How many total high school credits do you have planned for your student?

[Jen_Mom_of_5]

Just looking over My Father's World high school plan as a base for our high school next year and wondered how many credits your high school student will end up with.

[BakersDozen]

Our dc will range from 24 (minimum) to 28 or so (overachiever, lol).  

[Melissa B]

If all goes according to plan  :rolleyes: eldest dd will have 26 credits. 

 

Math: 4.5

Latin: 6

English: 4

Science: 4.5

Social Science: 4

Elective: 3

 

[regentrude]

I require four credits each of math, science, English, history, and foreign language.

In addition, one credit each in PE, arts, music, and computer skills; those are earned cumulatively over the course of the high school years.

This makes 24 minimum.

 

Depending on when the kids start taking dual enrollment classes, there will be more credits.

DD will graduate in May with 31 credits; she will have taken ten classes at the university.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I require four credits each of math, science, English, history, and foreign language.

In addition, one credit each in PE, arts, music, and computer skills; those are earned cumulatively over the course of the high school years.

This makes 24 minimum.

 

Depending on when the kids start taking dual enrollment classes, there will be more credits.

DD will graduate in May with 31 credits; she will have taken ten classes at the university.

 

I have a similar 4 credit for math, science, English, history/govt and foreign language requirement. I will also include credit for high school level math and foreign language done in middle school. That will be an additional 1-4 credits for my older kids.

 

My goal is typically 6 classes per year. So at graduation, that should be 24-30 credits.

 

I'm not sure if dual enrollment will be an option.

[Lori D.]

Local university requires 20 credits, the local high school system requires 22 credits. I planned for 24 credits (6 credits per year), and one DS ended with 26.5 credits, the other 27.5 credits.

 

I didn't worry too much about total credits, but instead, focused on planning for the types of credits each student needed for college admission, and to help each of our students explore/pursue career and future interests. A few "bonus" credits occurred along the way. :)

 

On her website, Homeschool Success, Barbara H of this board provides a nice chart of high school credits, depending on the post-high school goal (college ready, competitive college, most competitive college), which is helpful for planning number and types of credits.

[elegantlion]

I'm planning 28 credits more or less. For public school, our state requires 24, our local district requires 28. Even though we are not held to the number as homeschoolers, I want him to have a similar number. I also require 4 of the core subject, plus he'll have 4 years (or more) of foreign language. 

[FaithManor]

Minimum requirements - 4 in each core = 16,  plus 2 science electives, 2 Latin and 2 modern foreign language, 2 Fine Arts, and 2 other electives - 26. Dd had 27, eldest ds will have 28 (his choice), middle will have 27, and the youngest is poised to have a ridiculous amount so some of it we simply won't be putting on the transcript.

 

The local kids have around 20 and a few  have 24, for the "merit curriculum" these are the requirements for the 2014 class - 3 math, 2 science, 4 English, 3 social studies, 1 foreign language, 1 fine arts. However, for the class of 2016, the "merit" curriculum (ie. college prep) is supposed to bump to 4 math, 3 science, 4 English, 3 social studies, 2 foreign language, 1 online learning class, 1 PE, and an elective.

 

Michigan doesn't have much for standards. Kids can graduate on only 16 credits. The 4th math does not have to be a math class either - any class taken at the tech center that involves numbers (so, if the Ag class has to figure out the amount of fencing to buy, or number of grain bags, or anything...the automotive class has to know the difference between standard measure and metric unit tools, the restaurant management class has to figure out how much of an entre to fix each day, etc.) are counted as math classes. Makes my brain twitch. That said, the quality of the teaching and course content at the tech center is actually better than most of the local high schools.

 

Faith

[Mom22ns]

It looks like ds will have 29-30 depending on what he does next year. Dd will probably be about 27.

 

I generally shoot for 6-7 credits per year. College classes that are done in one semester, but give a full credit increase the totals slightly for the last two years. Electives also add to that. Dd will have 8 Science credits. Ds will have 8+ English credits. Both of their transcripts lean heavily to their own interest area.

[Jenny in Florida]

I think my son will end up with 23. The typical requirement for our local public schools is 24, but they have an option for a three-year accelerated college-prep plan that requires only 18. My student will sort of split the difference, completing his 23 credits in three years.

 

He also has three classes on his transcript completed prior to beginning high school. We're not giving credit for those, though.

