Credits don't transfer?

[~Amanda~]

I read this this morning, someone posting on someone else's status on facebook.

 

High school credits don't transfer unless from a state accredited school (and even then sometimes don't)

 

so, no matter how old they are, etc, if you were to go from homeschooling to PS high school, they would start over in ninth grade. That doesn't seem likely to me, but what do I know.

[Kareni]

This is something that can differ by state and even by district within states. If you believe that your child might choose to attend high school after homeschooling for ninth grade, it is well worth your time to find out what rules exist in your own school district.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[MyThreeSons]

High school credits don't transfer unless from a state accredited school (and even then sometimes don't)

 

 

In our area, I know of several students who homeschooled part of high school and then began attending a public high school. The parents definitely needed to provide documentation of what was done at home, and in some cases, the students needed to take placement tests, but the students were able to transfer credit for courses. Something like Bible might not get credit, but the core classes and well-documented electives seem to be okay.

 

Years ago, I was told that the school district just south of us would not accept any high school credits from home, but I don't know of anyone who has actually tried to transfer into that district.

[Melissa B]

This is certainly true in our area and could even be the entire state of Florida. The only high school credits a public school will accept are online classes taken through Florida Virtual School and dual enrollment credits issued directly from the college.

[Miss Marple]

This is true in our state. However, there is the possibility of testing out of 9th, but according to the counselor, the test is so difficult even their own students couldn't pass it. My advice to parents around here is to carefully weigh the decision to homeschool high school. Because if they choose to change after 9th grade, their best choice would be a private school.

 

One private school I know of will not give a diploma to a student unless he completes all 4 years in their school or another accredited school. They will allow the student to enroll later than 9th, but will not give the student a diploma. According to them, they cannot verify if the student actually completed certain courses necessary for the diploma. I know of one family that went that route because the student wanted to play football.

[swimmermom3]

Yes, in our district, homeschooling during high school is pretty much an all-or- nothing proposition. Any course work done outside a brick and mortar school must be done through an accredited school in order for it to be counted on a "real" transcript.

[klmama]

I've heard that's true for our district (city), but the smaller towns in the outlying area will give credit. In fact, I've heard they have been very helpful and even generous in giving credit, even to seniors. If we ever went that route, we would have to move to one of those districts.

[Photo Ninja]

That is true for my state. The ps won't accept any hs credits unless they are from a ps hsing program. So when people start hsing high school, they know it is all or nothing. Sometimes a private school will accept the hsing credits, but the ps won't. I think they can make exceptions, but as a policy, they won't. Other states are different, though.

[snowbeltmom]

Our school system may award credit on a case by case basis for a homeschooled class. But if the school decides to award credit, no grade will be assigned to be factored into the gpa.

[Lolly]

True in our district. Once you start, you are in for the long haul (or a private school).

[cheryl h]

In our district, they only accept credits from an accredited program. In fact, some credits from the local accredited private school aren't accepted if a student transfers. So, yes, high school can look like an all or nothing situation....unless you enroll in the dual enrollment program as a junior. If you enroll when you are 16, credit wise you are a freshman; but because of how the cc credits translate to high school credits, you can actually get your high school diploma and AA in two years time. It's scary knowing that what we do in the next two years doesn't count for anything to anyone but us, but it will pay off at the end of her senior year when she has 36 college credits and no debt because it's free.

[Rhonda in TX]

It really does vary. One district near us requires a very high passing grade of tests they give to count homeschool classes for high school credit. Another district is much easier to work with and will pretty much take your word for it.

[BarbaraL in OK]

My 16yo son will be entering public high school as a junior this fall here in Oklahoma (because he really wants to, and we decided to support him in this). Our state requires that students coming from an unaccredited situation be tested on the coursework they have done in order to receive credit — no grade, but credit on the public school transcript. He needs 11 recognized credits to be considered a junior.

 

Every level of public school in your state can add regulation, I bet; it's true in Oklahoma. It's complicated, but I'll try to relay what I've learned over the last several weeks.

 

Why does one need credit, and why 11 to start as a junior? Well, basically, in order to graduate, as far as I can tell. If one didn't care about graduating from the high school, and simply wanted to do 1-3 years of high school, it seems as though one could do that — though the school wouldn't understand and it would be a struggle.

 

There seem to be at least two sets of requirements for all high school students in Oklahoma, all of which the school thinks you need to meet:

 

1. Credits needed to graduate -- 23, allocated to specific areas (4 English, 3 math, etc.).

 

Also, credit requirements to be considered a sophomore, junior, or senior

. I'm not sure why this matters, other than priority in class enrollment, being on track to graduate, and maybe because it's easier to not fight the system on everything.

 

2. Tests passed to graduate -- seven (7) End of Instruction Tests, of which at least five must be taken and passed at the 60% level, completely independent of the grades, exams, etc., in the actual classes. This is to meet federal requirements (No Child Left Behind, etc) as put into state law and regulations. These tests are now part of the graduation requirements in our state.

 

Here in Oklahoma, for a homeschooler entering public high school, it looks like this:

 

1. Credits for previous coursework:

Oklahoma's laws & regulations say that students entering high school from an unaccredited situation must take tests for any coursework for which they would like to receive credit.

 

At our high school, there are eight (8) subject tests available for homeschoolers to receive credit, most of which are the EOI tests. The standard is the same as for EOI testing: a 60% score or better (!).

 

Enough credits to be a junior (11):

At our high school, there are 8 tests for credit…. Not enough for an entering junior.

 

In my son's case, they will accept his two years of German Online through the state university for 2 more credits, and we are looking at ways for him to earn the 11th credit relatively easily.

