How best to validate a "mommy-made-grade" in science? (Middle School taking high school science)

[TheAttachedMama]

Hi Everyone,

My 7th and 8th grade students are taking a high school level Biology class in middle school using the Miller-Levine Biology (macaw) textbook.   I am also supplementing with an online class called  "Experience Biology-Advanced", which is *supposed to be* a complete high school level online biology class.  (I say "supposed to" because it is really light in my humble opinion.  But it works as a nice supplement to the Miller-Levine textbook because it has some lectures/quizzes, research questions, and 24 labs with reports ). 

FYI...I will still have them take a science class each year of high school, so it isn't like they will need these science credits.   They will either take DE/AP...or maybe some less common science electives of their choice like organic chemistry.     I was told that I should include all high school level math/science/foreign language classes taken in middle school on their transcript.   So if I include this, what exactly should I do this year to validate any grade I give them?   They have no idea where they might want to go to college, so I need an option that will cover as many bases as possible.   

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by TheAttachedMama

[kristin0713]

Are they taking the quizzes and tests with Experience Biology?  My DD is taking that as well.  I think you can use their quiz and test grades for a good portion of their grade.  (Personally, I think they are challenging, and my DD has found them quite challenging as well.  But I am not a scientist by any means.)  Use a point system for everything else.  Any readings that you assign, labs, lab reports, etc. should count towards their grade and I would give full credit if they do all the work that you require.  

[8filltheheart]

41 minutes ago, TheAttachedMama said:

Hi Everyone,

My 7th and 8th grade students are taking a high school level Biology class in middle school using the Miller-Levine Biology (macaw) textbook.   I am also supplementing with an online class called  "Experience Biology-Advanced", which is *supposed to be* a complete high school level online biology class.  (I say "supposed to" because it is really light in my humble opinion.  But it works as a nice supplement to the Miller-Levine textbook because it has some lectures/quizzes, research questions, and 24 labs with reports ). 

FYI...I will still have them take a science class each year of high school, so it isn't like they will need these science credits.   They will either take DE/AP...or maybe some less common science electives of their choice like organic chemistry.     I was told that I should include all high school level math/science/foreign language classes taken in middle school on their transcript.   So if I include this, what exactly should I do this year to validate any grade I give them?   They have no idea where they might want to go to college, so I need an option that will cover as many bases as possible.   

 

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to  outside "validate" every grade you give your kids. (FWIW, I don't worry about validating my kids' grades at all.  If they want to apply to a school that requires subject test scores (a very tiny # of schools), they take the subject test.  If they want credit and the school takes CLEP credit, they may take the CLEP or maybe an AP.)

I write course descriptions for the courses my kids take.  The course description includes resources used, summation of course coverage, and how grades were assigned.  (I teach to mastery and say so in my course descriptions, so there is no X% of grade from homework, y% from tests, etc.  We work until they are getting everything correct before we move on.)

Zero issues with my kids' transcripts being received as 100% valid. 

[freesia]

4 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to  outside "validate" every grade you give your kids. (FWIW, I don't worry about validating my kids' grades at all.  If they want to apply to a school that requires subject test scores (a very tiny # of schools), they take the subject test.  If they want credit and the school takes CLEP credit, they may take the CLEP or maybe an AP.)

I write course descriptions for the courses my kids take.  The course description includes resources used, summation of course coverage, and how grades were assigned.  (I teach to mastery and say so in my course descriptions, so there is no X% of grade from homework, y% from tests, etc.  We work until they are getting everything correct before we move on.)

Zero issues with my kids' transcripts being received as 100% valid. 

This.  No one I know of has had trouble getting into college with homeschool grades. Particularly since they will take AP/DE science classes, and aren't even in high school yet, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

[Clemsondana]

My oldest is just a freshman, but I've taught high schoolers for almost a decade so I've been able to talk to them and also their parents about high school coursework.  Most of the families that feel the need to 'validate' their grades do it in a general way, not per class.  So, they may take a smattering of AP classes, dual enrollment courses, or SAT subject tests during their 4 years of high school.  I don't know of any that do something for each course.  

On another note, if your students are planning to take 4 years worth of science in high school, you might also choose to list middle school coursework under 'high school classes taken prior to 9th grade' without a grade.  I'm not sure how our umbrella school will list those courses, but that's how I have them on the home-done transcript that I'm keeping.  

[MamaSprout]

We added the high school level stuff to a subject transcript that we kept for various reasons (camps, DE). We’ve dropped them off as dd has taken the college- level version of each course. We might leave her 8th grade chemistry class though. 

[BusyMom5]

I've got twin boys in 7th grade.  They do science with my 10th grader- and they often beat her test scores on the tests that come from the providers.  Last year in 6th grade they did Miller Levine Macaw Biology using the textbook, workbook, and assessments.  I do not plan on counting any of it for a high school Biology credit.  This year they are doing Holt Earth Science with the teacher resources and tests.  Again, I am not planning to put it on their transcript.   There will still be lots of science courses I can use- probably DE or an Honors level course instead.   

