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Do you have to use CLEP on your transcript if you don’t want to?”
~Lisa
Dear Lisa,
You have SO MUCH freedom about your own personal homeschool transcript! You can certainly leave CLEP tests off your transcript if you want to!
Chapter 5 ofmy homeschool transcript e-book talks about how college courses can be used for college credit – and that is what a CLEP exam is. Chapter 9 talks about how your homeschool transcript is the academic clearing house for all the educational experiences of your child. That chapter talks about putting CLEP tests on your transcript if you want to.
If your child takes a CLEP exam and passes it, you may want to use that score as outside documentation – proof of your homeschool courses and rigor. When my child passed a CLEP exam, I gave them the “honors” designation on their transcript” but I didn’t change their grade. A passing CLEP earned a 4.0 on my transcript.
If your child takes and does NOT pass a CLEP exam, you may choose to leave that off a transcript. No harm, no foul. But if they pass, then it seems to me including the CLEP can only strengthen the portfolio of your child. A passing grade can show that your child attempted a college level course and succeeded!
When my boys graduated from homeschool high school, I gave each a copy of “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. When each guest arrived at the party, they signed the book, right within the pages. We had some nice LONG comments, like a yearbook, and it was really fun. You can get the book to people who can’t make it to the party as well, and that’s a good way for them to “be there” when they can’t actually be there.
The only really “planning ahead” thing that I did was make a set of photo albums for each boy. In years past, I’ve always gotten doubles when I had photos developed, so each boy had a shoe box full of photos. I added a few photos by making copies of the very best snapshots from when they were kids (that’s not too expensive to just copy them on photo paper.) I put them all in albums before the party, for guests to look at. It was a big hit.
One warning, though, for all you scrapbookers! When I say I “put them all in albums” that was all I did! I bought photo albums at Costco, and slid the photos in. OK, so the pictures were roughly in chronological order, but that was really all I did with them. The guests liked looking at them as babies, etc. It was fun.
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Can online courses go on a transcript? How do you give credit for courses taken online? When homeschoolers get together and talk, sometimes a phrase will stick with you, making you wonder and fret. Lisa was told that online classes won’t be recognized for high school credit, and wondered what that meant.
Hi Lee – quick question. During a weekend away with some fellow Homeschool students, one of them commented, “online classes don’t count for high school credit.” Both of my boys take Potters School classes for Apologia Science and a Music Theory class. Is there any truth to that statement (i.e. that online classes won’t be recognized for high school credit) in your experience and expertise? I am just wondering where that thought might of come from.Thanks.
Lisa in Washington
Hi Lisa,
Since there is such a wide variety of online classes, there is no way to say they ALL don’t count for high school credit. There are online high school classes, online college classes and online “just” classes.
In Washington State, the homeschool parent gets to decide what a high school credit is. Beyond even Washington, it is the parent that decides what to count and not count on the transcript.
My advice is to count these credits exactly the same way you count any other educational experience, like music lessons or PE. Either give credit for a completed textbook, or count hours to make sure they have worked 120-180 hours for each credit you award. When you do high school level work it should count for high school credit, and when you do college level work it should count for dual enrollment giving high school credit and college credit at the same time.
Perhaps the conflict was about the word “accredited?” There are some experiences that accredited high schools may not accept for their accredited transcript. That doesn’t mean that you can’t include them in your “official” homeschool transcript – it just means that they have chosen not to offer those classes at their school.
I hope I’ll get to see you at the WHO convention this year! I’ll be speaking on “Grades and Credits” so it will be a great fit for your questions. I’ll also be in Portland and at the WATCH convention.
Whenever you become involved in state sponsored Alternative Education, you have less control than when you are homeschooling independently. In fact, any classroom setting (public school, private school, alternative education, and even co-op classes) give you less control and flexibility than homeschooling independently.
You can’t control the content (you have to choose what they offer.)
You don’t control the speed of the curriculum (you have to go at their rate.)
You can’t choose how it’s graded (if your student goofs up on a test, you can’t re-do the chapter and re-take the test to keep his grades AND his learning optimized.)
