Would these DE courses count as science w/lab?

[stacyh270]

DS took Biology in 9th grade and is now taking Chemistry in 10th (both with labs).  He is unsure of his career path but would like to take some DE courses in 11th and 12th grade since our state (TN) offers a DE grant and the DE courses would be less expensive (and likely less rigorous) than the tutorial he is currently in is.  He's looking into Plant Science, Soil Science, or Animal Science, all of which fall under the CC's "Agricultural Science" department and all have labs.  Since we have a large cattle farm, all of these sciences are applicable in our daily lives, especially if DS decides to stay in the family business. 

Do you see any pitfalls by taking one of these as his 3rd and final science credit vs taking Physics or A&P, both of which DS would LOATHE with a passion?  Frankly, I'm tired of having to push, pull, and drag him through his courses and letting him have a little more say in what he takes might help alleviate that to some degree.  

Edited September 15, 2019 by stacyh270

[teachermom2834]

I am in TN. If he has biology and chemistry I see no problem whatsoever with the de courses you mentioned. One of mine had physical science, biology, and chem and it never came up as an issue. De surely is better than a 9th grade physical science class. 

I am on my third ds through high school and moving to de and having some choice in coursework was huge in finishing off our homeschool years. I say go for it. 

(Standard disclaimer that my kids attend schools that are not super competitive. -Like top 50 public U and a regional LAC. So if you are thinking of the super competitive schools the answer might be different. I’m sure someone else will chime in.)

[stacyh270]

@teachermom2834,

No, DS will not be applying to schools that are super competitive.  He took physical science in 8th grade, which I didn't count as a HS science, so he's a little ticked at me that he has to take something beyond Chemistry...lol.  However, I feel like for English, Math, and Science, he needs have a "butt in seat" for those required years of high school.  Obviously, I'm a little more ambitious than he is about HIS high school experience, though...lol.  

[cbollin]

In my part of TN at the community college If they are 4 credits, then they have a lab with them.  So if they have a lab in college, sure, it's good for that tn 3rd science especially since it's DE course and is on the TN transfer pathway for ag degrees.  I'm with teachermom2834 on it.  The only potential pitfall I can see is that some of the Tn cc lists 3 credits for the intro to animal science, and intro to plant, while listed soil as 4, and yet other campuses list all three courses with 4 credits.  So, double check it's 4 credits (which you probably did already) and call it high school with lab.    

[stacyh270]

A slightly different, but related question.....since DE's are only 1 semester, do you award your student 1.0 credit or 0.5 credit?

[teachermom2834]

8 minutes ago, stacyh270 said:

A slightly different, but related question.....since DE's are only 1 semester, do you award your student 1.0 credit or 0.5 credit?

As always there are a variety of opinions. The overwhelming regional preference where I am is one semester de = 1 credit.  One of my boys is in college in GA and the other in FL and it seemed to be the accepted practice.

Honestly, in no way is the College Writing class my 16 yo in worth a full credit in my opinion. I will require him to take another English in the spring. But it will be 2 credits because I follow regional custom. It’s just easier. 

My ds has three de courses at the local U and WTMA Pre Cal (AOPS). No doubt the WTMA is is hardest class yet it will be worth half the credit and won’t get weighted like his de classes.

So, I can’t say it really is an accurate reflection of work done but as far as box checking and creating a transcript I stick with 1 semester de = 1 high school credit. My kids end up with a lot of credits because of this. 

[cbollin]

The cover school I use says 1 high school credit for a semester college course.  If your cover school says differently, follow that and find out any other rules they have with DE. If you are independent (file with local district), you could use same guidelines as my cover school if you want: 3 or 4 college credit = 1 hs credit, and a 1 or 2 college credit = 0.5 high school credit

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I think all three of those would fall well within the bounds of a science course. 

I awarded one credit for each CC course of 3+ credits.  My kids had more than 4 credits in some subjects as a result, which was fine. 

Even my kids says that my English courses are more demanding than the English 100 CC course he took as a DE course.

[Frances]

On 9/15/2019 at 1:45 PM, teachermom2834 said:

As always there are a variety of opinions. The overwhelming regional preference where I am is one semester de = 1 credit.  One of my boys is in college in GA and the other in FL and it seemed to be the accepted practice.

Honestly, in no way is the College Writing class my 16 yo in worth a full credit in my opinion. I will require him to take another English in the spring. But it will be 2 credits because I follow regional custom. It’s just easier. 

My ds has three de courses at the local U and WTMA Pre Cal (AOPS). No doubt the WTMA is is hardest class yet it will be worth half the credit and won’t get weighted like his de classes.

So, I can’t say it really is an accurate reflection of work done but as far as box checking and creating a transcript I stick with 1 semester de = 1 high school credit. My kids end up with a lot of credits because of this. 

I agree with choosing a credit equivalence formula and sticking with it. In my experience, there is very little correlation between the credit amount of college classes and time required for the course or rigor. I believe it is all based on contact hours, but even then different colleges don’t count things the same, especially lab hours. 

My son said that every class he took at his university on the quarter system was more difficult and covered more material in more depth than any semester course he took in high school at the local LAC. Yet according to most systems, it takes 6 quarter credit hours (so generally more than one class and often two) to equal one 4 credit semester course.