Could you explain what equals a credit, 1/2 credit, etc.?

[Sue G in PA]

Dd13 starts 9th gr. this fall. I had assumed she would continue in ps for high school since her 8th gr. "trial" went so well. But, she wants to come home! Yippee! However, I am so unprepared! I understand credits and know what she needs for the most part. I just need to be able to "translate" a homeschool course into a credit, kwim? So, how many hours or what type of class would equal a full credit and how about 1/2 credit? Dd would have taken about 6 full credits for 9th in ps (or there abouts)...we already filled out her schedule before she decided to homeschool again. Is that number of credits about right? I don't want to overload her but I certainly don't want her to fall 'behind'. Thanks!

[Jane in NC]

Sue,

 

You are going to receive a variety of answers to this query. Most people seem to define a credit or unit as 150-180 academic hours. (Translate this to public school where students may have 180 days with a 50 minute class meeting on each of these days.) Some give a credit or unit for as few as 120 hours.

 

Some say that a credit is given once the book is finished. Smarty pants math club members may fly through a text--the argument is why should they not receive complete credit. By the same token, some kids are going to draaaaaag their feet through geometry. They are not finished after they have clocked 180 hours--at least in my book. Here I would have an expectation of what is required in the course and assign credit upon finishing that syllabus.

 

Be careful though. My son clocked many, many, many more hours than 180 in some courses (like AP Biology). While one is tempted to give more than a single credit, this is not done at the high school level. I would follow some traditional conventions when assigning credits.

 

Best regards,

Jane

[Jean in Wisc]

Here's my answer to this--I put it on my blog. HTH, Jean

 

http://shadesofwhite.typepad.com/shades_of_white/2007/07/weve-been-discu.html

[Chris in PA]

Sue,

In PA we have diploma programs. I use them to determine what I count as a "credit". According to several of the most popular ones, a credit would translate to 120 hours, 120 logged entries, or 2/3 of a textbook complete. A half credit would be 60 hours, 60 logged entries or 1/3 of a textbook. Nowhere does it tell you how long a logged entry needs to be. There are additional ways to obtain a credit for a course including a research project culminating in a minimum 10 page research paper, a college course or passing an AP or CLEP exam.

 

If she does 6 credits a year then she would have 24 credits to graduate which seems right about where she would need to be.

 

If you have more questions about PA stuff you could pm me and I can see if I can help you.

[Lori D.]

CREDITS

A. Definition of Credits

1. High school credit = a class that takes the equivalent of a year to complete.

(NOTE: A high school "credit" is DIFFERENT from a college "unit"; a high school CREDIT reflects how much of a school year was required to complete the course; in contrast: a college unit reflects how many hours a week the class meets over the course of the semester

2 examples of high school credits:
a. 1 credit = 1 year class = 36 weeks = 120-180 hours
b. 0.5 credit = 1 semester class = 18 weeks = 60-90 hours
c. 0.25 credit = 1 quarter long = 9 weeks = 30-45 hours
d. 0.66 credit = 24 weeks = 80-120 hours
e. 0.33 credit = 12 weeks = 40-60 hours

(NOTE: All the work and/or hours to complete a high school class does NOT have to occur in the same year)


B. How to Determine Credits

1. completion of a standard 1 year high school textbook (regardless of hours)

2. completion of credit hours
a. Carnegie hours: 1 credit = 120 hours (time a student is in class, or has contact with instructor)
b. academic course credit: 1 credit = 150 hours (180 school days x 50 minutes per class)
c. science lab course or project-heavy course: 1 credit = up to 180 hours (allows more time for labs, projects, etc.)

[skissugar]

I emailed you!!! :) thank you for sharing this!!

[Lori D.]

Oh, definitely go with the specific info from Chris in PA! That's great to get such specific help from someone in your state. :)

 

You also asked how many classes per year to have your DD do, and Chris also addressed that specifically for you being in PA, but in case you wanted to see a recent conversation on this topic, check out this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165790&highlight=credits

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[Susan C.]

Sue,

In PA we have diploma programs. I use them to determine what I count as a "credit". According to several of the most popular ones, a credit would translate to 120 hours, 120 logged entries, or 2/3 of a textbook complete. A half credit would be 60 hours, 60 logged entries or 1/3 of a textbook. Nowhere does it tell you how long a logged entry needs to be. There are additional ways to obtain a credit for a course including a research project culminating in a minimum 10 page research paper, a college course or passing an AP or CLEP exam.

 

If she does 6 credits a year then she would have 24 credits to graduate which seems right about where she would need to be.

 

If you have more questions about PA stuff you could pm me and I can see if I can help you.

 

Chris,

Could you give a few examples of a "logged entry?" I would love to see this, it would be very helpful to me!

 

Thanks,

Susan

[Chris in PA]

Susan,

I only count logged entries for subjects where I do not use a textbook. We typically complete the texts so I don't need the logged entries. I do use them for things like physical education, composition, literature, art, etc. My logged entries are 30 minutes. But like I said, in the PA homeschool law a "logged entry" is not given a defined amount of time. I know people who use 15 minutes as a logged entry and others who use an hour. I have an Excel spreadsheet where I keep track of them daily per subject. Even if my logged entries exceed 120, I still only assign 1 credit.

 

Does that help?

[Susan C.]

Susan,

I only count logged entries for subjects where I do not use a textbook. We typically complete the texts so I don't need the logged entries. I do use them for things like physical education, composition, literature, art, etc. My logged entries are 30 minutes. But like I said, in the PA homeschool law a "logged entry" is not given a defined amount of time. I know people who use 15 minutes as a logged entry and others who use an hour. I have an Excel spreadsheet where I keep track of them daily per subject. Even if my logged entries exceed 120, I still only assign 1 credit.

 

Does that help?

 

I do the same as you when we "go over." But, some subjects don't have enough material to log enough "time" (120-150 hrs.) but you cover it, so I am wondering if it can still be counted as either a half or whole credit. Examples would be economics where you do Dave Ramsey and/or Penny Candy, or Idiots Guide to Government. For a few subjects, we are burning out on textbooks, there is a lot of wasted time and repeat using them, and if we cover the subject adequately, I would like to assign the credits.