Question about accredited transcripts

[MinivanMom]

. . . and transferring into public school.

 

My daughter is now seriously considering attending our public high school starting in 9th grade. Our district's written policy is that they will automatically accept regionally accredited credits including those completed in middle school. The classes would appear on the high school transcript with the letter grade, but the grade wouldn't be used for gpa or class rank. For classes that are not regionally accredited, our district has a documentation process you go through to get credit. The principal has the final decision on all credit granted. If the credits are approved, then the middle school credits would appear on the transcript, but would be listed as pass/fail. Either way, if credit is granted then the student is allowed to place out of those classes so she can take the next class in the sequence.

 

This coming year, my daughter is planning to take a Potter's School class for French, but will be completing Algebra and Latin at home with me. I don't think we will have any problems getting credit approved for the at-home classes, because she will have ACT math scores and National Latin Exam scores to back up the credits. I am concerned that if the French class is accredited and listed with a letter grade while the others aren't, then it will look wrong on her high school transcript. I'm afraid that the pass/fail would give the impression that she did poorly in math and Latin, especially if it is listed alongside French with a letter grade.

 

Any ideas on how to handle this? Would it be dishonest to just list French on our own middle school transcript without mentioning the regional accreditation so that all the classes are listed pass/fail? Or should I try to use an online school to accredit our at-home classes? The ones I've looked at won't accept the Latin credit, because it's a world language. They are only willing to accredit high school courses for middle schoolers if it's a core subject. Or am I overthinking this? Maybe no one will care about those middle school classes even though they are listed on the final high school transcript. Any advice?

[MinivanMom]

I just wanted to add that starting public school in middle school isn't an option. Mostly because dd is strongly opposed to the idea of attending middle school, but also because they don't offer Latin or French. She also wouldn't be able to enroll in advanced courses at the middle school due to district rules regarding testing windows for acceleration. The high school principal, on the other hand, has the freedom to place students wherever he feels is best.

[MinivanMom]

Anyone?

[Lori D.]

When DD applies to college, you can add an addendum to explain why 1 high school course taken in middle school has a grade and the other 2 classes don't. Quite honestly, though, college admission offices probably will not care too much, as they tend to only focus on coursework taken in the 4 years prior to admission, which would be all of the high school courses taken in 9th-12th grades, which will all have grades and contribute to the GPA.

 

Also, if DD's math continues to progress in high school up through Pre-Calculus, or Calculus, college admissions are not going to care about an Algebra course taken in middle school with pass/fail attached to it.

 

And since the Latin will cease at the middle school since the public high school does not offer it, having that appear with a pass/fail will also not matter. In fact, if DD is not going to be continuing with Latin in high school, perhaps not worry about trying to get it onto the high school transcript as a high school credit taken in middle school…? Just a thought.

 

 

It seems to me that your biggest potential hurdle is already being cleared -- that the public high school WILL grant credit and WILL allow DD to advance to the next level of French and Math and not require her to re-take either, as the school provides two methods for that (accredited course provider, or passing the school's documentation process). :)

 

Hopefully someone else will jump in with more experience, or comment on how they see this concern… BEST of luck in your middle school and high school counselor / administrator role! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Daria]

I live in an area that puts HS classes taken in MS on transcripts, and except for very special circumstances I don't see a benefit for kids.  

 

A college who looks at a transcript with a kid who took Algebra 2 in 9th grade or Latin 3 in 9th grade, is going to be able to figure out that the same kid took Geometry and Latin 2 some time earlier.  They don't need that evidence on the transcript.  But putting the grades on the transcript is a huge disincentive to take risks and try something new in MS.  The very strongest students at our local MS, who jump through every hoop, leave with a weighted GPA of 4.0, because nothing is weighted, which is lower than they'll need to get into top schools.  The idea that you're already "behind" in 9th contributes to the pressure cooker environment.  For kids like mine who left middle school with a 2.75, it's a discouraging start.

 

The only exception would be if something happens that seriously disrupts a kids' education.  For example, my kid missed a year of math due to illness, so having the Algebra 1 class from 8th will make it easier to get to graduation.  In your case, I'd wait to advocate to add them to the transcript until there's an urgent situation. 

[MinivanMom]

When DD applies to college, you can add an addendum to explain why 1 high school course taken in middle school has a grade and the other 2 classes don't. Quite honestly, though, college admission offices probably will not care too much, as they tend to only focus on coursework taken in the 4 years prior to admission, which would be all of the high school courses taken in 9th-12th grades, which will all have grades and contribute to the GPA.

 

Also, if DD's math continues to progress in high school up through Pre-Calculus, or Calculus, college admissions are not going to care about an Algebra course taken in middle school with pass/fail attached to it.

 

And since the Latin will cease at the middle school since the public high school does not offer it, having that appear with a pass/fail will also not matter. In fact, if DD is not going to be continuing with Latin in high school, perhaps not worry about trying to get it onto the high school transcript as a high school credit taken in middle school…? Just a thought.

 

 

It seems to me that your biggest potential hurdle is already being cleared -- that the public high school WILL grant credit and WILL allow DD to advance to the next level of French and Math and not require her to re-take either, as the school provides two methods for that (accredited course provider, or passing the school's documentation process). :)

 

Hopefully someone else will jump in with more experience, or comment on how they see this concern… BEST of luck in your middle school and high school counselor / administrator role! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Actually, the high school does have a full Latin program. This is the big draw for dd at this point: a well-regarded Latin program run by a wonderful teacher with a doctorate in classics and a French program run by a native French speaker.

 

I realize we're very lucky that our district has a clear policy on homeschoolers that will grant credit and allow dd to advance to the next level, and hopefully colleges will be focused on her grades in higher levels of math and Latin during the high school years. I just wouldn't want the inconsistency to be noticed or raise flags. I would hate for any college to see the "pass" and think that she did poorly.

 

Honestly, I don't really want to get involved in any of the online schools that provide oversight or accredited diplomas if I can avoid it, because we wouldn't be using one if she decided to homeschool high school. I don't think they're necessary unless you have a situation like ours where you might be headed back into public school

[Lori D.]

Actually, the high school does have a full Latin program. This is the big draw for dd at this point: a well-regarded Latin program run by a wonderful teacher with a doctorate in classics...

 

Ah, thank you for that clarification; it was not evident to me from your original post. :)

 

 

...I just wouldn't want the inconsistency to be noticed or raise flags. I would hate for any college to see the "pass" and think that she did poorly...

 

Well, of course there is no way of looking into the crystal ball and know for *sure*, but I really think it is unlikely that a college will even raise an eyebrow at a pass/fail for a course earned in middle school, when all of the high school courses are As and Bs -- which, I assume your DD will manage quite handily. :)