Targhee Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I am finishing up records for the year, and I am going back and forth about what is necessary, what is helpful, what is superfluous. My state requires a few simple things: declaration of intent to homeschool, annual assessment, and that you cover the 11 subject areas, and that you "keep records." Nothing specific about what those records are. That's fine, I'm not worried about what the state is requiring. I am thinking about the possibility my kids might enter public school in another year, or maybe just as they each reach high school. I'm tracking middle school pretty well, with course descriptions, books lists, etc. But what, if anything, do people keep for elementary school records that may have any bearing on public school later. Anything? And what do you find you want to keep for your own personal reasons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 But what, if anything, do people keep for elementary school records that may have any bearing on public school later. Anything? Honestly, I don't think there's anything from elementary school that would have any bearing on public school later on. The only thing that I can imagine a public school wanting to see is current standardized testing, but even then they would probably just glance over it; it wouldn't be necessary. And what do you find you want to keep for your own personal reasons? I have a filing cabinet with a hanging file for each year of school. I put three manila folders in each one. The first folder has a copy of their annual standardized testing (required in our state) and a one-page written evaluation of what they learned and accomplished that year. I make sure to mention curriculum used and some examples of the level of books they are reading. I figure that would be useful if I died, and dh had to enroll them in school. The second folder has a few work samples from each subject, just some representative samples of their best work. These are the things I want to save; I don't imagine that any public school would care much about looking through it. The third folder has memorabilia: awards, recital programs, theater ticket stubs, those "memory mate" photo-things that you buy every season for sports, etc. In the back of the file I will put larger things I want to save, like journals or a couple pieces of their best art. I take a photo of anything that is big or bulky (sculptures, science projects, etc), and then I don't feel guilty tossing it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I don't keep any records for elementary. I recently talked to the person for our county about a situation we were facing. Dd10 completed 5th and 6th grade this year. (We homeschool year round, so the extra time caught up to her.) :) I wanted to know if she needed to take both the 5th and 6th grade Stanford tests to show completion of both years. The co-ordinator said that it didn't matter to her, but if I were going to put her in public school, she would be placed in an age-appropriate class. As if her extra work and ability meant nothing. I'm not planning to place her in school, but that would so not happen that I would let them make her repeat a grade because of her age. So I guess that if you lived here it wouldn't matter what records you kept, they would look at your dc's birthday and put them in a class. How infuriating! I guess that I would talk to the co-ordinator in your county and hope that they have a better policy than what we have here. ETA: I do keep the annual Stanford tests, but no records other than that. Also, if you are wondering, I didn't make dd10 take both Stanford tests. She only took the 6th grade test this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I keep the attendance record and standardized test required by the state, a list of field trips (probably won't bother after second grade unless they're big ones), and a short quarterly narrative progress report. And since my plans are electronic, I have those. I have been keeping an occasional handwriting sample to show progress (and remind myself that there really has been progress). I do not keep anything else--math workbooks, etc., all get recycled. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 My state requires record of intent and non-reportable annual standardized testing. I keep no "records" at all. In reality, I keep math notebooks and a couple of writing samples for each year. Schools are required to use their own standardized testing for reentry... so in our case they will either ignore that and place by age(likely) or test and then have decide whether to accelerate... either way our home records are irrelevant. It is a whole different scene for high school but records are meaningless for elementary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 My school district don't care for any records other than immunization records for re-enter at elementary or middle school level so I slack as well. I did keep all standardized tests scores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 I'm glad to hear others saying the only thing they keep is standardized test scores! We used an umbrella school for three years, and they kept our records. In 2013 we went it solo, and I kept only our declaration of intent to homeschool and their assessment. This year I decided to keep records for my 7th grader who is completing HS level math so that if she will be placed for math correctly, and for English and Science so that she can do honors classes. I wish she liked history. Anyway, I had a moment of panic about my younger kids. Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I am finishing up records for the year, and I am going back and forth about what is necessary, what is helpful, what is superfluous. My state requires a few simple things: declaration of intent to homeschool, annual assessment, and that you cover the 11 subject areas, and that you "keep records." Nothing specific about what those records are. That's fine, I'm not worried about what the state is requiring. I am thinking about the possibility my kids might enter public school in another year, or maybe just as they each reach high school. I'm tracking middle school pretty well, with course descriptions, books lists, etc. But what, if anything, do people keep for elementary school records that may have any bearing on public school later. Anything? And what do you find you want to keep for your own personal reasons? The only kinds of records I would keep on the off chance that my dc might go to school some day would be immunization or other health records, photocopies of their birth certificates, and some sort of progress report. If I knew in advance that my dc would be entering school in the near future, I'd also have them do standardized testing, even if my state didn't require it. I would probably not include a state-required annual assessment, because that would probably be more information than the school would need. For my own personal use, there would be (in California) a copy of my annual R-4 (Private School Affidavit), and that's about it. In any state that required more, such as an intent to homeschool, I would keep copies of those. Also, I would try to keep track of purchases to help me remember things I bought, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 This probably varies by state. I keep the annual letters I've received from the VT department of Education. They send them to home school families once all of the requirements to begin the school year have been met. Application of intent to homeschool, form filled out by a Dr. or teacher stating that the child has no disabilities that would require extra services and a completed (and reviewed by the state) portfolio of the prior year. I also keep the portfolio that has summaries of what he's accomplished in each subject along with work samples and book lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Our state requires two portfolio reviews per year. My oldest has completed 2 years of school so I have 4 notebooks. I'm planning to do a purge this weekend. I think I will keep: -Each portfolio review form signed by the school district person. This includes a list of curriculum and topics. -1-2 pages of sample work for each subject per year, mostly for sentimental reasons I keep literature lists and photographs of field trips electronically, so no need to keep those. So maybe 10 pages per year per child? We don't keep attendance records and we opt out of standardized tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I just got asked for an official report card for DD for an academic extracurricular activity. I'm not even sure what to do or what subjects to put. :confused1: I keep the homeschool affidavit for 3 years from the year we used it. The printout anyway. I still have it in my email too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I just got asked for an official report card for DD for an academic extracurricular activity. I'm not even sure what to do or what subjects to put. :confused1: I keep the homeschool affidavit for 3 years from the year we used it. The printout anyway. I still have it in my email too. You can get a single report card and envelope for .50 from Rod and Staff Publishers. Donna Young has one, but it's wonky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I keep copies of everything I submit to the umbrella school. That would be attendance record, semester grades by subject, and resources used for each subject I teach. Book list is encouraged, but not required, so I send that in as well. For myself, I keep a list of field trips, special projects, and extracurriculars. I keep their immunization record on file as well. I have a large cardboard box on a shelf in which they place all completed written work in one big stack. Debating on thinning it out for a portfolio or just trashing everything except the past year or two's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 You can get a single report card and envelope for .50 from Rod and Staff Publishers. Donna Young has one, but it's wonky. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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