Record Keeping, Lesson Planning, Transcripts... HST vs HSP? Go!

[butterfly113]

Hi ladies and gents,

 

I have been using Homeschool Tracker (before online, and online currently) for years, yet some of the things about it drive me nuts. The other day I stumbled across Homeschool Planet through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op, and have downloaded the free trial. So far, I like what I see... yet the thought of transferring 2 yrs of data is mind boggling.... I would need to do so however for the transcript. I am at the point where my subscription for HST will need to be renewed in a month or so, thus the timing is good.... so that is not a factor.

If you have used either one, can you share / comment as to pros or cons?

[klmama]

I use the old downloaded HST, and it also drives me crazy sometimes.  Yet, it's handy, so I keep using it.  As for transcripts, well, I don't like their transcript at all.  I made my own for oldest by tweaking a sample I got from someone on this board.  So, you could just print out the record of grades from HST, so you have them as proof, if you ever need them, and switch to HSP, if that's what you want to do.  Just make your own transcript. 

[regentrude]

Why do you need to transfer "two years worth of information" just so you can make a transcript? All you need is course title and grade. At approx 7 credits per year, that only means 14 course titles and 14 grades...

You can make your own transcript completely without any HS specific software. Excel or Word suffice entirely for that purpose.

Edited July 20, 2016 by regentrude

[Tenaj]

I use Homeschool Tracker Online for all the records but I don't use it for the transcript.  I just pull the grades off and put it in an old program I have . . . Transcript Pro which I've had for years.  Just checked to see if it is still for sale and it is http://homeschooltranscripts.com/products-page/transcriptpro-category  

 

I probably wouldn't buy it again just for what I use it for but I have it and it works.  If I didn't have it, I would just type the transcript up in my word processor.  The last time I checked I didn't like the format of HST's transcripts.  

[freelylearned]

I would just start the year fresh with the new system without transferring everything over. If a public school switches computer systems, I doubt they transfer all old data to the new system. College admissions is used to seeing all types of transcripts, I'm sure. You can always type your own transcripts and course descriptions for applications so everything is neat and orderly.

[all4ramseys@msn.com]

Lee Binz has some amazing stuff. Go through her site - you'll feel much less stressed:)

 

http://www.thehomescholar.com/

[butterfly113]

Thank you ladies! Great input and advice. I guess I worry and stree about having records of everything. And yes, there are LOTS of varieties of transcripts... thank you for that reminder! Taking a deep breath and carrying onward....

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you ladies! Great input and advice. I guess I worry and stree about having records of everything. And yes, there are LOTS of varieties of transcripts... thank you for that reminder! Taking a deep breath and carrying onward....

 

FWIW, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in high school, I did 9th grade at a junior high on the trimester system, 10-11 at a high school in one state and 12th grade in a different state.  I have my transcripts and they are each different from the other.  One transcript from my last school actually has parts of my earlier transcript cut out and glued in place on the new school's form.

 

The systems that classroom teachers use for class planning and grade keeping may be very different from what the district or school uses for grade reports and transcripts.  Don't let the usefulness of one system drive you into something you don't need in another area.

 

ETA:  That said, I found HST and similar programs presented a lot of work on my part to set up and didn't offer that big of an advantage.  I have pretty much stuck with writing course outlines in Word.  For grades on assignments or tests (when I feel that I need to keep track), I just insert a table and record the scores there.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Mosaicmind]

I purchased the HST Plus CD years ago and I just got it out last night and loaded it on my new laptop. I've had a trial for HSP and MySchoolYear online planners for about 1 week and was trying to decide which one to use. Cost wise all 3 online subscriptions are about the same but if you have a HSLDA membership you can get 20% off of HST online or 4 months of free access to MySchoolYear in addition to the year you purchased (the 4 months includes the 1mo trial).

 

Though HSP seems easy to use, there's just something that I don't like about it. I like HST's calendar view better than HSP. MySchoolYear doesn't have a calendar view. I was able to tweak my grade scale on HST to match the College Board's grade scale and I'm not sure you can do that in HSP. MySchoolYear allows you to copy lesson plans from other members, which makes planning easier if someone else has something you need. None of the others have this feature.

