I have two kids who took the SAT biology test this past spring. One said his test included a LOT of very detailed questions on the human body, including reproductive and endocrine systems. The other said her test had only a few human anatomy questions - she was disappointed because that's one of her best areas. But both definitely included the topic. And yes, it was a very vocabulary intensive test.

Yes, it's a full course. As with all AoPS, it's rather intense and great for mathy kids. The online class moves fast. If you buy the books and use it independently, of course, you can move at whatever pace you want. We did it and it generally worked very well. My only gripe was/is that there are plenty of proofs, sure, but the book does not really "teach" proofs. It uses the same "discovery" method that AoPS uses for everything, and while that works great for lots of stuff, for my kids, that did not work so well with proofs. We wound up getting a supplemental book just on proofs, which helped immensely.

If she places in to Algebra II, she obviously learned Algebra I adequately somehow - so you just give her credit. If she did not adequately learn Algebra I it will become very obvious as she works through Algebra II, and she will have to fix the gaps in her knowledge to move on. So not a big deal.

This may have been addressed somewhere but I cannot find it.... For a homeschooled high school student dual enrolled in a community college, will getting an AS degree interfere with freshman status/financial aid/etc? I know that students can earn as many college credits as they want as a dual enrolled highschooler without problems, but will actually going thru the paperwork to get the AS degree during high school cause problems? One of my kids wants to get a part time job that requires an AS in a particular field. She has almost all the credits. She wants to finish the last couple of classes, get the AS, and get that part time job, while still finishing high school. I'm concerned that this might jeopardize her freshman standing (and potential scholarships) when she applies to 4 year schools. Any words of wisdom?

That's lucky! Mine have had major problems finding employers who will hire 14 year olds. Most want at least 15 if not 16. My oldest has had a part time job at a local restaurant since she turned 15, about a year and half now. It has been very good for her - she only works about 10 hours a week, like many others said, but she likes the spending money, and the responsibilities that go with a "real job" have definitely helped her mature. My twins just turned 14, got their work permits, and have been job hunting, but almost everywhere says they must be 15 or 16 before they will even be considered. Frustrating, because they both really want to work.

I second all the comments about the increase in driving time. I would add, that it depends a lot not only on the individual child, but also on how much you are directly teaching vs. outsourcing and then supervising. As mine have hit high school, there are some outsourced classes (online or CC), that take relatively little time. But I also have kids who, on entering the high school years, have become very interested in focus areas/electives that are also areas of expertise for me or my husband (computer programming, accounting, art, graphic design), and thus we are directly teaching/mentoring those subjects - which is very rewarding, but also surprisingly time consuming! However, I do work full time, with a flexible schedule, and always have, so it's certainly very possible.

I agree with calling it Horticulture and Agricultural Science or something similar. And maybe I'm missing something, but why on earth would there be any question that you can/should give credit for this? Why would we presume that book learning is "standard" and hands-on learning is "less than"? Most academic programs in schools and such work hard to incorporate at least some hands on learning, and colleges (and employers) respect that - that's why they value a science with a lab over that same science without a lab. Besides, we're homeschoolers - why be cookie cutter?

What about self-study for the AP test? APs tend to be accepted at a lot more places and more consistently than CLEPs, and the material for self-study is similar. If the fee is not a big obstacle, you could always self study and then take both the CLEP and the AP, just in case.

We used and loved LoF, but never as the sole curriculum. We used it as a supplement/teaching tool/fun alternative for when regular math gets boring, but we paired it with Singapore in the younger years, then transitioned to AoPS. I would recommend it, but only "in addition to" rather than "instead of" another math. Beast Academy looks great - mine were already past that point when it came out, tho, so I've never used it.

Yes, entirely normal. Nowadays they are most likely to send you an email or a link to where it may be on a web site, but back when I was a researcher, I used to get letters/postcards asking for copies of papers. I'd send it directly to the researcher. If they have an admin (not always true), the admin will be reviewing their mail anyway, or they'll just forward it on. Most researchers are flattered when people want their work. :)

I think a good 1-2 page paper, well-organized and cogent, is a very reasonable expectation for 9th. That said, I have had kids who can easily write a very good 8-10 page paper with no issues at 9th, and I currently have one, rising 9th, who struggles to write one respectable page. So it certainly varies by kid. However, my struggling writer is using WWS1, which I think is somewhat remedial for 9th. So maybe the Intermediate Bravewriter placement was good? I tell all of mine, that it's not just whether you can write well when all the stars align and you have lots of time and help. You have to be able to write quickly and well on demand, before you really have achieved that level of skill. Hope that helps.