I do plan to put Zumdahl Chemistry in 8th grade on the transcript if I need to put a Chemistry on their transcript (depends on the colleges snd courses they are planning).   They will be doing it next year- I plan to keep a log of the labs, their tests, and a handful of the assigned problems.   

 

I have a Senior this year who did a few HS level courses in 8th grade and I thought I would put them on her transcript at that time.  Now that we are here she doesn't need the credits bc she's done so much DE.  

[lmrich]

I was advised to only put the high school courses that were taken in middle school that had a progression - like Algebra I or Spanish I. 

[EKS]

4 hours ago, lmrich said:

I was advised to only put the high school courses that were taken in middle school that had a progression - like Algebra I or Spanish I. 

I put all high school level courses on my sons' transcripts.  One had one year's worth of courses from when he was middle school age and the other two years.  They both got into their first choice schools (one private, one out of state flagship, both fairly selective).  In addition to the mommy grades, both had high ACT/SAT scores and high grades from outside courses (from b&m institutions).  

I don't think it's necessary to verify every course, but I do think that outside scores and grades should be in line with the homeschool grades.

Edited November 7, 2020 by EKS

[Guest]

Don’t worry about it. A kid taking high school bio in middle school is going to have enough credits in science to push it into the elective column anyway, and colleges that expect bio can figure out that if the high school transcript contains more advanced classes, general bio was taken. You can list it if you want,but it really won’t matter. DD has neither biology nor chemistry on her high school transcript. It starts with Biochemistry and goes on from there. Not only is she getting into colleges without issue, but into research programs and labs. If the colleges really want to see it, add a before high school column, but so far, our experience is that colleges care much less than high school guidance counselors make you think they do. 

[MamaSprout]

3 hours ago, lmrich said:

I was advised to only put the high school courses that were taken in middle school that had a progression - like Algebra I or Spanish I. 

This too. We have a middle school Latin 1 that I'm probably going to drop dd's transcript b/c I know she won't take Latin 2. We are leaving Algebra 1 + on (without a credit) because Algebra 1 is a required course in our state, and she might apply to one in-state public uni.

[8filltheheart]

On 11/7/2020 at 7:15 AM, lmrich said:

I was advised to only put the high school courses that were taken in middle school that had a progression - like Algebra I or Spanish I. 

 

On 11/7/2020 at 8:13 AM, EKS said:

I put all high school level courses on my sons' transcripts.  One had one year's worth of courses from when he was middle school age and the other two years.  They both got into their first choice schools (one private, one out of state flagship, both fairly selective).  In addition to the mommy grades, both had high ACT/SAT scores and high grades from outside courses (from b&m institutions).  

I don't think it's necessary to verify every course, but I do think that outside scores and grades should be in line with the homeschool grades.

Like @EKS I include all high school worthy courses on their transcripts even if taken in middle school.  I have had 2 kids carry up 6-7 credits from middle school (math, science, and foreign language for both, just different distributions.)  I included them not bc they needed the cr hrs but bc they provided greater insight into who they were as students.  One graduated from high school ready to take 300-400 level physics courses, the other same for French and Russian.  Seeing their path forward early on demonstrated their strong interests.  When I stated in dd's counselor letter that she taught herself to fluency in French, for example, her path their was evidenced by her transcript.  (She had zero outside French courses and I don't know French.  Every scholarship interview she went to and was ultimately awarded mentioned her French courses.) 

Do you need to? no.  But I don't think there is a downside to including them.

[MamaSprout]

Since I posted up thread, I came across another situation where it would be worth carrying forward high school credits from middle school. My dd wants to apply to a reach school that only will allow college classes completed in high school to count towards college if they weren't used towards high school graduation. In that case, the 7th grade algebra-based physics class really does need to count. It would be dumb to need to retake University Physics if she went to that school.

[regentrude]

On 11/10/2020 at 4:43 PM, MamaSprout said:

Since I posted up thread, I came across another situation where it would be worth carrying forward high school credits from middle school. My dd wants to apply to a reach school that only will allow college classes completed in high school to count towards college if they weren't used towards high school graduation. In that case, the 7th grade algebra-based physics class really does need to count. It would be dumb to need to retake University Physics if she went to that school.

Just a word of caution: "university physics" usually refers to a calculus based physics course, which is what is required for students majoring in science (other than biology) and Engineering. Algebra based physics ("college physics ") will not be sufficient for those majors.

[MamaSprout]

8 hours ago, regentrude said:

Just a word of caution: "university physics" usually refers to a calculus based physics course, which is what is required for students majoring in science (other than biology) and Engineering. Algebra based physics ("college physics ") will not be sufficient for those majors.

I just reread my post and it is confusing. I think regentrude know what I'm saying, but it might be confusing for others. Dd will take both a regular high school, algebra-based calculus course (the 7th grade one, also known as college physics) and University Physics 1 & 2, probably next year. We have a good local option for that and she's looking forward to it.

One of the schools she wants to apply to won't count a DE class if it was taken to fulfill a high school requirement. In that case I will just leave the high school level stuff that she did in middle school on her transcript.

As for verifying Mommy grades, The "A" she has in General Chem, also verifies the "A" she had in high school chemistry in 8th grade, for example.

Edited November 12, 2020 by MamaSprout