First Form Latin and High School Credit

[joyfulhomeschooler]

I was recently informed and then read on the Memoria Press website that First Form Latin is worth 1 high school credit. Our 5th grade son is doing this program this year and we would love for him to be able to obtain this credit officially if possible. How do we go about doing this? Has anyone done it for a child that isn't yet in high school?

[Orthodox6]

I was recently informed and then read on the Memoria Press website that First Form Latin is worth 1 high school credit. Our 5th grade son is doing this program this year and we would love for him to be able to obtain this credit officially if possible. How do we go about doing this? Has anyone done it for a child that isn't yet in high school?

 

I flatly, firmly disagree with this claim from Memoria Press.  I looked at that Latin series for my daughter before she started ninth grade.  Not only did I dislike the program, but I did not evaluate it as anywhere near high school level. 

 

ETA:  I came on very strong there, and apologize, especially since you are pleased with the program.  I think it would be just fine for elementary school, as you are using it.  When your son reaches high school, his prior study of Latin will support him for a strong performance with a high school level course.  Or, he will have an excellent background for studying other foreign languages. 

 

[nannyaunt]

I thought it was that all 4 forms together were worth one credit because after doing forms 123 and 4 you could go into Henle 2.

Each High School gets to decide what is or isn't worth of credit.  If you homeschool High School, that would be you.  If he goes to public school, it would be under the aegis of that public school system.  There is no central authority.

 

Having said that, I wouldn't count FF1 as a whole high school credit. FF1 through FF4 together cover most all of Latin grammar, which is generally considered to be 2 credits of High School or 2 semesters of college level work, and even then the FFs are light on translation.

 

Memoria's logic on this is quite specious -- their claim is that FF1 should take as many hours as a typical Latin 1 class, therefore, it should be worth the same number of credits (1).  By that logic, I should be able to grant my 3rd grader a high school math credit for spending as many hours working on memorizing math facts as a high school student does learning Algebra.

[Stellalarella]

The National Latin Exam offers tests each spring to b & m students and home schoolers.  You can look at over a decade of past tests and answers for Intro to Latin, Latin 1, Latin 2, etc.  

 

I took us through Lively Latin 1 and 2 for  and we are now nearly halfway through Wheelock's Latin.  I think my daughter and I "might" be close to Latin 2 by the testing in March, so I signed us up for that test (but also Intro and Latin 1).

 

 

[yvonne]

nm (I better wait till I've btdt before making any suggestions regarding claiming high school credit early!)

[Reefgazer]

I answered over on the high school board as well, but FFL and SFL together might be a single high school credit, but I can't see each of those being a high school credit.  MP says the increased translation in Third and Fourth Form makes them each worthy of a single credit; I'll reserve judgement on that until I see them.  You can grant high school credit in middle school as long as the course is high school level.

[mom2att]

I would not consider First Form Latin high school credit worthy, nor would I worry about assigning high school credit to a 5th grader.

 

My oldest used many of MP's products beginning in 3rd grade, up to and into the Henle book using their study guides (this was before the Forms series).  Beginning in 7th grade I switched her to high school Latin with our state's virtual school. She completed Latin I and II with no problems because she had done so much elementary Latin. So her high school credit came from actual high school classes that the early Latin had prepared her for.

 

My sons have also done MP Latin, with the older one currently in Second Form. Still not high school credit work. He'll start Spanish next year at the high school level and that's where his credits will come from. 

 

For us early Latin is a foundation on which to build, not a finished product.

[GrammarGirl]

MP's B&M school, Highlands Latin, doesn't assign hs credit to elementary students for FFL. They don't intend FFL to be begun in ninth grade. It's meant to be a fourth grade class but is also used as a point of entry for older students.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Thank you all for your time and input. After reading the responses and knowing our son will go on to do more foreign language in the future, I am not going to do anything except keep plugging away at Latin. I'm not concerned at this point with whether or not FFL is worth a half credit, whole credit, or no credit at all. I was just confused as to how to go about awarding credit if it was worth one. It seems that it is pretty much up to the parents discretion as to award or not to award credit as long as it fits into the requirements for their state. I will try to research more on how this works in the future, but for now we will just enjoy learning a new language. :)

[Orthodox6]

When I assign a high school credit, I do my best for the coursework to approximate or match -- (sometimes to exceed) -- what I can locate for a high school credit awarded elsewhere for the same level of subject.  I don't want someone in a university admissions office to tackle my student on the grounds that his coursework was sub-standard.