You lack the flexibility to change course at the drop of a hat (dropping curriculum choices that don’t work.)
You can’t control their transcript (neither the names of classes nor their grades.)
Dealing with “certified teachers” can make you feel like you aren’t a “real” teacher – when in fact, you are! And YOU know what is best for YOUR child.
When a class is “accredited” is also is “written in stone.” No amount of re-learning, supplementing, or review will change those grades. With accreditation you get a lack of control and responsibility.
There are other small issues as well, but it mostly boils down to “who has control?” Homeschooling is so effective because the parents can always use what works, always work at the students level in all subjects all the time, or they can change the moment they recognize a problem.
One small detail about going to college as a freshman means you have to remain a freshman until you begin at the University. Taking college classes within the context of dual enrollment is fine. When college classes are counted toward high school courses, then they are counted as high school courses, and the student is still considered a freshman in terms of the university admission. In senior year, you can take college classes that are placed on the high school transcript.
Here is the big problem: the moment the student graduates high school, all community college classes are no longer considered high school classes. That means if you take even one single credit during the summer after senior year it can cancel your freshman application. One single course taken during the summer may mean you are a transfer admission instead, and not eligible for freshman scholarships. So taking community college courses while you are in high school is not a problem. Taking ANY community college courses after you graduate high school, during the summer before going to the university, can be a BIG problem and it can eliminate the freshman scholarships.
It’s a good idea to contact the university you are applying to – well in advance, if possible. Each university can set their own policy about these kinds of things, so it can vary widely across states and counties and colleges. Because dual enrollment for public school students is not usually offered during the summer, they may assume that ANY summer classes at a community college aren’t dual enrollment. You want to make sure to check on that. There are some universities that are dissatisfied with the academics of community college classes. For that reason, some universities don’t accept community college courses for credit, and those classes will count just like any other high school level course. With policies varying widely, it’s important to check.
Although I haven’t done research on the NCAA, I have heard people say that dual enrollment courses can affect your ability to play NCAA sports, so that is also something worth checking.
These scholarships usually come from the university, and they make the decisions about the admission status of each student. I’m not sure if federal grants are tied to community college courses, or if they are distributed based on how the university determines your status.
For some families and in some situations, it will make sense to take summer course at the community college and delay admission into a university. While it’s true that the student will not receive freshman admission scholarships, community college courses are so inexpensive the strategy can still save a family money. University freshman do receive additional scholarships, but that is not the only financial consideration.
I hope that helps! Remember that in Washington State, dual enrollment in community college is funded by the State of Washington, and is called Running Start. Colleges refer to it as “dual enrollment” and it is common across the country.
Do you like getting this sort of help for homeschooling high school? Gold Care Club members get extended answers to their most challenging high school issues. You will love your free month of Gold Care when you get my transcript e-book!
“Failure” in a homeschool doesn’t have anything to do with a test score. Our family has a motto: ”never compare, someone always gets hurt.” This is particularly true when comparing your child’s test scores to someone else, or comparing your homeschool to someone else. In fact, “Failure” isn’t about test scores at all.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.
The things that truly matter involve the character and values we instill in our children. Within the great diversity of children, there is that “bell shaped curve” of normal intelligence. There will always be people on both sides of the academic bell shaped curve, because that is the variety that God has given us with our children. Homeschooling is a great way to educate your children, and can lead to the best possible academic success for each individual child. That does not mean, however, that everyone’s test scores will be higher that the 50th percentile. That only happens in Lake Wobegon, where every child is above average, LOL!
But the Lord doesn’t look at comparative test scores. He looks at faith, kindness, justice, and righteousness. Teach values, and don’t boast of wisdom or compare test scores. Someone always gets hurt.
When a child graduates from homeschooling, do they get a diploma? YES! When you are homeschooling within your state law, you become an official homeschool. You can give an official homeschool diploma. When I speak to groups, I will often show my son’s diploma. It’s fun to look at – and you can even see that my boys graduated “with honors!”