 

Since I still have my HST Plus cd, I'm going to stick with it because then I don't have to spend any extra money on another digital planner for a year's access. I like HST Online the best of the 3 I've been playing with this last week but I've been using it since it first came out so it's what I'm familiar with. The idea of having to learn how to work with another online planner just didn't appeal to me when I have so many other things to do.

[butterfly113]

FWIW, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in high school, I did 9th grade at a junior high on the trimester system, 10-11 at a high school in one state and 12th grade in a different state.  I have my transcripts and they are each different from the other.  One transcript from my last school actually has parts of my earlier transcript cut out and glued in place on the new school's form.

 

The systems that classroom teachers use for class planning and grade keeping may be very different from what the district or school uses for grade reports and transcripts.  Don't let the usefulness of one system drive you into something you don't need in another area.

 

ETA:  That said, I found HST and similar programs presented a lot of work on my part to set up and didn't offer that big of an advantage.  I have pretty much stuck with writing course outlines in Word.  For grades on assignments or tests (when I feel that I need to keep track), I just insert a table and record the scores there.

 

Excellent point on not allowing a "glossy pkg" persuade me to something I really don't need perhaps. Good advice!

 

Points I do like about HST and HSP are keeping track of assignments, accountability for the student with the assignments, lists etc. I also like merging life with school... especially as homeschooling is a way of life for us. Being able to put other activities, travel, appointments etc helps keep the week managable work load wise.

[butterfly113]

I purchased the HST Plus CD years ago and I just got it out last night and loaded it on my new laptop. I've had a trial for HSP and MySchoolYear online planners for about 1 week and was trying to decide which one to use. Cost wise all 3 online subscriptions are about the same but if you have a HSLDA membership you can get 20% off of HST online or 4 months of free access to MySchoolYear in addition to the year you purchased (the 4 months includes the 1mo trial).

 

Though HSP seems easy to use, there's just something that I don't like about it. I like HST's calendar view better than HSP. MySchoolYear doesn't have a calendar view. I was able to tweak my grade scale on HST to match the College Board's grade scale and I'm not sure you can do that in HSP. MySchoolYear allows you to copy lesson plans from other members, which makes planning easier if someone else has something you need. None of the others have this feature.

 

Since I still have my HST Plus cd, I'm going to stick with it because then I don't have to spend any extra money on another digital planner for a year's access. I like HST Online the best of the 3 I've been playing with this last week but I've been using it since it first came out so it's what I'm familiar with. The idea of having to learn how to work with another online planner just didn't appeal to me when I have so many other things to do.

 

I had not looked at the grading scales to see what lined up where as of yet... Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

 

If you figure out "what" it is about HSP you don't like, please share if you get a chance.

 

Thanks for the input!

[afruitfulbranch]

MySchoolYear allows you to copy lesson plans from other members, which makes planning easier if someone else has something you need. None of the others have this feature.

 

HST does.  I use other people's plans all the time!

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Btw like Regentrude, I just did my own transcript. It has all kinds of things I wanted it to show but I didn't have to fight with a program that didn't fit my classes or include what I wanted to highlight.

[Mosaicmind]

HST does. I use other people's plans all the time!

 

HST Online does but HST Plus does not. I wouldn't pay the yearly membership just for that though. I see the benefits of having a yearly online membership but since I already own the CD, which cost me $55, I don't know that I want to invest in the online program or not.

 

MySchoolYear allows you to do that also, as I stated, but when I went to look for lesson plans I needed not one person had any. Oh well.

[Mosaicmind]

I had not looked at the grading scales to see what lined up where as of yet... Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

 

If you figure out "what" it is about HSP you don't like, please share if you get a chance.

 

Thanks for the input!

Honestly, there's not much I don't like that would keep me from purchasing a membership, if it was the only planner out there. I don't like all of the possible widgets that you can add on the one page (can't remember which one?). They are distracting to me, even though I like some of their features. My opinion is that HST is easier to enter assignments than the others, but as I've said before, my experience with it only may color my opinion. I also think it's easier to reschedule assignments in HST but I've only been messing around with HSP for about 2 weeks now.

 

So, if I were coming into this new to homeschooling, I would go with the cheapest planner. If you have a membership with HSLDA, you can get a 20% discount with HST or 4 months free when you get a yearly subscription with MySchoolYear (this includes the 1 month free trial). HSP doesn't offer any discounts but there is a HSP give away going on right now that you can enter to get a free year; I believe the winner will be chosen Aug. 5th (maybe).

