Transcript-HS classes taken before HS

[isaelijohjac]

I apologize if this is posted elsewhere, but if dd took algebra before hs where would i put it on her transcript if doing by year?  Also, HS science--physical science Apologia?  She doesn't need those credits but I do want to show that she took them....thank you.

[regentrude]

I listed those classes with 9th grade, but in Italic, and added a comment in the "Notes" section:

"Italic print: class taken before 9th grade. Not included in the number of credits or the GPA"

[Brad S]

I'd probably use the italics approach if it's just a few courses, especially those often taken before 9th grade. I've also seen a separate column for 8th, but I wouldn't use a separate column approach unless there are a lot of courses or some exceptionally accelerated ones.

[isaelijohjac]

Thank you so much, very helpful.  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I will have a section for each grade 9-12 and one additional section for before 9th grade. I count foreign language and math algebra and above. I do give credits and include in gpa because that is the standard practice for public schools in my state. In our local area many college bound kids have math or language on the high school level in middle school. So not to include them in credit count and gpa would be to put my kids under a more stringent regime than their peers (I figure they get enough of that by having me around).

[Lori D.]

What seems to be most commonly done on these Boards, and is also most widely accepted by colleges, is to list the credit on the transcript, either in a separate section, or with a footnote, indicating that it was done in 8th grade, counting the credit, but not the GPA.

 

The reason for that is that many colleges/universities only want to see courses completed in the last 4 years of high school on the transcript. By listing it and counting credit, but not grade, you show the student working at an advanced level (high school level courses prior to high school), AND that you are not trying to pad the GPA or the transcript overall.

 

If you go with Sebastian's approach (above), then you'll need to follow your local public school's policy fully, as Sebastian is doing, and not "cherry-pick" the parts you like and ignore the rest. For example, often, the local high school may count both credit AND GPA for a class taken in 8th grade, BUT, they may also only allow the student to bring up 1 or 2 classes at most, and almost always only courses such as Algebra, Biology, or Foreign Language -- not Social Sciences (History, Geography, Government, etc.), PE, Electives, Fine Arts... You would also want to make a note on the transcript that you are "consistent with local high school policy concerning credits".

 

Whatever method you go with, be consistent -- and keep one eye on what the potential universities your student might be applying to would want to see, to make admissions run smoothly. :)

 

For more thoughts and opinions on this topic (and many other high school topics), check out posts #1 and #5 of the pinned thread at the top of the high school Board: Transcripts, Credits, GPA/Grading... links to past threads here! Here are some of the threads you'll find there:

 

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?)

 

 

Welcome to wearing the high school administrator hat! Here's mine! --->  :hat:   (LOL) BEST of luck in your high school adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

[Jenny in Florida]

What seems to be most commonly done on these Boards, and is also most widely accepted by colleges, is to list the credit on the transcript, either in a separate section, or with a footnote, indicating that it was done in 8th grade, counting the credit, but not the GPA.

 

The reason for that is that many colleges/universities only want to see courses completed in the last 4 years of high school on the transcript. By listing it and counting credit, but not grade, you show the student working at an advanced level (high school level courses prior to high school), AND that you are not trying to pad the GPA or the transcript overall.

 

 

After mucking about with a variety of different ideas, this is how I ended up doing my son's transcript. His is arranged by subject, rather than year. And I included the high school-level courses he took prior to we officially called him a 9th grader in the appropriate sections. In the column in which I listed grades, however, I put a footnote indicating that the course was taken prior to 9th grade and was not included in GPA.

 

We opted to go with this approach because my son wants to graduate this year, and those extra credits were necessary to fill out his transcript.

[Muttichen]

We thought colleges were interested in what students did with grades 9-12, so we didn't list any classes taken before ninth grade on the transcript.  We assumed that if they were taking AP Calculus in 9th grade, the colleges would understand that they'd had algebra, geometry, precalc, etc. earlier.  No one ever asked us about those classes, and our kids were accepted at lots of great schools.  We did list any 8th grade AP scores along with the other scores on the transcript.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I will have a section for each grade 9-12 and one additional section for before 9th grade. I count foreign language and math algebra and above. I do give credits and include in gpa because that is the standard practice for public schools in my state. In our local area many college bound kids have math or language on the high school level in middle school. So not to include them in credit count and gpa would be to put my kids under a more stringent regime than their peers (I figure they get enough of that by having me around).

 

I should add that I'm including high school level courses that were taken before high school, but I'm still expecting my kids to take 4 math courses  in high school.  One of my kids will have both German 1 and Latin 1 before 9th grade, but I will still expect him to go at least through the third year in one of the languages, which will give him 2 years while in high school.

 

I do not include history and English classes taken before high school, even though my two oldest kids have read the same books and done the same work. One will get high school credit and the other doesn't. (As I explained to Cauliflower, my younger son, he will simply have had a higher level 8th grade class.)

 

I'm not trying to get anything out of the way before high school. The transcript will still include all of the credits that a college is looking for. But I'm not going to leave off or not count a course with pretty standard content (and rigorous content in some cases) just because my kid took them early.  Especially when that is not the standard in our state.

 

 

FWIW, I was intrigued to hear the admissions counselor at our state tech school say that while they were required to include average gpa in their class profile, they really didn't consider gpa as an admissions factor (compared to test scores or class rank). She said that there were so many different schemes for calculating gpa (adding a half point, full point, point and a half, or even two points for harder classes like AP) that gpa was no longer an item on which they could compare applicants. At another state school in a different state, an admissions counselor made a point of suggesting that if the kids were doing Advanced Placement or dual enrollment courses that we should consider giving a credit bump, because that was a typical practice with schools.