 

Edit: After I typed this earlier, it really bothered me that he was going to end up one credit "short." We took another look at my records and opted to  rearrange the way we listed some things. He will now have all 24 credits, and I think this makes the transcript easier to read, too.

[bugs]

DD had 6 as a freshman, 6.5 as a sophomore, 10 as a junior (9 DE classes), and will have 9 (DE) this year as a senior (she will be getting her AA concurrently with her high school diploma).  Therefore, she will have 31.5 credits.

 

DS will have at least 24.  Not sure how many DE classes he will take.

[Kareni]

My daughter had 28 credits when she finished high school.  That included about fifteen classes that she took at the local community college in 11th and 12th grades.  I counted each of those college classes as a half credit. Had I counted them each as a full credit (as some do), she would have had far more high school credits.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Melissa B]

Is there any time that adding high school credits earned in eighth grade is necessary - or is it basically personal preference?  

 

Also, would not listing every credit taken during high school (if it were done for the sake of clarity) be considered duplicitous? Or is it again personal preference?

[Lori D.]

Is there any time that adding high school credits earned in eighth grade is necessary - or is it basically personal preference?  

 

While many public and/or private high school systems allow a student to "bring up" 1-2 credits from 8th grade (usually Biology, Algebra 1, and/or Foreign Language -- NOT things like literature, history, PE, etc), typically, colleges only want to see the last 4 years of high school work on the transcript. What is generally recommended is to go ahead and include the credit from 8th grade if it is true high school level, but do NOT include grades or include grades in the overall GPA. So, credit, but no GPA.

 

Further, colleges typically want to see that the student shows continued progress/advancement in coursework in high school. So, for example, if a student has Algebra 1 from 8th grade, the student would most likely have Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calc/Trig, and Calculus as the 4 credits of math for high school. It doesn't look so good to the collegs to have Algebra 1 from 8th grade, and then only take 2-3 math credits in high school and stop at Algebra 2 or Pre-Calc/Trig.

 

Here are more thoughts on this topic from past threads (from the pinned thread at the top of the high school board: Transcripts, Credits, GPA/Grading... past threads linked here:

High school classes taken in middle school on transcript?

Need clarification on hs credits/transcript (pro/con of including credits from 8th grade, need portfolio or no?)

High school level work done in 8th grade on transcript?

Transcript question: pre-high school credits (count 8th grade credits on transcript?)

 

 

Also, would not listing every credit taken during high school (if it were done for the sake of clarity) be considered duplicitous? Or is it again personal preference?

 

 

Not duplicitous, because there really are gray areas, and different families are going to count/not count credit in different ways. In fact, if you compare schools from one state, or district, to another, you'll find that what counts as a credit varies widely. Everyone has a very different set of guidelines as to "what counts as a credit".

 

Reasons why homeschool families might not list everything as a credit:

 

- Materials didn't add up to make enough for a partial credit

This would be something like a few books and/or a few hours of output, but not enough to make a credit or partial credit on it's own, but also nothing else done close enough to the topic to add it together to make a combined credit. For example: First Aid and CPR certification -- but not enough time/material on other topics (nutrition, fitness, etc.)to count as a partial credit for Health.

 

- Gray area, due to the way YOUR family counts a credit

For example, *I* don't count the Dave Ramsey Foundations in Personal Finance as enough for even a 0.25 credit, as it is 12 hours of DVD lectures, and then a few more hours for the workbook and discussion; at our house, a 0.25 credit = 35-40 hours, and 18 hours is not nearly close enough for us. So I threw it in as part of what we did for a 0.5 credit of Economics. However, other homeschoolers DO count Dave Ramsey as a 0.50 credit because of volume of material/number of topics covered, because they calculate credit by curricula and not by hours. Different strokes for different folks. :)

 

NOTE: the key here is CONSISTENCY in the way YOU count credits. So as much as possible (and yes, there are going to be exceptions), try to maintain a fairly similar standard from one subject to another as to what counts as a credit. So, if you are more rigorous with Literature, 9 novels, 9 5-page papers and 150-180 hours as a 1.0 credit, but then count 15-18 hours of Dave Ramsey videos and a workbook as 0.5 credit -- that's pretty unbalanced. Better add a LOT more material/activities to beef up the Dave Ramsey. OR, add the Dave Ramsey hours in with something else to make a "Life Skills" course, or as part of Economics. OR, just benefit from having covered it, but don't count it as credit.

