How to Handle Credit Levels on Homeschool Transcript

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Handle Credit Levels on Homeschool Transcript. How to Handle Credit Levels on Homeschool Transcript At 7SistersHomeschool.com, we often receive questions about how to show the level of rigor of high school courses on the homeschool transcript. It is a good question. Before we get started, remember there's not ONE right way to homeschool high school. That means there's not ONE right way to record levels of rigor. Even in the traditional school setting,  there is a variety of methods for this. That said, Sabrina is sharing today about the way we have recorded level of rigor on our homeschoolers transcripts. It has worked well for decades and is still being used by our local homeschool community. Here goes: So, a credit is a credit, right? Not really. There is a huge range of the kinds of credit teens are experiencing. For example: 9th grade English/Language Arts is WAY more work with many more components than, say, a 9th grade Social Studies credit. ELA includes reading, reading with analysis, writing of various kinds, vocabulary, grammar, public speaking...it's a LOT. There is more work that goes into the life preparation that teens learn as they handle their ELA experiences. On the other hand, studying American History (or another History) does not need as many hours. Your teen will be mastering information and materials in history class. There are a variety of ways to do this but it is less complex than ELA. So, each credit is not the same. Now, college admissions officers are looking for a certain kind of student that will enhance their student body and meet their college's goals. The starting point of their evaluation of each student is their application, which includes their transcript. All credits are not the same in the level of rigor of the work completed. Admissions officers do not know your homeschool high schooler. They do not know how awesome they are and how hard they have worked. All they have is an application with its transcript (and reference letters, of course). The transcript is vital because it gives a snapshot into all the things these busy admissions officers need to know about your teen! In order to do their work as well as they can, they explain to schools about the things they are generally looking for.  One thing they are looking for is evidence of the levels of rigor at which your homeschooler has worked on each particular course. Thus, the idea of showing "levels" for each course helps admissions officers get a glimpse into your teens: * interests (especially for a major) * abilities * willingness to work hard at academics So, showing credit levels on homeschool transcripts is valuable for the college application process. Adjusting credit levels to teens needs and interests also helps you tweak high school courses so that they are best-fit for each student. Hey, that's one thing that is SO awesome about homeschoolin...