When your child is grown and filling out job applications, they may be asked some questions that seem difficult. ”Do you have a high school diploma?” for example. If you homeschool, you can answer YES. If you have overseen the education of your children, and they have graduated from your homeschool, then you can say YES they are a high school graduate and YES they have a diploma.
When you are ready to purchase a diploma, I always recommend HomeschoolDiploma.com. All of my friends used it, and when I helped organized our state homeschool graduation, we used it. They have a very helpful, easy-to-navigate website that will help you decide on the right wording for the diploma. They also have everything else you need for graduation, whether you are graduating with a group, or just one student at a time. They have the cap and gown, tassle, invitations, and everything. I have used them for years, and they are great. The company is very used to the needs of homeschoolers (just look at the name!) and they are a joy to deal with.
I was so excited to see that they are recommending my ebook on making a transcript. That’s the highest praise, to be on their website, and I’m positively giddy about it!
I was fascinated by this opinion column in the Seattle Times today. Are you allowing yourself enough flexibility for delight-directed learning? Or are you putting your Enlgish credits in a box? Do you feel insecure because you aren’t really sure what “Language Arts 10″ means? And how many books do your children read each year in high school. Read it over for yourself, and see what you think.
“We should allow principals and teachers to select the curriculum that best fits the needs of their particular students.”
Some ideas for English credits that are listed in the article – these are currently taught in Seattle Public schools right now.
poetry,
speech,
creative writing,
expository writing,
journalism,
science fiction,
sports literature,
early American literature,
modern American literature,
social-issues literature,
African-American literature,
Shakespeare
literature and philosophy.
In the article, it talkd about a teacher is trying to include a class on literature of monsters, encouraging students to read these books:
Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,”
Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,”
Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,”
Albert Camus’ “The Plague,”
and something from Edgar Allan Poe
What a great list of books, and what a fabulous idea for a class! Think of all the other “monster” books you could include! Phantom of the Opera…. War of the Worlds!
I always have trouble explaining what “Language Arts” means, and there is such a wide variety of what you can do with an English credit. So I love this quote from the article:
“But if someone asks what “LA 10″ means, “Right now I can’t tell them what it means,” says Cathy Thompson, Seattle Public Schools’ executive director of curriculum and instruction.
Did you notice how the schools only require two years of English? That’s not enough! It’s not enough for college, and it’s certainly not enough to learn how to read and write well. I can see why colleges express concern about the reading and writing ability of public school students.
It was interesting to see how many books they read in an English class. The article says, “Each year, students will read two novels chosen by the central office. There will be two more from a short list and further choices from a longer list.” Looks like 6 books in an average year for an average high school student.
What an interesting and helpful article! Feel free in your language arts choices. Don’t beat yourself up if your child only reads 6 books a year. Strive for better than public schools, of course, but don’t beat yourself up unnecessarily, either. I hope you find the article as encouraging as I did.
Do I have to write course descriptions? Maybe… maybe not. The problem is that you may not know if you need them until you need them RIGHT NOW!
Course descriptions are required by some colleges and optional for others. I think it’s probably a good idea to just write them so that you’re ready for anything. Others will wait until the bitter end, and then be in a rush when they realize they need it – but it’s much harder to do it that way. Sometimes people will call me and say “it’s due tomorrow” but it’s impossible to come up with course descriptions that quickly! I think it’s actually easier to write them as you go. Even when colleges don’t “require” course descriptions, it can still help with admission and scholarships.
Interested in learning what a successful book of course descriptions looks like. Check out my Comprehensive Record Solution here.
Homeschooling high school has wonderful benefits! It’s great academic preparation. In fact, according to research in 1997 by Dr. Brian Ray, homeschoolers out-perform public school students by 30 to 37 percentile points. These outstanding achievements are consistent whether the parent has a college education or the state is highly regulated, and they are consistent across gender, racial, and socioeconomic classes. Of course that doesn’t mean that EVERY student will score that highly, but it does indicate that each student may improve their academic performance when they begin homeschooling.
Filed under: 
Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