 

- Gray area, due to overlap

Sometimes families don't list credits that fall in a gray area, in order to have a solid extracurricular list (useful for "standing out" on college admissions and scholarship applications). For example, participation on a sports team, rather than listing it as a PE credit. Or participation in a science summer camp or other academic extracurriculars, rather than as a course credit.

 

- Prevent looking like they are padding the transcript

Just because a family spends lots of time being physically active year-round, doesn't mean you want to put 6 credits of PE on the transcript, especially if all that is showing is hours spent on the same activities, with no additional learning (say on sports rules/history, human anatomy, sports nutrition and fitness training, etc.). Probably best to list it how the colleges are expecting to see it -- 1 or 2 credits for PE -- and then list all the great activities, sports events, etc., done on the extracurricular list.

 

 

More past threads on this topic (from that same pinned thread I linked above):

Transcript vs. extracurriculars

Give credit or list as an extracurricular?

Where does physical education go on a high school transcript?

Fine Arts summer program on transcript (credit or not; how/where to describe as extracurricular)

Need transcript help urgently, re: work experience (count a job as credit or extracurricular?)

Programming apprenticeship: transcript or extracurricular?

Do you give official transcript credit to summer camps?

 

 

Hope that helps! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[bobbeym]

I'm estimating 24-26 total depending on how we cover electives and whether we decide on some DE classes at the CC.  Here's the breakdown:

 

English - 4.0

Math - 3.0

Science - 3.0

Social Studies - 3.5

For. Lang - 2.5

PE - 1.0

Fine arts - 1.0

Electives - 4.5-6.0

 

State standards for public schools (which we don't have to follow) is 26, or 22 with special administrative approval.  I think somewhere in the middle is good for us.

[Rhonda in TX]

I'm pretty stressed by this. I'm struggling getting DS through the basics, so electives have not been on the radar, other than orchestra. So...

 

Math - 3 (maybe 3.5)

English - 4

History/Govt/Econ - 4

Science - 3 (maybe 3.5)

Orchestra (done through Houston Youth Symphony) - 4

Health - .5

Drivers Ed - .5

Foreign Language - 2

 

That's a total of 21. He's a junior, so we gotta get creative at this point. Sigh...

 

DD will have the 24-28 range.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have to disagree a bit with Lori on including high school work done in middle school. From what I've seem in our local districts this is pretty standard. Not only granting credit but including it in gpa. It may even be the standard in the whole state. It does cut both ways. We have one young friend who only earned a C in 8th grade algebra. That will stay on his gpa unless he retakes the class with a higher grade.

 

From where is sit if my kid earned an A in Lukeion Latin I don't feel compelled to leave it off the transcript because he was only 8th grade. In my mind it is holding my kid to a far stricter standard than his peers. A college is free to only consider the last four years if they like. (On one school visit we were told by the adcon that they really don't use gpa because they is such a variety of schemes for calculating them. )

 

Having said that, I'm only including courses generally accepted as high school like algebra and foreign language. My older kids did the same English and history but it won't go on the younger boys transcript.

 

Also doing math in middle school won't absolve them of needing to do 4 credits while in high school. They won't skip math the last couple years. Instead they will have 5-6 total math credits.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Ds will end up with 32, but I am a bit of a slave driver, and he has been taking dual enrollment classes since 10th grade.

[Lori D.]

I have to disagree a bit with Lori on including high school work done in middle school. From what I've seem in our local districts this is pretty standard. Not only granting credit but including it in gpa. It may even be the standard in the whole state. It does cut both ways..

 

 

That's why I tend to use so many open-ended qualifiers ("many", "usually", "typically", "generally") in these sorts of responses, rather than panoptic and unyielding terms ("all", "always", "only") ... ;)  ... There will always be variations in the way these transcript issues can/need to be handled. Cheers! Lori D. :)

 

 

[PS -- can you find the new vocab. word I just learned and used in this post??! :D)

[Elisabet1]

Brick and mortar schools count everything from football, dance, music, BCIS (without formal class), health, home ec, as credit. But colleges only really care about the core classes. However, I wouldn't want the transcript to look unbalanced compared to others so I would still stick some other stuff on there.

 

Also, I have never seen a high school that does not include the high school level courses taken in middle school on the transcript. That is usually just algebra and above and foreign languages. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

That's why I tend to use so many open-ended qualifiers ("many", "usually", "typically", "generally") in these sorts of responses, rather than panoptic and unyielding terms ("all", "always", "only") ... ;)  ... There will always be variations in the way these transcript issues can/need to be handled. Cheers! Lori D. :)

 

 

[PS -- can you find the new vocab. word I just learned and used in this post??! :D)

 

I do understand. And I don't think that a student reading great books in middle school is necessarily doing high school level work (though they might be). I agree that a student's high school years should be full of high school level work if they are capable of it. I don't think it serves most kids to take work done in middle school in English and history, count them as high school credits AND THEN not take the standard number of credits in those classes as high school aged students.

 

My middle son is an example of this. He has been doing the same level work as his older brother for many years. But even though he did the same readings and essay assignments, I'm not counting that time for English and history. In part, because I think he may be a good candidate for some of the more selective colleges and I don't want someone to look at his transcript and assume that it's been padded.

 

Of course every situation has its own details. A student working to graduate early might shift a full year's worth of credits. A student who needs extra time might move things the other direction and allow some classes to fall off of the transcript.

 

The only part I really wonder about is how typical it is to not include algebra and higher or early foreign language credits in the gpa. In Fairfax County, VA (our surrounding district) it is included. It looks like Henrico County, VA will not count classes earlier than the summer before ninth grade in gpa or class rank. (So there isn't a standard state policy even.) Arlington Co lets middle schoolers take high school level courses and then decide if they want to include them on the transcript (If they use the course for high school credit, it goes into the gpa; if they don't want it in the gpa, it doesn't count for credit.) Prince William Co includes high school courses in middle school for credit and gpa, but allows for a petition to remove them. [The one option I'm not seeing in quick searches for Virginia is counting the credit, but not using it in gpa. This makes some sense to me as it would let a student receive credit for a class that is required for graduation, with a lower grade like a C, but not have to carry that low grade in the gpa.]

 

Anyway, all the variations do highlight the reason why gpa isn't always much of an indicator.

[Twigs]

… [PS -- can you find the new vocab. word I just learned and used in this post??! :D)

Thanks for the new word!

[Julie in MN]

I have to disagree a bit with Lori on including high school work done in middle school. From what I've seem in our local districts this is pretty standard. Not only granting credit but including it in gpa.

Lori's description is true in our area.  In fact, the college prep expectation is that Algebra I was taken in 8th, so putting it on a high school transcript doesn't look like an advanced student.  Some students in French or Spanish immersion schools have probably done the equivalent of high school credit by 3rd grade, but they don't receive credits unless they test for them during high school.  The value in taking high school level courses before high school is that it leaves room for more advancement in high school. 

 

Julie

[swellmomma]

dd14 plans to graduate with around 170-180 credits lol  Totally different country than you guys, totally different credit system, I just wanted to feel like I belonged in this thread :lol:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Lori's description is true in our area. In fact, the college prep expectation is that Algebra I was taken in 8th, so putting it on a high school transcript doesn't look like an advanced student. Some students in French or Spanish immersion schools have probably done the equivalent of high school credit by 3rd grade, but they don't receive credits unless they test for them during high school. The value in taking high school level courses before high school is that it leaves room for more advancement in high school.

 

Julie

It's not necessarily that algebra in 8th is considered advanced. I would say for the college prep students at high schools around us it is the expected norm. These students frequently graduate with more than 4 math credits.

 

My understanding from talking to other scout families is that algebra by 8th grade is needed in order to get through the full IB diploma requirements.

[Jenny in Florida]

 [The one option I'm not seeing in quick searches for Virginia is counting the credit, but not using it in gpa. This makes some sense to me as it would let a student receive credit for a class that is required for graduation, with a lower grade like a C, but not have to carry that low grade in the gpa.]

 

Anyway, all the variations do highlight the reason why gpa isn't always much of an indicator.

 

I spent some time poking around online this morning, trying to resolve this very question (not about Virginia, but just to see if there is anything like a consensus nationally). I found that individual states and even districts within states had all kinds of policies.

 

It looks like our local district's policy is that high school-level classes taken in middle school count both for credit and in the GPA. The only exception is if the student is unhappy with a grade earned in middle school and re-takes the class later, earning a higher grade. In that case, the middle school attempt is dropped from the transcript, and only the later attempt and grade are included.