 

It looks as though he will either take a district-offered world history online course at our expense to make up the "missing" credit OR take the world history proficiency exam aiming for a 90% so he can receive credit without taking the course (an option available to all students for all courses).

 

2. End of Instruction Tests for graduation:

Oklahoma's dept of education has issued specific guidelines for homeschoolers entering public school. We can substitute sufficient scores on alternate tests, if we have them, for any of the EOI tests.

 

In my son's case, his PSAT scores meet the standards to substitute for the EOI tests for Algebra 1&2, Geometry, and English 2&3 — five of the seven EOI tests.

 

So here's the fun part. I am making an appointment with the district director of secondary education to make my case that my son's PSAT scores "demonstrate proficiency" (the state legal and regulatory language) sufficient to waive those five EOI tests, and therefore they should grant him credit for the related coursework done at home. Wish me luck. If we can get credit by PSAT, he will only take tests for U.S. history (from 1868), freshman biology, and physical science. Hey, we're homeschoolers, we question authority. :lol:

 

Research tips:

My research included scouring the websites of the state department of education and board of education (especially looking for "promotion", "transfer", "nonaccredited", and, interestingly, "accreditation" — as in, the accreditation requirements for the public schools). Then I poured over the websites of the local school district, local board of education, and the high school itself.

 

I talked at length, twice, with the school counselor, the second time in person with printed documents from my research AND a printed list of my son's courses to date with credits and his PSAT scores.

 

Final thought:

My younger son has always wanted to go to high school. We are now planning that he will enter in 9th grade (none of the above even applies!), or, better, in 10th grade (especially if he takes the PSAT in 9th grade and can waive several EOIs, hey, why not).

Edited May 27, 2012 by BarbaraL in OK
clarity in "the fun part"

[Ellie]

I read this this morning, someone posting on someone else's status on facebook.

 

High school credits don't transfer unless from a state accredited school (and even then sometimes don't)

 

so, no matter how old they are, etc, if you were to go from homeschooling to PS high school, they would start over in ninth grade. That doesn't seem likely to me, but what do I know.

It's best to assume that this is so. It is why it is a good idea to seriously consider homeschooling through high school, because transferring back (or into for the first time) to public school may not be an option.

 

Now, in California, there are a number of private schools that only enroll homeschooled students (referred to commonly as Private School Satellite Programs, or PSPs). Generally, homeschooled students who transfer from one of those to a public school don't have problems with the school accepting their credits, although there are always exceptions, as when a friend was told by a public school principal that he didn't accept credits from *any* private school. :glare:

[Amy in TX]

This is true in our school district. We looked into it last fall for our eldest dd. To my shock, we found out that the school would not place her in 11th grade unless she took the midterm and final for every 9th and 10th grade course and got a 75% or better.

 

The only coursework our local high school recognizes and gives credit for is Texas Tech University's online high school program (as expensive as college), and sometimes, but not always, Texas Virtual Academy (online public school that uses K12 curriculum).

 

We realized that if for some reason I became unable to homeschool and the dc had to enter the school system, whichever of of them were currently in high school could potentially lose one or two grades.

 

I think that anyone who wants to homeschool high school should have a Plan B that does not include the public school.

[Jann in TX]

Currently they will not accept ANY homeschool credits and very few private school credits.

 

There is however a 'work around'. Texas Tech (and possibly UT now) have distance learning high schools that will allow students to test out of courses (for a fee of course). These will go on transcript as 'pass/fail' but since the distance high schools are official Texas public schools, all PS districts must accept the credits.

 

It is still up to individual districts to decide-- some administrators will agree to a 'probationary' period-- meaning if the student can pass Algebra 2 in the PS then it proves that they had Algebra 1 and will grant the credit...

 

In Texas the local school district does not get tax money for eligible students not attending their school-- 'left over' local funds go to the state pool for redistribution in 'tax poor' districts. Because of this some districts welcome ANY student they can get!

[hsbeth]

In our local school districts (GA) students coming from a non-accredited program must take high stakes exams for each credit they'd like to validate. Some classes have a state wide EOCT (End of Course Test) for others it's a regular final. The district does not bend on this requirement at all, even for students who clearly demonstrate proficiency through PSAT, SAT, SAT2 subject exams, etc. These exams are scheduled rapid fire, back to back over a week or so.

 

Locally a high achieving rising 12th grader had to suddenly enroll at the public high school due to a major change in family circumstances that was beyond his and the teaching parent's control. He had to take exams in Phys. Sci, Bio, Chem, World History, American History, FL, plus all his maths in one week. That one grade on each exam became his transcript grade, totally tanking his GPA and hurting his college chances.

 

It angers me that the locals choose to handle it this way, especially in the case of relatively sequential courses such as FL, english, and math. Why make a kid take a Spanish 1, Spanish 2, and Spanish 3 final for instance?

The fatigue and feeling of being overwhelmed really limits the chances for the student to perform at or near their potential and doesn't reflect accurately on their knowledge, IMO.

 

When our children and I decided together to home school through high school it was a carefully thought out decision and we knew we were planning on a four year commitment. I've chosen to come under an accredited umbrella type program (not required in GA and most don't) on the off chance that a major change in circumstances would require us to change settings. I think of it kind of like an insurance policy, we don't plan to use it, but our girls will have accredited transcripts at the ready if we needed them.

 

In our state the policies and the exact details of implementation vary widely. It's wise to do some research and understand the rules of your local districts.

[SailorMom]

This is certainly true in our area and could even be the entire state of Florida. The only high school credits a public school will accept are online classes taken through Florida Virtual School and dual enrollment credits issued directly from the college.

 

:iagree: