Keeping Work for High School

[mlktwins]

My boys are just starting 10th grade.  I'm drowning in paperwork (of all kinds including my dad's).  If I scan work that went into grades (for 9th grade) and back it up, can I recycle the paper?

Example 1:  Vocab Roots - Workbook and Tests (can I scan and toss)?  I have a spreadsheet with their grades for each test, etc.

Example 2:  Math  Algebra 2 (VideoText) - I have their daily work, quizzes, tests (can I scan and toss)?  I have a spreadsheet for this also.

If you think I should keep the paper for both, can I just keep the quizzes/tests and get rid of the rest?

The writing for LA they do in Word and I correct and comment back to them in Word.  That is all in good shape on my PC and backed up.  Same with their history work.  

Biology from last year I had teacher grades so I printed and PDF'd those.  I also downloaded annotated labs and a few other things.  The rest I let go.  Is that ok?

Spanish was on-line so I just have their grades from the teacher.

What do you keep?

[Farrar]

I do keep some things, but I keep way more than anyone I know and yet I'm not keeping anything like what you're describing.

I would totally toss the workbooks. I personally keep a few examples of tests and papers and projects from each year, but it's a tiny little stack and people I know don't even keep that much. Yes, throw it all away. No one will ever want to see proof that you really did a workbook for vocabulary in 9th grade.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Farrar

[freesia]

I do keep daily work, but I have a lot of attic space. 

I think that tests, lab notebooks/reports and essays are the most important things to keep.  I have my kids keep files on the computer for online classes. I do print any English essays, though. I print online grades.  The university my dh graduated from requires graded essay samples from homeschoolers so I do make sure to save those particulars as we get closed to college application time.

For occasional electives like health, I only require the daily written work. If that’s the only work samples you have for a class that is a state requirement, I would keep those just in case.  

In summation, bc I think this has been scattered, I think you are keeping the right things. 

[Farrar]

Adding that the only things I've ever heard of anyone actually needing for college applications are...

* proof of labwork for science (and this is just at a couple of places that ask for this)
* an example or two of graded essays (I've seen this requirement specifically of homeschoolers or students applying test optional at a small handful of schools)
* projects if they were incredible and stellar and so far above and beyond the normal level of high school work that a student might want to include them in an application that allows for additional attachments (so most students, even great candidates, will not have this)
* artwork for students applying specifically to art, design, and architecture programs (but not for other students)

And for the essays and artwork and so forth, it is typically drawn mostly from junior year with maybe some drawn from sophomore year.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Farrar

[mlktwins]

What about middle school stuff that doesn't count towards high school work?  Can go right?!?!?!?

I did do a middle transcript to apply to high school specialty programs, but we decided to continue homeschooling so I don't need to keep anything unless I want to, right?

[Farrar]

Good grief, no. Unless it’s special to someone, toss it! Like I said, we keep a little pile of example work for each year, but even that is above and beyond. No one cares!

[Roadrunner]

Unless of course you are in CA. We are special like that. 🙄

I hear UCs audit some students, and I am going to guess they audit independent homeschoolers. So in our case I am keeping almost everything other than math. I can produce AoPS transcript for math if I had to. So the binders I keep for each subject, they all stay until my kid goes to college (UC or not) and then I will have a bonfire. 

[Reefgazer]

11 hours ago, mlktwins said:

My boys are just starting 10th grade.  I'm drowning in paperwork (of all kinds including my dad's).  If I scan work that went into grades (for 9th grade) and back it up, can I recycle the paper?

Example 1:  Vocab Roots - Workbook and Tests (can I scan and toss)?  I have a spreadsheet with their grades for each test, etc.

Example 2:  Math  Algebra 2 (VideoText) - I have their daily work, quizzes, tests (can I scan and toss)?  I have a spreadsheet for this also.

If you think I should keep the paper for both, can I just keep the quizzes/tests and get rid of the rest?

