her motivation to get her schoolwork done. "If you do this, this, and this by this date, I will be happy to drive you to and from auditions, play practice, etc." That way, you are not rewarding her for slacking off, and you are showing her that you want her to pursue her passion and you will help her do it. But I think it needs to be a win-win for both of you.

I absolutely LOVE Lee's webinars that she has available on her website. Each one costs $15, but she often has a few on sale for $5. Right now, I'm listening to Homeschool High School Record Keeping , and it is VERY thorough & includes some helpful handouts. I think she's a fantastic resource for all things high school related. I'm a big fan and would highly recommend her webinars (which are found in her Store under "Parent Training a la Cart"). I have not yet tried any of her new Kindle books, but at $2.99 each, they seem like a bargain for all the practical advice she usually gives.

I posted this a few months ago on the high school board, but in case you didn't see it .... There's a fabulous series of free, in-depth study skills lectures on YouTube by Professor Scott Brueckner of Long Beach City College. While the lectures are geared toward college students, most of the info is applicable to middle & high schoolers as well. There are 14 lectures, each about 45-50 minutes, that cover the following topics: Habits of Successful College Students, Organizing Your Study Time (Parts 1 & 2), Improving Your Listening Skills, Taking Better Lecture Notes, How to Predict Test Questions, Preparing for Tests, Test-Taking Skills, More Test-Taking Skills, How to Remember For Tests, Memory Tricks, More Memory Tricks, Great Ways to Study, & More Great Ways to Study. Many of them include helpful printable handouts. DS12 & DS16 have watched 8 of the 14 lectures so far, & they've been incredibly informative. I highly recommend watching these with your kids. Did I mention they are free? :hurray:

DS15 is reading "Socially Curious" and says he likes it -- gives him a better understanding of social expectations and how he thinks differently. I bought "Preparing for Life" and plan to use it soon with DS. It looks really good & covers the following topics: nonverbal cues/body language, dealing w/ anger/frustration, dealing w/ anxiety, conversation, building & maintaining friendships (and dealing w/ roommates), dating, dealing w/ school & family demands, employment skills, money matters, preparing for emergencies, transportation. There are a total of 73 lessons under the major topics. (Note: the last 3 topics are only briefly covered.) It's written in an easy-to-use format for every lesson, where 1st you read about the topic (rationale, real-life examples, what to do about it). Then there's an activity page (teaching, generalization priming, facilitated practice, review). It's a tangible, step-by-step approach that looks very doable.

I cross-posted this on the high school board a few months ago, but in case you didn't see it, there is a great series of 45-minute lectures here given by a college professor teaching study skills. He's really good and addresses the followiing topics: Improving Listening Skills, Habits of Successful College Students, Organizing Your Study Time, Taking Better Lecture Notes, How to Predict Test Questions, Preparing for Tests, Test-Taking Skills, How to Remember For Tests, Memory Tricks, Great Ways to Study, The website also includes some printable handouts you can use. My DS is very resistant to MY attempts to organize him, but this guy seems to work for DS.

Aw, hugs! Had one of those days just this week. It can be VERY frustrating. My husband & I have contemplated sending DS back to public school for 11th & 12th grades, because my frustration levels have been so high. But really, that would benefit ME more than my son. Academically, he's capable of handling challenging courses (he's taking pre-calculus and chemistry honors right now, earning a B in both). However, taking these same courses in public school would mean lots of nightly homework, rigid schedules, lots of different deadlines, assignments, papers, projects, & tests, with no wiggle room to accomodate for his weak executive functioning skills. So our flexible homeschooling has allowed us to focus on learning strategies for planning, prioritizing, time management, scheduling, study skills, etc. Is your son willing to do any online courses (thus taking the burden from you & holding him accountable to someone else's deadlines and requirements)? My DS takes 2 courses thru Florida Virtual School (actually, the math & science courses noted above) and does well. I still have to help him with some organizational tasks (planning, scheduling, time management, etc.), but all the course content, labs, tests, etc., are out of my hands. If he doesn't like something within the course or the school/teacher policy, I tell him to call his teacher & tell him about it. (That always stops the complaining. He realizes it's not ME setting the requirments.) In the end, you've just got to do what you know in your heart would be best for your son at this time in his life. If he's very resistant to anything you want him to do, it's hard to get past that.

Faithr, I haven't been on this forum in a while but just saw your message. First, let me thank you for the link to that awesome article. It's one of the most helpful things I've read so far, and I've been doing TONS of reading up on Asperger's this past year. Second, I'm in the same boat -- just found out last summer that DS15 has Asperger's. It's been very emotional (mostly for me, not so much for my son) and very frustrating (again...me) trying to readjust our approach to high school, re-think our DS's plans for college, etc. It feels very over-whelming many days, trying to juggle typical high school/college planning stuff and therapy appointments, social skills training, etc. Would love to connect with you -- and any other parents of Aspie teens -- to share insights, resources, frustrations, etc. Some days all I need is someone to talk me down from the ledge. :p

I wanted to share these Coursera writing classes that are starting soon, since they both look amazing! You can read details here. English Composition I: Achieving Expertise Denise Comer (Duke University) You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field. Students will learn how to read carefully, write effective arguments, understand the writing process, engage with others' ideas, cite accurately, and craft powerful prose. We will create a workshop environment. Writing II: Rhetorical Composing Susan Delagrange, Scott Lloyd DeWitt, Kay Halasek, Ben McCorkle, and Cynthia Selfe (Ohio State University) Writing II engages you in a series of interactive reading, research, and composing activities along with assignments designed to help you become a more effective consumer and producer of alphabetic, visual and multimodal texts.

I wanted to share these Coursera writing classes that are starting soon, since they both look amazing! You can read details here. English Composition I: Achieving Expertise Denise Comer (Duke University) You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field. Students will learn how to read carefully, write effective arguments, understand the writing process, engage with others' ideas, cite accurately, and craft powerful prose. We will create a workshop environment. Writing II: Rhetorical Composing Susan Delagrange, Scott Lloyd DeWitt, Kay Halasek, Ben McCorkle, and Cynthia Selfe (Ohio State University) Writing II engages you in a series of interactive reading, research, and composing activities along with assignments designed to help you become a more effective consumer and producer of alphabetic, visual and multimodal texts.

I just wanted to throw out an additional option: "Think Again: How to Reason & Argue" from Coursera https://www.coursera.org/#courses. It's a free, 12-week, online course taught by a Duke University professor. It started already back in Nov., but I think you can still register & proceed at your own pace. Here's a description: About the Course Reasoning is important. This course will teach you how to do it well. You will learn some simple but vital rules to follow in thinking about any topic at all and some common and tempting mistakes to avoid in reasoning. We will discuss how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments by other people (including politicians, used car salesmen, and teachers) and how to construct arguments of your own in order to help you decide what to believe or what to do. These skills will be useful in dealing with whatever matters most to you. I will also be using 2 of the books you mentioned, combined with this Coursera course, to create either a one-credit course or 2 half-credit courses. I also own "Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning" by The Great Courses, which I'll probably incorporate as well.