[butterfly113]

Btw like Regentrude, I just did my own transcript. It has all kinds of things I wanted it to show but I didn't have to fight with a program that didn't fit my classes or include what I wanted to highlight.

 

Can you share a little futher what else you included besides the basic info of the student, Course names, grades and GPA ?

[afruitfulbranch]

HST Online does but HST Plus does not. I wouldn't pay the yearly membership just for that though. I see the benefits of having a yearly online membership but since I already own the CD, which cost me $55, I don't know that I want to invest in the online program or not.

 

MySchoolYear allows you to do that also, as I stated, but when I went to look for lesson plans I needed not one person had any. Oh well.

 

I don't use HST Online, never have.  I bought HST Plus years ago. I wonder if we mean different things by "using other people's plans" or "copy lesson plans"? :confused1:

 

What I mean is that I download someone else's lesson plan, e.g. apologia astronomy (which I just downloaded last week), it opens a dialog box so that I can use the items as the original person labeled it or my own, save and done. Open it in my HSTPLUS.

 

I get the plans from the HST yahoo group, download it and open it with HST.  There are several groups with tons of plans. I can include the links if interested.  What plan do you need?

 

Hope this makes sense and helps!

 

[afruitfulbranch]

Since I was already in the process of looking for a plan to copy, I thought I'd paste some information here and maybe that might clear some things up.  Here is the group's description taken from the group page, emphasis added:

 

This group is not a homeschool support group. It is designed to be a place to store NON-Copywrited lesson plans that have been exported from a homeschool curriculum planning software called Homeschool Tracker Plus and no other purpose.

Here is just a sampling of some files stored on one of the 3 language arts groups. Each successive one is an overflow of another, so it's not always quick to find the one you want, but I'm not complaining because I can't volunteer to redo it so I'm not expecting anyone else to.  I appreciate that it's even there! The group's files are not alphabetized:

 

Evan Moor Workbooks Language Arts & Social Studies workbooks by Evan Moor

 

Vocabulary From Classical Root lesson plans for levels 4-6

 

Spelling Workout overflow from la2

 

Memoria Press Literature Study

 

Building Spelling Skills These are the Christian Liberty Pres Books. Very simple lesson plans.

 

Handwriting by George Copywork exercises from George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company & Conversation"

 

Analogies

 

Sequential Spelling

 

Grammar Songs

 

English from the Roots Up

 

Easy Grammar

 

Handwriting Without Tears

 

Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting

 

Dictations Various resources for home-created dictation lessons

 

IEW Institute for Excellence in Writing plans

 

Explode the Code

 

Essentials in Writing

 

Analytical Grammar Analytical Grammar Lesson Plans

 

Applications of Grammar

 

The name of this particular group is hst-LA3. The various groups are organized by subject, for the most part. There are math and science and other groups as well.

 

Hope this helps!

 

PS:

 

HST tells you on their site about the lesson plan sharing group. 

http://www.homeschooltracker.com/tracker-plus-lp/

Edited July 22, 2016 by afruitfulbranch

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Can you share a little futher what else you included besides the basic info of the student, Course names, grades and GPA ?

 

The top has student contact info.

 

The middle has courses, grades, credit hours per course, year completed and grade when completed.  The courses are grouped by subject, but then are chronological within each category.  Any course completed with an outside provider has a footnote with a code that refers to the provider.

 

On the bottom left I have a table that lists the number of credits earned each year, the cumulative unweighted and weighted gpa up to that point and the total credits earned through that year.

 

On the bottom right I have a table that lists standardized tests and scores.  I included the SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests and AP exams.  (Other scores like National Latin Exam are listed with course descriptions.)

 

The footer of the page lists each of the footnote codes and expands them.  So for example ^LP Lukeion Project

 

I also included a second page which was a worksheet showing my gpa calculations for the weighted gpa.  For each weighted course I indicated the reason why it was a weighted grade (ex. Advanced Placement, college course, taught at advanced level by outside provider).  I also used the comments section to specify courses that were in progress or planned for the fall or spring (this was useful during college application season).

