s/o - Transcripts and acceleration

[LisaKinVA]

I think this got buried a little in a previous thread, but it will probably affect what curriculum I use for Science.

 

My son is starting high school level science (my dd will begin next year). I wasn't planning to include any of the science (or math, really) on their high school transcripts...because I figured it would be unnecessary.

 

My thinking is if their high school math courses begin with Algebra II, that colleges would "assume" the prior courses (I may go ahead and list Geometry, Intro to Counting/Probability & Intro to Number Theory...because those may *not* be assumed)

 

And, that was also my thinking with Science as well. My son will begin 9th with Physics (not calculus based), then do either an AP-level Biology course at home (through an on-line school), or take Biology 101/102 at the community college with a lab, followed by Chemistry with a lab (also at CC), and Physics (calculus based at the CC), and one or two others. I also found CK-12 with their engineering courses and nano-tech courses, and I could see throwing those in as well (he really loves that stuff).

 

Am I wrong to think that leaving "off" the basic HS courses from his transcript will be fine? That there will be more than enough "proof" of learning if he's taking most of his science classes at the CC? Do you think they would "care" about Bio he took in 7th, or Chem in 8th?

 

Thank you.

Edited March 13, 2012 by LisaK in VA

[EKS]

I keep records for all high school level work as though it will be on a transcript someday. That way, you can decide when the time comes what to put on and what to leave off.

 

FWIW, when my older son applied to the private school he is now attending, I grouped the courses by grade and had a section for high school courses completed prior to 9th grade because I thought it was relevant. I will probably leave most or all of those courses off of his transcript when he applies to college.

[snowbeltmom]

I have found that the opinions on how to handle this vary widely. I have not gone through the process yet, but based on input from others who have already been through the college application process, this is what I have done/am doing:

 

1. I have grouped the transcript by subject, not grade level.

 

2. I did include some classes that were taken before 9th grade on the high school transcript because I feel that they are standard high school classes, and it may look odd for them not to be listed, so geometry and biology and AP Physics B are listed on his transcript even though they were taken before 9th grade. (I also indicate on the transcript that these classes were taken prior to 9th grade.)

 

HTH a little.

[regentrude]

My thinking is if their high school math courses begin with Algebra II, that colleges would "assume" the prior courses (I may go ahead and list Geometry, Intro to Counting/Probability & Intro to Number Theory...because those may *not* be assumed)

 

And, that was also my thinking with Science as well. My son will begin 9th with Physics (not calculus based), then do either an AP-level Biology course at home (through an on-line school), or take Biology 101/102 at the community college with a lab, followed by Chemistry with a lab (also at CC), and Physics (calculus based at the CC), and one or two others. I also found CK-12 with their engineering courses and nano-tech courses, and I could see throwing those in as well (he really loves that stuff).

 

Am I wrong to think that leaving "off" the basic HS courses from his transcript will be fine? That there will be more than enough "proof" of learning if he's taking most of his science classes at the CC? Do you think they would "care" about Bio he took in 7th, or Chem in 8th?

 

 

For math, I include courses that have been taken before 9th grade in the transcript, but I just list them with a note "taken before 9th grade" and do not assign a letter grade for inclusion in the GPA. That way, the school knows that the course has been completed and does not assume the student never had any geometry or whatever, but it does not affect the GPA.

I only do this for courses that are part of the required main sequence (algebra 1, geometry which colleges specifically want to see and might wonder if they are not there). If my middle schooler takes Counting and Probability, I would include this information only if I wanted to clearly document an extraordinary level of interest in math.

 

For sciences: if my student completes the same science at a higher level in high school, I do not include the earlier course in the transcript. If the student covers a science only before 9th grade and does not revisit it again, I would include on the transcript "Biology, taken before 9th grade" but not give a grade or include in GPA.