Homeschooling High School tends to make people nervous. Parents who feel capable teaching their children in the younger years start to worry about what will happen when their children are old enough to go to High School. Fears about teaching upper level classes, how to track credits and grades, how to prepare for standardized testing, diplomas, and getting into college are all issues parents with upcoming high schoolers deal with. You are just as much in control of your child's high school homeschool curriculum as you were in elementary and middle school.
How Do I Teach Something I Don't Know?
Material does get more advanced when your children get older, but just because you haven't done any Algebra since high school or never took a foreign language does not mean you can't homeschool a high schooler. There are many, many resources available for high school. Many types of curricula are self directed meaning that they are set up so that the student can complete everything on their own. Curriculum companies can answer questions for you if the child gets stuck. My son had some questions about a lesson in PreCalculus and the very helpful people at Math U See walked us through it and helped solve his issue. Online classes are also an option. You can choose self paced or in person classes that are taught through the computer. There are options for you to grade your child's classes or ones that the work will be graded for you.
But what about counting credits?
Some states do have guidelines in place and I urge you to check into your states homeschool laws and find out what guidelines you need to follow. If you are in a state that does not have specific guidelines (like me) there still is a lot of information out there on counting credit hours and how many credits your high schooler needs in order to graduate.
As a general rule, most courses that the textbook takes a whole year to complete in the main subject areas (math, science, english, foreign language, history) will equal one credit hour. Elective courses that only take half of a year to complete receive 1/2 credit. Another way to figure out how much a course is worth would be to figure out the number of hours your child has worked in a particular subject area. This way if you are using several sources or unit studies and not a traditional "text book" you will know how much credit to give. 120-180 hours is worth one credit. Many traditional text book course take about 150 hours (50 min/day, 5 days/week, 36 weeks.) Courses with labs may take closer to 180 hours and electives will be in the 60-75 hour range.
Now that we know how many hours equal one credit, how many credits and in what areas does your child need? As I stated above, my state does not require anything specific for homeschool high school graduates. I go by the guidelines suggested by the Education Alliance for college bound high school students. You could also look at what your local public school requires and base your classes off of their requirements.
Subject Suggested Credits Possible Courses
English 4 credits Composition, American Lit, British Lit, World Lit, Rhetoric,
Creative Writing, Speech/Communication, Journalism, Debate;
also consider AP courses
Math 4+ credits Algebra 1 &; 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus,
Calculus, AP Calculus
History 3-4 credits ESSENTIALS: World History, American History, American
Government. CONSIDER: Economics, Geography,
Constitutional Law and AP courses
Science 3-4 credits Physical Science, General Science, Earth Science, Biology,
Chemistry, and Physics. CONSIDER: AP courses
Foreign Language 2-4 credits French, Spanish, Latin, German, Russian, etc. (2 years same
language preferred)
Physical Education 1-2 credits Many options available
Fine Arts 1-2 credits Art, Music, Drama, Photography, etc.
Electives 5 credits Practical Arts, Life Skills, Home Economics, Bible, Computer
Skills, etc.
Total Credits: 23-27 credits
We complete 7 credit hours a year to graduate with 28 credit hours.
What About Transcripts?
Making transcripts is very easy. Keep track of what classes your child is taking each year and at the end of the year you can either make your own transcript or have one made for you. The HSLDA has a transcript making service, The Education Alliance in Arkansas will make one for any donation amount. These are professional looking documents that colleges will accept. If you choose to have a transcript made for you, make sure it is correct when you receive it and the proper amount of credit is issued.
What About Graduation?
Many states offer homeschool graduation ceremonies and issue diplomas. In Arkansas you can order a professional diploma from the Education Alliance. There are also places to order diplomas online.
What About Getting into College?
Colleges have no problem accepting homeschoolers and homeschool credits. They will need a transcript but the biggest thing they look at right now is ACT scores. Neither of my graduates had any trouble getting accepted into college.
You can successfully homeschool your child through the high school years!
Happy Homeschooling!
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