[Mosaicmind]

I don't use HST Online, never have. I bought HST Plus years ago. I wonder if we mean different things by "using other people's plans" or "copy lesson plans"? :confused1:

 

What I mean is that I download someone else's lesson plan, e.g. apologia astronomy (which I just downloaded last week), it opens a dialog box so that I can use the items as the original person labeled it or my own, save and done. Open it in my HSTPLUS.

 

I get the plans from the HST yahoo group, download it and open it with HST. There are several groups with tons of plans. I can include the links if interested. What plan do you need?

 

Hope this makes sense and helps!

 

 

We are talking about different things. I am saying this: with MySchoolYear you go to the tab, copy plans (or something like that, and you find the lesson plan you want that some other member has already typed out into their own lesson plans. Right next to that plan you can click on a button that says copy or add and now that plan is listed in your lesson plans to use.

 

What you are talking about can be done with any lesson plan from anyone, like the ones I have on my Young Minds CD. The way this works with MySchoolYear and possibly HST Online is much easier because you stay right in the planner, it's searchable so you just enter the plan you need and it lists those, and then you just click a button. There's no need to go on a different website or anything because it's all there. If you want to share your lesson plans you give permission when you set up your account and then any plans you create can be used by other members.

 

HST Plus wouldn't have this capability because you'd either have to be online to access the list or the CD would have to be updated all of the time to include the lesson plans entered since the last update. I'm sure that it's fairly easy to use the lesson plans that you do.

[Mosaicmind]

Since I was already in the process of looking for a plan to copy, I thought I'd paste some information here and maybe that might clear some things up. Here is the group's description taken from the group page, emphasis added:

 

This group is not a homeschool support group. It is designed to be a place to store NON-Copywrited lesson plans that have been exported from a homeschool curriculum planning software called Homeschool Tracker Plus and no other purpose.

 

Here is just a sampling of some files stored on one of the 3 language arts groups. Each successive one is an overflow of another, so it's not always quick to find the one you want, but I'm not complaining because I can't volunteer to redo it so I'm not expecting anyone else to. I appreciate that it's even there! The group's files are not alphabetized:

 

 

Evan Moor Workbooks Language Arts & Social Studies workbooks by Evan Moor

Vocabulary From Classical Root lesson plans for levels 4-6

Spelling Workout overflow from la2

Memoria Press Literature Study

Building Spelling Skills These are the Christian Liberty Pres Books. Very simple lesson plans.

Handwriting by George Copywork exercises from George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company & Conversation"

Analogies

Sequential Spelling

Grammar Songs

English from the Roots Up

Easy Grammar

Handwriting Without Tears

Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting

Dictations Various resources for home-created dictation lessons

IEW Institute for Excellence in Writing plans

Explode the Code

Essentials in Writing

Analytical Grammar Analytical Grammar Lesson Plans

Applications of Grammar

The name of this particular group is hst-LA3. The various groups are organized by subject, for the most part. There are math and science and other groups as well.

 

Hope this helps!

 

PS:

 

HST tells you on their site about the lesson plan sharing group.

http://www.homeschooltracker.com/tracker-plus-lp/

Thanks for the info but we aren't using any of the programs you've listed. I've been homeschooling for 18 years and got HST Plus when it first came out so I don't have many lesson plans to enter now that I'm down to my last 2, who will start 9th and 10th this year.

[butterfly113]

FWIW... I checked both HST Online and Homeschool Planet, and both offer different grading scales. In addition there is the option of changing the grading scales to meet your needs, and thus aligning with the College Board.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

FWIW... I checked both HST Online and Homeschool Planet, and both offer different grading scales. In addition there is the option of changing the grading scales to meet your needs, and thus aligning with the College Board.

I've never heard of aligning a grading scale with anything from College Board. What are you referring to?

[butterfly113]

I purchased the HST Plus CD years ago and I just got it out last night and loaded it on my new laptop. I've had a trial for HSP and MySchoolYear online planners for about 1 week and was trying to decide which one to use. Cost wise all 3 online subscriptions are about the same but if you have a HSLDA membership you can get 20% off of HST online or 4 months of free access to MySchoolYear in addition to the year you purchased (the 4 months includes the 1mo trial).

