ga girl Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Can any of you point me in the right direction? Is a homeschooler allowed to test for AP credit? How do I find this information? I am in a situation that I don't know what to do - my 12 year old is a challenge to teach, but in a good way. She is technically 7th grade. However, she's way above grade level is most all subjects. I'd like to go deeper, do more, but don't even know what direction to head in at this point. We received her ACT scores today and we were blown away. I don't want to keep her grade level, as she's easily bored. But, what about high school credit? She's already in Spanish 2 for instance, but I have no idea if I can count it for hs credit or not? I know this has all been asked before and I appreciate your insight. Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherLode Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 What a blessing! And good for you for giving her the ACT at such a young age. Many don't know that you can have your child take the college entrance tests starting in 7th grade. There's lots of reasons to do so...decrease in performance anxiety because they become familiar with the process over time, and colleges take the highest score, not the most recent! Brava! I would call the College Review Board, the folks that sponsor the tests and ask them. I had a similiar "as a home schooler" question, and they were very helpful. www.collegeboard.com should take you there! ML Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Homeschoolers can take AP tests. You do have to find a school that is willing to administer the test for your child. Our public high school was surprisingly cooperative and even offered to give dd the test in a course they did not have any students testing in if I couldn't find a school that gave it. Tests are ordered by March, so you need to find a school to administer the test beginning in January. There is also a fee, you pay to the school. There are several online AP courses and you can make your own AP course. The college board web site has syllabi for the classes at their site. Please know this is a HEAVY workload. About 2hrs studying per day. I would wait until high school to attempt it with most kids, giving them a strong curriculum in middle school in order to prepare them. There is a lot of breadth in middle/high school curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Oh, one thing I forgot, a syllabus must be approved by the college board before you can call a course AP on a transcript. A student can take an AP test without taking an official AP class and still get credit, they just can't call it AP on their transcript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 You might also look into classes that others have organized at the AP level. (You can always decide to have your daughter skip the AP test in May if you feel she is not ready for the challenge.) My senior is taking a course in AP Statistics through Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. You can see their offerings for the current year here. Other organizations also offer similar courses or offer advanced courses that are not AP courses. You might also wish to post your question on the Accelerated Learner Board as others there might have first hand experiences that will prove helpful to you. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Well ga girl, If you are in Georgia, you have hoops to jump through that many of us do not have. I would suggest that you read through posts written by Bev in B'ville on the accreditation process that she successfully navigated. Secondly, you will learn from reading this board that the mantra is "ask the college". One college will accept an algebra credit from 7th or 8th whereas another will not. Many schools wish to see three or four years of mathematics beyond Algebra. It is not unusual for a student to begin what we think of as high school work in middle school. My son's transcript begins with Latin II in 9th. I am not listing Latin I or Algebra I for that matter. My son did the rough equivalent of an AP Biology course including the exam in 10th. (I did not have my syllabus certified by the College Board so I am just listing it as Biology on the transcript with the AP score in the description.) The community college at which he is now concurrently enrolled in 11th grade recognized the credit for this course which serves as a prerequisite for an Intro Microbiology course that he will begin in January. Whether his future college will recognize any of these credits is questionable. Universities in the NC system would, but all bets are off if he leaves the state. My advice for you is to comb through old posts on these boards and read some admission websites for colleges at different levels, so to speak, from highly competitive to less so. Best, Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ga girl Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 Thank you all for the advice. It is a blessing to be faced with this issue and definately a challenge. I am not sure what to do yet - still praying and thinking. Our family moves quite a bit, so don't know if an umbrella school would be our best option or not. The local ps is not home school friendly, but GA is not very cozy with hs either. I will ask this on the accelerated board as well, but do you think that it's best to keep her "grade level" and just go deeper rather than focus on AP courses and faster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Thank you all for the advice. It is a blessing to be faced with this issue and definately a challenge. I am not sure what to do yet - still praying and thinking. Our family moves quite a bit, so don't know if an umbrella school would be our best option or not. The local ps is not home school friendly, but GA is not very cozy with hs either. I will ask this on the accelerated board as well, but do you think that it's best to keep her "grade level" and just go deeper rather than focus on AP courses and faster? To be honest I don't even know what "grade level" means. What is the 7th grade expectation for some is the 10th for others. Part of this depends on your child, of course, but also on who you are and what your long term goals are. If your accelerated child is ready to do college level work, than why hold her back? On the other hand, be aware that AP is all about breadth and not depth. So perhaps you can better utilize your time with depth. Do you follow TWTM? Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Thank you all for the advice. It is a blessing to be faced with this issue and definately a challenge. I am not sure what to do yet - still praying and thinking. Our family moves quite a bit, so don't know if an umbrella school would be our best option or not. The local ps is not home school friendly, but GA is not very cozy with hs either. I will ask this on the accelerated board as well, but do you think that it's best to keep her "grade level" and just go deeper rather than focus on AP courses and faster? I now have 3 children who are doing work 2+ years above their official "grade level." I have not formally skipped my children, because I have no official "need" to. However, if one of my children had the self motivation, drive and desire to attend college early, I would be inclined to let them head down that path -- but it is NOT a path I would automatically choose for them. There are certain subject areas we simply plug along to the next level with minimal enrichment (math, for example). There are other courses we go deeper (science and history), but don't automatically go faster. We may do more experiments, more projects, or more reading -- even videos. Especially, if my child has an interest in some specific segment we've been studying. There are certain subject areas that are a mixture of above, at or below their "challenge" level (Language Arts). Creative Writing and analytical writing are a totally different skills... and I do emphasize it across the curriculum -- but spelling I keep light, grammar I keep light, and literature/reading is a mixture of "challenging" to less challenging material. Your daughter is at an age where you can ask her to help develop her goals, and pursue her interests to a higher degree. No easy answers -- so much simply depends upon your dd's goals & personality, as well as yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inashoe Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Give her work at her ability level, not her grade level. If you have to fill in any forms stating which grade she is in, then state the grade level (as per her age). Don't be limited by her age as to what curriculum you give her - stretch her and let her fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Can any of you point me in the right direction? Is a homeschooler allowed to test for AP credit? Yes, homeschoolers can sit for AP exams. Check the many, many threads on AP/CLEP/SAT II testing and you'll begin to get an idea of how all of that works. There are also dual-enrollment options, though she may be too young, depending on the colleges in your area. I am in a situation that I don't know what to do - my 12 year old is a challenge to teach, but in a good way. She is technically 7th grade. However, she's way above grade level is most all subjects. I'd like to go deeper, do more, but don't even know what direction to head in at this point. What have you been using? I like to cherry pick curriculum and classes that will fit my dc. So, they may be on one level for math, another for language arts, another for Latin. This is easily done if you are choosing your own curriculum rather than one boxed curriculum on grade level. There are many, many resources to help you go deeper in math, literature, logic, history and other areas. Have you read TWTM? It lays out a deep, rigorous education and can be tweaked based on your goals, your dd's interests and her capability. We received her ACT scores today and we were blown away. I don't want to keep her grade level, as she's easily bored. But, what about high school credit? She's already in Spanish 2 for instance, but I have no idea if I can count it for hs credit or not? Congratulations! The beauty of home education is that you can capitalize on her academic strengths as well as her interests. Whether you can count work done in middle school for high school credit depends on your state and the colleges to which your dd will apply. Here in Florida, certain classes taken in 7th and 8th can be counted for high school credit. For instance, on-line Latin classes through our state virtual school taken in middle school will be on their high school transcript. But because my dc are not graduating early, they don't really need the hours. Though we'll list the Latin, my dc will also earn foreign language credit through dual enrollment. We'll probably only list classes on the transcript to show that it was done or to show true advanced-level work (ex. listing biology and Latin but not Algebra I). HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ga girl Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 UGH! I had a long post and just lost it!!! I need to reread TWTM - it's been a couple of years. I do cherry pick and use boxed ( SL for history). I am thinking of Notgrass US history and LL Amer. Lit for next year though. Her other courses this year are: Henle Latin 1 Spanish 2 BJU general science TT Alg 1 and LOF Beg. Alg. She's weakest in math and I want to really focus on that and make sure she's well grounded. LL 7(big mistake - should have put her way ahead - she's bored) Abeka 8 English (yuck!) Need suggestions! Piano lessons drama club Any curriculum suggestions/tweaks are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciyates Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thanks for all the wonderful info. I was about to ask the same questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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