How do you determine high school credits?

High school homeschool shouldn’t be scary or confusing.

Counting credits and completing transcripts is a daunting task for homeschool parents.

Here’s how we’re doing high school transcripts.

What’s a credit?

Check your state’s requirements for the amount of high school credits needed to graduate.

Suggested College Preparatory High School 4-Year Program:

What’s a GPA?

A grade point average is “the average obtained by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of credits attempted —called also quality point average.” {dictionary}

You as a homeschool parent get to determine your own policy on calculating grades.

I like the traditional scale of 90-100=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, etc. It’s not complicated. We don’t inflate. We don’t make things harder than they should be.

I’m tough when it comes to grading, when we even have grades. My kids know they won’t be “those homeschoolers” who are given high grades without properly earning it.

A GPA depends on three things:

1. Your grading scale
2. The letter grade earned for each course
3. The credit earned for each course

Typically, A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0

The grade points are multiplied by the number of credits earned per course, resulting in “quality points.”

How to calculate a GPA:

1. Assign each course a credit value.
2. Assign each course a numerical grade.
3. Multiply each course credit by it’s numerical grade. That gives you the grade point for that particular course.
4. Add all the grade points for all the classes that are complete.
5. Divide the total grade points by the number of credits completed.
6. The answer is the current grade point average.

What about weighting grades?

Weighted grades are for honors classes, college courses, AP classes, etc.  Since these course are more rigorous, they have a greater GPA value than other high school courses, so receive a 1-point increase in their numeric value.  Use the higher value for that course and then calculate the GPA as usual.

Contact the college or university your child is planning to attend for their grading preferences. Always tailor the transcript to the college’s needs.

See detailed information about GPA calculations at HSLDA’s blog.

So, how does a homeschool parent determine credits for all these courses?

The three easiest ways to determine course credits are by textbook completion, recording time, and mastery of subject.

Textbook

Most textbooks are meant to be used for a year-long course, so 1.0 credit is given. For example, Algebra I is a year-long course, even if a child takes longer than a year to complete it. Often, textbooks will list at the beginning or on their website how much credit should be given for the course.

Many homeschool curricula list recommended course credits for completion, even at different levels of study. For example, Tapestry of Grace offers a chart I can follow to determine how many credits Elizabeth earns for the time she puts in for her work.

Time

What if there isn’t an actual curriculum? Or you’re an unschooler? Or your high schooler spends every Monday for over two years volunteering at the hospital?

For some activities or courses, you can log the hours spent. This is where it’s important to know how many hours equals 0.5 or 1.0 credit.

Elizabeth calculates her time spent volunteering at our local hospital laboratory and will probably test for medical technology certification when she is eligible.

Mastery

Homeschoolers have so many of opportunities for non-traditional education.

Credit can and should be awarded for mastery of a subject.

Projects completed and entered into a contest or winning an award earn mastery credit. Apprenticeships are amazing opportunities.

Elizabeth is in Civil Air Patrol, and if she plays her cards right, will earn the rank of Major by next year. Her goal is the Spaatz Award!

She starred in the play Kindertransport and participated as an extra in Mary Poppins with our community theatre. She has learned so much about stage productions!

Transcript Planning

I start to keep records of courses my children complete beginning in the middle school years. It’s good practice for me and can come in handy if they’re already taking advanced classes.

My daughter completed her Latin language requirements before age 14. She’s now learning French.

She’s been in Civil Air Patrol since she was 12.

I printed the course checklist for VideoText Algebra and recorded the assignments, quizzes, and tests.

Our main curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, has printable course descriptions and suggested credits for literature, writing, geography, fine arts, Bible/church history, government, and philosophy.

I created a sample transcript and list the courses already completed and the potential courses for each year.

As you can see, my daughter completed economics earlier than I had planned. I jotted down in the top right corner a reminder to myself that we need to make sure she completes courses in art, music, and health/PE.

See how we homeschool high school.

I also include spaces for PSAT and SAT scores.

Don’t fall into these traps:

Don’t give credit unless the student has actually completed a course. We’ve known homeschoolers who “graduate” before actually having completed a high school course of study. What message does that send?

Don’t count electives as academic courses. Academics are core classes: math, science, social studies, and English. Many curricula list what kind of course it is. Look at high school or college syllabi to see where the course should be places on a transcript.

Don’t give credits for fluff. If you can honestly calculate hours for a credit in a subject, then list it. Otherwise, chalk it up to life experience or a hobby. There are places to explain those on college and scholarships applications.

Don’t inflate grades. You’re not doing your child any favors. If a high school student struggles with a course and earns a solid C, don’t feel guilty or whatever and inflate that grade to a B to make him look better. You’re not preparing him for success.

Graduating a homeschooler is an exciting time for a parent, successfully launching an adult into the world, after years of being so involved in the educational process. I can’t wait to see what our four children grow up to be and do.

Extra Tips:

List curriculum titles, especially for lab sciences.

Make a space for volunteering on the transcript and log the hours.

Explain unique extra-curricular activities.

List on-the-job training or part-time work.

We have so much freedom as homeschoolers to list all the fun learning opportunities!

Many homeschoolers are highly successful during and after high school – going on to do great things in the workforce, university, alternative education, and life.