 

Though HSP seems easy to use, there's just something that I don't like about it. I like HST's calendar view better than HSP. MySchoolYear doesn't have a calendar view. I was able to tweak my grade scale on HST to match the College Board's grade scale and I'm not sure you can do that in HSP. MySchoolYear allows you to copy lesson plans from other members, which makes planning easier if someone else has something you need. None of the others have this feature.

 

Since I still have my HST Plus cd, I'm going to stick with it because then I don't have to spend any extra money on another digital planner for a year's access. I like HST Online the best of the 3 I've been playing with this last week but I've been using it since it first came out so it's what I'm familiar with. The idea of having to learn how to work with another online planner just didn't appeal to me when I have so many other things to do.

 

 

I've never heard of aligning a grading scale with anything from College Board. What are you referring to?

 

Sebastian,

See above bolded text.

 

For example:

College Board Grading Scale             vs           HST (these are not exact as I've changed mine from default) But for an example...

 

A+               97-100          4.0                             96-100

 

A                   93-96          4.0                             92-95

 

A-                  90-92          3.7                             90-94

 

B+                 87-89          3.3

 

B                   83-86          3.0

 

B-                 80-82           2.7

 

C+                 77-79          2.3

 

C                   73-76          2.0

 

C-                  70-72          1.7

 

D+                 67-69          1.3

 

D                   65-66          1.0

 

E/F          Below 65          0.0                         60 or below

 

 

Does this makes sense?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Sebastian,

See above bolded text.

 

For example:

College Board Grading Scale vs HST (these are not exact as I've changed mine from default) But for an example...

 

A+ 97-100 4.0 96-100

 

A 93-96 4.0 92-95

 

A- 90-92 3.7 90-94

 

B+ 87-89 3.3

 

B 83-86 3.0

 

B- 80-82 2.7

 

C+ 77-79 2.3

 

C 73-76 2.0

 

C- 70-72 1.7

 

D+ 67-69 1.3

 

D 65-66 1.0

 

E/F Below 65 0.0 60 or below

 

 

Does this makes sense?

Where did you get the CB grade scale? I've not seen that on their site or on course pages for AP courses.

 

In other words I'm not sure what significance there would be in a grade scale from CB.

[Mosaicmind]

Where did you get the CB grade scale? I've not seen that on their site or on course pages for AP courses.

 

In other words I'm not sure what significance there would be in a grade scale from CB.

 

I wasn't trying to make this a big deal. I was just noting something I was glad I could do. I like this gpa scale because it's the one the high schools in IN and KY, where my kids have gone, have used. Also, Purdue and a few colleges that I've looked at and the College I went to, Liberty, used this one. Here's CB's web address where it's listed on their site. Sorry for the confusion cuz this was about homeschool planners not gpa scales.

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/academicTracker-howtoconvert.html

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I wasn't trying to make this a big deal. I was just noting something I was glad I could do. I like this gpa scale because it's the one the high schools in IN and KY, where my kids have gone, have used. Also, Purdue and a few colleges that I've looked at and the College I went to, Liberty, used this one. Here's CB's web address where it's listed on their site. Sorry for the confusion cuz this was about homeschool planners not gpa scales.

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/academicTracker-howtoconvert.html

 

Ah, I understand what you are saying.

 

I used a more basic scale, partly because I didn't want to bother with + and - in home based classes.  I did explain my grading scale on the transcript and in the course description.

 

FWIW,  in my opinion, there isn't anything special about the scale that CB lists.  It is one that is often used in colleges, but there are many different grading schemes in public school districts.  I think what is important is that you are consistent from course to course and explain what you did to any potential readers.

[Mosaicmind]

Ah, I understand what you are saying.

 

I used a more basic scale, partly because I didn't want to bother with + and - in home based classes. I did explain my grading scale on the transcript and in the course description.

 

FWIW, in my opinion, there isn't anything special about the scale that CB lists. It is one that is often used in colleges, but there are many different grading schemes in public school districts. I think what is important is that you are consistent from course to course and explain what you did to any potential readers.

Nothing special but it's the one I've used for years and we are most accustomed to. No, college that we've applied to or that I've talked to wants any explanation of grading scale. I have had several say that they like that I'm using the same one they use and most other colleges and universities use.

[butterfly113]

Sorry ladies, I've been out this morning. Thanks mosaicmind for clarifying where the scale came from, and yes I googled and found it that way.

Good info all around. Thanks for the input.