How do you begin organizing a high school portfolio?

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

My twins are now attending high school part-time, and homeschooling in the majority of their core classes. It is likely that they will not be graduating w/ a diploma from this high school, so I was hoping to begin some record-keeping and portfolio management.

 

How does one go about the process of keeping the portfolio current, so that it is quite complete by the time high school studies are completed?

 

Any suggestions or recommended resources for this would be appreciated.

 

Blessings,

 

Camy

[Kareni]

You might find the following book of use: Homeschooler's Guide to Portfolios and Transcripts by Loretta Heuer.

 

It's a hefty book! I found the most value in reading the chapters that pertain to applying to college (these are in the second half of the book). Most of the colleges to which my teen is applying do not require a "portfolio" per se but some of them do ask for a collection of works such as reading list, graded research paper, etc. Some universities require lab reports, the table of contents of textbooks used, course syllabi, etc.

 

If your children have an idea of what colleges they might apply to, it would be worth determining the specific requirements of those particular schools for homeschoolers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Gwen in VA]

:iagree:

 

All of the schools we looked at wanted significantly LESS than a portfolio. The only "extras" we ended up sending in were a reading list, an activity list, and many pages of course descriptions.

 

Undoubtedly some colleges would be interested in seeing an entire portfolio, but many just don't want that kind of paper to sort through. Check with the colleges you are interested in to make sure that a portfolio will be acceptable before you spend too much time creating it.

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

Gwen and Kareni, thanks for the tips, especially the fact that colleges may not want to sift through a bunch of paperwork. That certainly makes sense. I will look into the book you recommended, Gwen. I guess I'm just getting nerved up about the prospect of "one more thing", i.e. "the transcript." You both have calmed my nerves a bit. Thanks! Blessings.

[Jenny in Florida]

. . . which, as always, is a little different, given my daughter's situation:

 

I laid out her transcript the year we started doing high school work and just kept it up to date as she continued.

 

I also kept a file with course descriptions and reading lists for each subject. I was very concerned that the time would come when some admissions officer would ask to see that stuff, and I wouldn't have time to recreate it on the spot. So, I took the time to log it as we went. (My theory was that I might "waste" a little time documenting things no one would ever care to see, but I would rather do that than risk blowing my kid's chance to get into the school of her choice later on.)

 

When it came to the actual admissions thing, she applied to only one school, because it was the only one that offered an appropriate program for her. Along with the application and required essays, we submitted the transcript, three pages of one-paragraph descriptions of all of her courses, and two pages briefly describing her various extra-curricular activities.

 

It seemed like the best balance we could strike between providing "enough" information and risking overwhelming them with paperwork. And I was able to pull it together quickly and confidently because I had the raw materials at my fingertips. I plan to take pretty much the same approach when it's my son's turn.

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

Jenny, thanks. You've given me a place to start. That's what I was looking for, some specifics on how to to "something" each year so as not to be overwhelmed by the time they are ready to graduate. Thanks!

[Nan in Mass]

Reading it at the beginning of high school would be a good idea because it has a section on working out what your goals for high school are.

 

I took a notebook, divided it into subjects (rough ones) and then every time we did anything, I wrote it down in the appropriate section. This let me homeschool very flexibly; when we had done enough of something that I could count it as a credit, I wrote up a course description and put it on his transcript. The "transcript" was in list form in word until spring of his junior year, when I formatted it into nice boxes (again using word). I collected up lots of transcripts and melded them into something I thought would include the information I needed it to include. I really recommend the notebook method. It worked beautifully. We also filed our work in notebooks a la TWTM. Next time round, I'm going to xerox the title page and table of contents of any textbooks we use and file them, just in case I need them.

 

My son was just accepted to college. We sent my transcipt, his CC transcript, recommendations, his SAT scores, the application (filled out by hand), and a "school profile" which I wrote - one page that explained how we homeschooled. This college didn't ask for anything else. If he'd applied to Hampshire (for example), he would have had to have a very different looking transcript. Ours, except for the lack of dates and grades, was pretty traditional.

 

HTH

-Nan

[74Heaven]

:iagree:

 

All of the schools we looked at wanted significantly LESS than a portfolio. The only "extras" we ended up sending in were a reading list, an activity list, and many pages of course descriptions.

 

I guess my main question (since I haven't been doing this, we do use mostly textbooks) - is how do I compile these and which courses should I do these for?

 

If we've used a basic Algebra course, do I need to include a course description - will just a text book name do? (Videotext for one dtr; Math Relief for another) or do I need to write out (copy?) the scope and sequence or table of contents?)

 

Thanks for any guidance - I am behind on this part???

 

Lisaj

[Anna]

All of the schools we looked at wanted significantly LESS than a portfolio.

 

Check with the colleges you are interested in to make sure that a portfolio will be acceptable before you spend too much time creating it.

 

Same here! Oldest dd is in her 3rd semester of college. She applied to 4-5 MI colleges including Hillsdale. None of them were interested in seeing a portfolio. I did use a model transcript from the internet and inserted her ACT score and her grades during each of her high school years and we presented her transcript at all the colleges.

 

My dh took her in to one college for a brief meeting. (It was the school she chose.) They looked at her high school grades and ACT score and offered her a scholarship on the spot. This all happened during a 15 minute meeting.

 

But nobody at any of the schools asked for portfolios.

[Kareni]

so, how long should course descriptions be? (or how thorough?)

 

I guess my main question (since I haven't been doing this, we do use mostly textbooks) - is how do I compile these and which courses should I do these for?

 

If we've used a basic Algebra course, do I need to include a course description - will just a text book name do? (Videotext for one dtr; Math Relief for another) or do I need to write out (copy?) the scope and sequence or table of contents?)

 

Lisaj,

 

I've started another thread that will point you to examples of course descriptions.

 

In my own course descriptions, I did not include the textbook name. I've included, along with the reading list, a list of textbooks used. Others have chosen to do differently. There is no right or wrong method!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[74Heaven]

Lisaj,

 

I've started another thread that will point you to examples of course descriptions.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

thanks!!