abdesigns Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 For High School transcripts, do you usually put all semester grades, or just the final grade for each class? I'm just wondering, because I JUST started recording grades for the year (Son is suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome, grades in the beginning of the year mean nothing, since he can't remember anything, and was completely impaired). If you need to record in semesters, how would I mark the first semester. He did do work, but it wasn't representative of him in the least, I mean, honestly, he couldn't even pick up a pencil and write. It was mostly just discussion and reading. Nothing more. We just started Geometry and Science a little before Thanksgiving. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 I only give end of year grades, and only in core academic subjects. ETA: In a situation like your son's, I would only give grades at the point when he has recovered enough so that his performance is not impaired by the injury. If that may mean finishing some subjects late and not having grades by year's end, I would explain this in the counselor's letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdesigns Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Oh really? Only in academic subjects? I hadn't thought of that. Is that what is expected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Oh really? Only in academic subjects? I hadn't thought of that. Is that what is expected? I have no idea what is expected - but it seem silly to me that a letter grade for PE is averaged with a letter grade for, say, calculus. To me, that does not seem to produce a meaningful GPA. I assign letter grades for core academic subjects: math, science, English, social sciences, and foreign languages. I do not feel that I can determine a letter or numerical grade for subjects like PE, art, computer skills and certain free electives. I give a grade of P for those and explain in the notes "a grade of P indicates participation in a course in which a letter grade was not provided". DD's transcript was not questioned by any of the schools she applied to, and she got admitted to highly selective schools - so I guess this was aceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 In my sons' private school, all grades from all courses were averaged to get the gpa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Make sure you're following any rules that would apply for your state or cover school etc. I know not everyone has a cover school or lives in a state that has lots of rules, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I recently moved to TN where I'm under a cover school and they require all high school courses to have a letter grade, Pass/Fail grades are not accepted for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdesigns Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Makes sense Regentrude. Interesting. I have a lot to think about. We don't have cover schools in PA, so that's not a worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Oh really? Only in academic subjects? I hadn't thought of that. Is that what is expected? For what it's worth, both of my kids got into the colleges of their choice with grades on their transcripts for all kinds of arts and elective courses. I didn't find it any more difficult to decide on a grading framework for those courses than for things like English and history. So, I think there are lots of ways to do this kind of thing. You just have to decide what makes sense for your family and your student(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Honestly for a kid who's been seriously ill I would just indicate In Progress. It is ridiculous to grade him when he has been so sick he can't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdesigns Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Right, it is ridiculous, that's why I wasn't grading anything until now, I just don't know how to handle it with the transcript. But, the doctor wanted us to start school work, part of his therapy. At first he couldn't write, and I read to him on the couch, and that was the extent of it. It actually helped him cognitively. I started grading in the middle of November. He was ready, and even hurried up and won NaNoWriMo (HUGE!!!!!!) He still has a lot of days off at this point, because of other issues concerning the concussion, but, he's getting a's in everything since I started grading. But he definitely won't have his hours by the end of the school year. Should I just consider the start of the school year a wash, and note that he didn't start his year until November 15? That might be a better way to handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Do you have to indicate what was done when? Do they care? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Should I just consider the start of the school year a wash, and note that he didn't start his year until November 15? That might be a better way to handle it. It is your homeschool. You can decide when your school year starts (unless your state law prohibits that). Some people begin in January. Alternatively, there is absolutely no reason to assign grades continuously during the year - you can simply base the grade on an evaluation at the end of the year. (I give, for example, a math final that determines the grade). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdesigns Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 We use a diploma program, and have evaluations in May. I was hoping that we could be done with the school year by then, but we won't be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Does your diploma program have provisions for a grade of incomplete? I don't see how a kid who's still suffering from post-concussion syndrome could reasonably be expected to do a full year's work in just over a semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 There are no semester grades on my transcripts. We use year end grades only. I don't see why you need to worry about when you started. All the transcripts will record is what his performance was when it was all finished. I do give grades in all courses and that worked for the only college ds applied to. Public and private schools give grades for all classes including PE, art, band, and other difficult to grade subjects. I have no problem averaging those grades in with the academic subjects. It is just the way it is done. Obviously, Regentrude is proof it doesn't have to be done that way though. As long as your state doesn't have requirements, then homeschoolers are very free to write their own rulebook on these things. Some people don't give their kids grades in high school at all and still get into highly selective colleges. It is all about finding the best way to showcase your child and also playing the game with the particular college you are dealing with. Some will want grades, some will want everything graded, some will take a narrative transcript without grades but with great tests scores... there are many paths and even many destinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 As others have said, follow the rule for your state, but in general, I think grading for mastery makes the most sense (and there is actually at least one high school in our area that grades that way as well.) You don't complete the course until there is a specific level of mastery, so you can progress as quickly or as slowly as need be, and the grades are going to be fine. I'm not clear on where your son is now, but it may be that he will need additional time to complete high school grading in that way, but you will know he is leaving prepared. Side note: my 17 yo daughter knocked herself out figure skating last New Year's Eve (seizing for 5 min, total amnesia for close to an hour), so we were doing the whole brain rest thing into February last year. Scary stuff, and you are wise to take it easy with your son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I was looking a some college admissions sites over the last couple months. I noticed a few that specified they considered grades in core courses. The long time admissions counselor at one school specifically said that they don't consider gpa as there are too many weighting systems. Another school encouraged me to go ahead and give additional weight for AP and dual enrollment classes. There are some schools that may hinge more on the gpa, like big state schools that don't have time and staff to do detailed assessment. But I think lots of other schools take all grades with a grain of salt. They are an indicator not absolute truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I was looking a some college admissions sites over the last couple months. I noticed a few that specified they considered grades in core courses. The long time admissions counselor at one school specifically said that they don't consider gpa as there are too many weighting systems. Another school encouraged me to go ahead and give additional weight for AP and dual enrollment classes. There are some schools that may hinge more on the gpa, like big state schools that don't have time and staff to do detailed assessment. But I think lots of other schools take all grades with a grain of salt. They are an indicator not absolute truth. The private LAC that ds will be attending specifically told me to weight his GPA. They said the use the weighted GPA if it was given, but do not recalculate. They said it was the most common mistake they see in homeschool transcripts. I don't think any of the other schools we've considered would use a weighted GPA and I didn't plan to provide one, but added it just for them :). The key on things like that is to talk to admissions at each college and make sure you give them what they want, not what someone else tells you they will want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 For High School transcripts... If you'd like to see my daughter's transcript, I'd be happy to email you a copy. Simply send me a personal message with your email address. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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