The writing for LA they do in Word and I correct and comment back to them in Word.  That is all in good shape on my PC and backed up.  Same with their history work.  

Biology from last year I had teacher grades so I printed and PDF'd those.  I also downloaded annotated labs and a few other things.  The rest I let go.  Is that ok?

Spanish was on-line so I just have their grades from the teacher.

What do you keep?

I keep everything, LOL!  For each child:  I have a copier paper box for each year (year is labelled on top/sides of box).  Everything they do in a school year goes in one box, grouped by subject, and each subject's papers are secured with a rubber band.  Then I store the box in the attic.  It seems like a lot to do, but it's really not; I just toss everything in the year's box and stash it in the attic.  I don't have to scan, or think about, or even sort anything because everything is in the box.  If I ever need *anything* for any reason, I know exactly where to find it.  I discard the elementary boxes after the child completes middle school.  I discarded the middle school boxes after the child completed high school (except for Algebra I and Latin for high school credit).  I'll discard the high school boxes after the freshman child graduates college.  The rationale behind this is that it is simple and quick, and if something ever turns up that DD needs to have evidence of something for a high school class, it's at my fingertips.  

[Reefgazer]

5 hours ago, Farrar said:

Good grief, no. Unless it’s special to someone, toss it! Like I said, we keep a little pile of example work for each year, but even that is above and beyond. No one cares!

I kept the middle school work because when DD was in middle school and was not sure if she would homeschool high school, a few private schools told me they could give her credit for her high school courses done on middle school with evidence and test scores.  So I hung onto them once DD had her diploma  in hand.  The chance we would need them was astronomically small, but hey, if that asteroid hit us, we were prepared!

[RootAnn]

Y'all keep way more than necessary, IMO. Maximum (Not minimum) that I would hold onto:

Tests, grade reports, science lab notebooks, one best essay from each year (or best example of each kind of essay over all of high school but that's only if they want to see how they did something), copy of title page & TOC from textbooks from core subjects (if my kid was likely to need NCAA approval), syllabus from college classes.

I keep syllibi, essays, grade reports (electronically).

[cintinative]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Y'all keep way more than necessary, IMO. Maximum (Not minimum) that I would hold onto:

Tests, grade reports, science lab notebooks, one best essay from each year (or best example of each kind of essay over all of high school but that's only if they want to see how they did something), copy of title page & TOC from textbooks from core subjects (if my kid was likely to need NCAA approval), syllabus from college classes.

I keep syllibi, essays, grade reports (electronically).

Thank you for this. I have no space to keep all of my kids' work even for just four years!  

It's so confusing because you hear some people saying that the colleges don't even read the course descriptions and here we are discussing how much of the twenty feet of paper that is their schoolwork we should keep!  

[RootAnn]

I think Margaret in Co ran into problems with colleges accepting DE classes. 

There was another poster who dropped off several boxes of work in portfolio form because the college said that's what they wanted. But, they seemed a bit stunned when it actually happened.

I'm on Kid#2 applying to college & yes, I've seen the graded essay thing and science lab notebook (Arizona? Utah?). But I've actually never seen any college requesting tests from individual courses. (No experience with California!!)

[klmama]

IIRC, someone's adult dc with a college degree in biology still had to prove for an EMT job in a different state that she had taken biology in high school.  Mom had saved her lab book, and that sufficed. 

[theelfqueen]

I keep course descriptions, grades/transcripts  and a few select assignments from various classes. And I have their assignment planners.

But I haven't sent a homescholar to university so maybe I'm failing. But I know plenty of homescholars who went to University and never needed anything else.

I'd think a high school transcript with biology on it counts as proof of high school biology- that's all a public or private schooled kid would have. 

[katilac]

3 hours ago, klmama said:

IIRC, someone's adult dc with a college degree in biology still had to prove for an EMT job in a different state that she had taken biology in high school.  Mom had saved her lab book, and that sufficed. 

The advice back in the day was to keep the cover and table of contents. I think most colleges are past that, but there's always something weird like this!