The Chosen, Potok The Crucible, Miller The Divine Comedy, Dante Les Miserables, Hugo

Sounds like you have a good, healthy relationship with your DD, and the person giving you advice is either uninformed, deluded, or just plain jealous. No matter, that person's motives, their advice is *horrible* and you should absolutely ignore it! I have teen children, and I have very close relationships with them - some more than others, depending on their personalities. But I've seen that kind of close family relationship with a lot of homeschoolers - I've always thought that was one of the perks of homeschooling. The idea that the relationship between teens and parents somehow should be tense or distant or adversarial is to my mind one of the great false assumptions in our society right now. If anything, teens with good relationships with adults in general and one or both parents in particular should have an easier time transitioning to a secure adulthood, because they have people they trust to turn to for advice. Cherish your relationship with your DD, and ignore the advice those who ask you to betray her trust - because, that's really what they are suggesting you do when they tell you to push her away and ignore her.

Accounting - there's a good CD based course from Professor in a Box, or dual enroll at your local CC Psychology - very, very useful for business majors, PA homeschoolers has the AP class Marketing - also available on CD from Professor in a Box, or dual enroll

My oldest DD is taking bio this saturday, and FS is taking bio in June. This will be the first SAT II for any of my kids, so hopefully it all goes smoothly.

Oh, that explains it. Thanks! I think last year she sent out emails or such, so I was expecting that.

Where are the Lukeion people getting their results for the NLE? Mine took the NLE through Lukeion but as far as I know we haven't heard anything about their results yet... Did I miss something?

Udacity has a very good free online Intro to Psychology. They don't advertise it anymore but it's still there - try this link: https://www.udacity.com/course/viewer#!/c-ps001/l-294214477/m-294859647

1) What state are you in? Pennsylvania - but obviously a different county than Carrie12345 2) Do dual enrollment students pay tuition in your area? Yes, they pay the same tuition as college students. In our county, that's about 100/credit for county residents. 3) Can dual enrollment students count their courses towards their HS diploma? Yes, and they also get the college credit. 4) How many credits can a dual enrollment student take? They limit students under 16 to 1 class / semester to start with, but if you prove yourself it can go up to as many as you like. Students under 16 also have additional hoops to jump through - more paperwork, classes have to be approved by the dean, etc. Age 16 and up, no limits and they can take anything they have the prerequisites for. 5) Are there limits on the DE classes a student can take? No

Any age, if the student is ready for it. I currently have an 8th grader who will be sitting an AP exam this year. My current 10th grader is taking 2 APs this year and took 1 last year. There's no stated minimum age from the college board, so it's really just about whether the student is ready for it. Note however some AP classes from some providers may have their own policies about minimum ages or grades -- but that applies only to that school or provider, not to AP classes/exams generically.

I like CLEPs for outside verification, and for having a specific goal. I figure if any of them get credit for the CLEPs later, that's gravy. Oh, and by the way, the CLEP retest waiting period is now 3 months, rather than 6 months. It changed a couple years ago.

You could also try Intro to Marketing from Professor in a Box - http://professorinabox.com/?page_id=765 It's geared towards learning marketing and being able to take the Marketing CLEP at the end. I have not used it - but we are currently using Financial Accounting from the same guy and it's quite good.

Stanford Online has a great free intro MOOC, online, self paced: https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/Engineering/CS101/Summer2014/about I went thru this same question myself - I grew up techie in the '80s, learning about computers as they evolved, but strangely that's made it harder I think to introduce my kids. I tried various approaches, and have settled on this, at least for now: general computer science intro - the stanford online class CS101 (free) web development - using CodeAcademy.com (free) programming - python - using learnpythonthehardway.org's online book (free) These 3 things can be done in 1 year, and combine to make a good solid intro to computer science, including the basics, some decent web development, and some decent programming. I've tried including an intro to databases as well but that seems to be too much. Hope that helps!

I'd strongly agree that a real job at a business, like the bagel chain you mentioned, will teach her a lot about how actual businesses operate - especially if she's interested and looking to learn. There's nothing like real business experience. I'd also recommend financial accounting (at the CC, or there's a DVD based course (professor in a box) that we've used). And statistics is good, as is economics. If she's looking towards an accounting/finance/business career, very solid excel skills, and good computer skills in general, are also very key.

Why not find another way to do Russian 3 and potentially 4? There are lots of online options for languages these days. Then you can have 3 or 4 years in one language without the need to push quite so hard. Just a thought...