Yes. We are using these tests specifically for courses that my kids DO NOT want to see again when they go off to college. :)

I'm thinking about having my freshman take the SAT 2 for the biology he has been studying this year. There are two sections - E & M - and you can only take one at a time, even though it says both are usually covered in a high school course. Any advice on which to take and why? Here's my plan... We're using dual credit for classes taken in junior & senior years. Mostly math, science and foreign languages. We live in Texas and can't take dual credit before then. We're using AP for classes where we might have a difference in values at the community college (ie. literature) or classes taken before the junior year. We're leaning towards AP US Gov't & Comparative Gov't next year. Probably take SAT2's for regular high school classes to show proficiency and to support the mommy grades. Possibly CLEP for the same purpose. Doe's that seem reasonable?

How do you choose which tests to have your students take? My impression is that... 1) AP's are the most difficult & most widely accepted. You really need to study for each particular test. 2) CLEP is the easiest or covers the most general information, and not so widely accepted. Useful to verify what you are teaching at home. 3) SAT subjects tests - somewhere in between the other two? I really don't know. Which have you used and why?

I think Starting Point laid a wonderful foundation, but I had a few problems with it. (1) There are NO parent/teacher helps. You have to go through every bit of it with your child in order to discuss it. (2) The curriculum had the students look up way too many Bible verses. I know that sounds bad, but really, 20 verses that all support the same point was driving us crazy. You could just look ahead and skip some of these to make life easier. (3) Some of the apologetics books (Know What You Believe and Know Why You Believe) were very outdated. I would like my kids to have more current arguments for their faith. These are arguments I was using in the 70's & 80's. If you are comfortable with skipping some of the redundant assignments, I highly recommend it. I think the Narnia books were a great place to start searching for worldviews in literature. Even if you don't use Starting Points, I would not miss The Deadliest Monster along with Frankenstein and J&H.

We loved these books, but they aren't really the kind of thing you could just sit down and read straight through - that would be pretty rough slogging. I broke the readings up to coincide the time periods we studies through the year. So we might spend 2-4 months on a book.

:grouphug: My 16yo son is still this way. My 12yo son is exceptionally organized just like me, so it isn't just the age. I have struggled with letting 16yo do it on his own. A few times he has forgotten something important and received a bad grade (of course that only works with outside classes) so he is learning from that and getting better. You're right. The hardest part is knowing when to take over and when to let them fail. I go back and forth like Jekyll and Hyde. I usually let them take charge until it gets too bad, then I take over again. After losing a few weekends in a row to make-up work, I get pretty grouchy! One of the organization books I read suggested a weekly meeting with your child. Let him tell you how he is going to organize himself and take responsibility. The next week, discuss what did/didn't work and make changes. The important part was that it had to be HIS ideas (even if they sound remarkably like the words you've been using for years). "I don't know" isn't acceptable. Have him sit at a desk with paper for as long as it takes for him to come up with his own plan to organize. We're still working through this. Good luck.

I haven't used MFW, either, but I used the Notgrass Exploring America (the core of MFW) last year with a 15,13 and 11yo. It is harder than their world history, but we survived. I did give up on their tests because they were so trivia-laden. We mostly just talked through the chapter questions to see what the kids remembered. Sometimes if they missed something important, I sent them back to the book to find the answer. They were required to take notes from their reading. And I also use Omnibus as mostly a resource for me along with WTM and the Notgrass spines. My 14yo has a little more trouble with literature, so I am giving him the Omnibus book for a few works (right now it's a Tale of Two Cities) and we work through them exactly as it's laid out in the text.

I know this is going to be controversial, but we are just starting in on serious college planning and AP's, etc... and I find I'm asking myself, "What on earth happen to our classical education?" Ds is finishing up his first AP class (Engl Lang & Comp). It has been a demanding class, but I figured that is good for a teen boy. Then I picked up a test prep book for him, and I can't believe the ridiculous questions in it. This represents everything I hated about school. I have taught literature, lit analysis and grammar for years, but you wouldn't know it from from my brief tour through the practice test. I can't believe we call this education. I am having serious second thoughts about the AP's I had planned for next year (US & Comp Government). So, is a classical education no longer good enough? Are we trading wisdom and understanding for useless trivia and a slot at a "selective college"? Or is this a necessary evil? What is the point of homeschooling and education in the first place? What are you thoughts? My brain is fried from going back and forth! :rant:

I have several home schooled friends that couldn't make it into the Marines or navy, mostly because of test scores. Maybe he could take a practice ASVAB? You can find the prep books at Half-Price books. The military is much more selective than they used to be. And the physical training is something else altogether. I have a friend going through basic training for the Seals right now, they average 95% drop-out rate!!! Talking to a recruiter is a great idea, but my fear is that they would see him as "only 15." With little to no test scores to show them, they might not want to discourage him at such a young age and only give him false hope. But then again, lots of boys undergo a miraculous change around this age. Maybe he needs something to work for. I think at 15 I would be totally honest with him - but probably only about what you know to be a fact (3 out of 4 students score higher on the Iowa test) but not what you think might happen in the future. That's where more test scores would help you give him an objective assessment. BTW, the boys I know that have had trouble getting into the military are mostly going through EMS training. That seems to offer them a similar level of excitement. Another high school sibling of one of them is working with the "Young Marines" for to help prepare him. I don't know much about it, but you might look into it. And your right, most boys this age don't understand how competitive life can be. They think they are a shoe-in, God's gift to women, and they are bullet proof. That's why we send them off to war and not older/wiser men. I struggle with this with my sons, too.

Ds is taking AP Engl Lang & Comp from PHPrep right now. I can't believe how organized they are. We've had bad luck with some online classes (not AP) and grading. PH Prep laid out a syllabus and grading at the start of the year and they have stuck with it - to the point that my son knows exactly how much every single assignment will count towards his final grade. Of course, the real test is how does it prepare for the AP test - that remains to be seen, but they do publish PHP AP test statistics, and they are very good.

Have you looked at this? I bought the book and haven't gotten around to it, yet. I really like Leithart.

:iagree:

How about HSLDA's on-line Con Law course? My son loved it. They suggested that you award a full credit because of the time required.

I can't think of much that would fall under multiple catagories. My son serves on a board of directors for our local bluegrass association, so that will go under leadership and -maybe- community service also. Most community services hours are volunteer things that wouldn't go under anything else. Leadership is usually an elected position, not an assumed role. Honors/achievements are all various contest results. Job experience... well, for my son its all volunteer internships.

Oh, and do you list things in chronological order... oldest to newest, or newest to oldest?

Thank you for answering my many, many questions. I have actually completed the transcript, course descriptions page, and reading list for a college visit in two weeks. Last - I hope:hurray: - is my son's resume. It has sections for (1) honors & achievements (2) leadership (3) job experience (4) community service. Am I missing anything? Under honors & achievements I have a couple of questions... If the student wins multiple level of a competition (ie. local, regional, district) then goes on to place - but not win - at a higher level, do you list all the levels? For example: Won local, regional and district level of x competition. Placed third at the state level.... or something like that? Is it appropriate to include that your student won scholarships for these contests? Right now I'm just including a brief "scholarship awarded" but with no dollar amounts. Should I include that at all? Thanks again, Tracie

I thought the whole book was about writing persuasive essays. And, what's an academic response paper? :001_huh:

Here's a very old schedule I used.

Good to know - that's our plan for next year.

It's been pretty tough for my 16yo and - I admit - I dropped out in the first book. I highly recommend the discussion questions from TheGreatBooks.com They will be "big picture" questions, not content or comprehension. The guide has a very short intro to the book, but you may want more. You can find good intro material to many of the classics in Invitation to the Classics. Good luck.

Are you speaking of the Spanish credits? Here's a link to my local community college's page on credit recommendations. This is the same list our local high schools use to grant high school credits.

He's taking dual credit Chemistry this summer. I suppose I could call that either 10th or 11th grade, right?

You're right - Chemistry & lab is only 1 credit. Spanish I & II at the community college are actually 2 separate high school credits in Texas. I've got to look into the English/comp thing. Thanks for the input! Do any of you have kids that have studied for the AP on their own? How much time does it take? We've done so much government-related study already, I'd like to think the government test prep will be relatively easy for them. I haven't gathered the resources for this, yet. I hate to have ds skip science all year, but I'm afraid it might be too much on top of the two college classes. He really doesn't want to study Physics at home since he can take it at comm college, but 3 college classes it just too much for his first full year of dual credit.

Here's what I have planned so far for next year: 11th grade future attorney Trig & Pre-Calc / dual credit at community college - 1 credit Spanish I & II / dual credit at community college - 2 credits study at home for AP Gov't exams, both U.S. and Comparative - 1 credit modern history (at home - haven't decided on text, will go w/gov't) - 1 credit Great books study - 1 credit Composition (lots of lit. analysis, timed essays and thesis papers) - 1 credit Debate (he takes this REALLY seriously) and speeches - .5 credit I think I'll have him wait and take his 4th science over the summer or his senior year. I'll probably go light on history to really concentrate on writing. 10 grade - undecided, possibly engineering, but leaning toward liberal arts Algebra II (Saxon) - 1 credit Chemistry & lab at local class (instruction is just average) - 1.5 credits Spanish II (Rosetta Stone) - 1 credit study at home for AP Gov't exams, both U.S. and Comparative - 1 credit modern history (at home - haven't decided on text, will go w/gov't) - 1 credit Great books (using some of Omnibus & some GreatBooks.com) - 1 credit Composition (similar to above) - 1 credit Debate (he loves it, too) - .5 Is this do-able? Am I missing anything?

Is it possible for a student to do this on his own - no classroom - with just the test prep books and a textbook?