 

I found some districts around the country that counted middle school classes neither for credit nor GPA purposes. I found others that make it all or nothing, including credits and grades, with no out such as our local schools offer.

 

However, I did find a bunch of places that do exactly what you mentioned in what I quoted above. They count the classes for credit/purposes of fulfilling requirements but do not include them in the GPA.

 

As it happens, this is exactly the approach that my husband and I decided on last night when trying to figure out how to re-arrange some items on my son's transcript. For a variety of reasons, we've opted to list two classes our son took in middle school (both through FLVS) on the transcript and to count those as high school credits. However, I am not listing the grades and am including a note explaining that those two courses are not included in the high school GPA.

 

We are sending official copies of the FLVS transcript to all of the schools to which my son is applying. Anyone who wishes to look up the grades will have the information readily available. And the grades aren't awful. He earned B's in the honors track for both. So, if any school wants to re-calculate his GPA to include those grades, it will barely make dent in the overall value. We just decided it was somehow cleaner and more logical not to include them.

[Melissa B]

 

We are sending official copies of the FLVS transcript to all of the schools to which my son is applying. Anyone who wishes to look up the grades will have the information readily available. And the grades aren't awful. He earned B's in the honors track for both. So, if any school wants to re-calculate his GPA to include those grades, it will barely make dent in the overall value. We just decided it was somehow cleaner and more logical not to include them.

 

FLVS is the area on which we are waffling.  My daughter will have six or seven FLVS credits.  All of them are high school credits, but 4.5 were earning in eighth grade. For the sake of clarity, we are thinking we will leave all of the FLVS credits off her transcript. If we only use some of the credits, but send a FLVS transcript it would be confusing to the schools. Especially as we've decided to do her transcript according to subject.  It seems clearer to just list the classes done the last four years (minus a couple of FLVS classes.) But, I feel a little guilty for a several reasons. One, I know schooled students have to report the grades - like it or not. Two, all of her grades are A's so I am lowering her GPA by not including them (but does this really matter, if most schools don't bother to take homeschool GPA into account anyway.) And three, I know those classes/grades are all floating around out there and it seems somehow wrong to simply leave them off like she never took those classes or they don't exist. I don't know why any college would care, but it just seems somehow sneaky. :) 

[Jenny in Florida]

FLVS is the area on which we are waffling.  My daughter will have six or seven FLVS credits.  All of them are high school credits, but 4.5 were earning in eighth grade. For the sake of clarity, we are thinking we will leave all of the FLVS credits off her transcript. If we only use some of the credits, but send a FLVS transcript it would be confusing to the schools. Especially as we've decided to do her transcript according to subject.  It seems clearer to just list the classes done the last four years (minus a couple of FLVS classes.) But, I feel a little guilty for a several reasons. One, I know schooled students have to report the grades - like it or not. Two, all of her grades are A's so I am lowering her GPA by not including them (but does this really matter, if most schools don't bother to take homeschool GPA into account anyway.) And three, I know those classes/grades are all floating around out there and it seems somehow wrong to simply leave them off like she never took those classes or they don't exist. I don't know why any college would care, but it just seems somehow sneaky. :)

 

Yes, all told, my son has 9.5 high school-level FLVS credits (and a bunch more middle school classes). One of them is Liberal Arts Math, which doesn't count toward the math-higher-than-algebra-1 requirement, and which he took before we "officially" called him a 9th grader. So, I have no problem leaving that one off the transcript entirely. So, our only dilemma was deciding how to account for these other two. I knew we were going to want to send the official FLVS transcript, because he will be listing required courses he's taken through them during his official high school years. In the end, we decided this approach was the best possible compromise.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I should probably acknowledge that one reason I've chosen the credit method I've outlined is that it shows off what my kids have done already. I will be honest about that.

 

 

[Jenny in Florida]

Also doing math in middle school won't absolve them of needing to do 4 credits while in high school. They won't skip math the last couple years. Instead they will have 5-6 total math credits.

 

I agree with this, absolutely. My son is condensing the traditional four years of requirements into three years of work. So, he has taken math (and science and social sciences and English) every year. And he's doubled up on some subjects in some years, either by taking more than one class at a time or through dual enrollment. But including that one math class and one science class from his middle school years allows him to list four of each on his transcript.