1. [F] No matter where you go to school,
your transcript is compiled by the people
who designed your curriculum and
directed the educational process. However,
it is possible for home educators to enroll
in correspondence or accountability
programs that monitor the student’s work
and ultimately grant transcripts and
diplomas. The bottom line is that if parents
want the freedom to make specific curricular choices for their own children, then
parents must take full responsibility for
documenting the work on a transcript.
2. [T] This important date may be listed
anywhere in your transcript layout, but it
cannot be omitted. Month and year are not
enough. A specific day has to be cited. If
the student has not completed all the high
school work by the scheduled graduation
event, there is nothing wrong with adding a
“summer school” session to finish up.
3. [F] Almost all states in the USA document high school credit in terms of
Carnegie units, in which one unit is generally assigned to a year’s work in each
academic subject.
But there are some notable exceptions:
e.g., California prefers a system that
assigns ten credits to a year’s work, and
Indiana assigns one unit of credit to a
semester’s work in its Core- 40 system. The
important thing for parents to know is that
every college in the USA accepts students
from every state—to say nothing about
foreign countries—so admissions
personnel are adept at reading high school
transcripts no matter which credit system
you use.
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Your Answers
4. [F] The GED test basically measures
academic skills that are derived from practical experience in the laboratory of life.
Since the primary use of the GED is to
assist high school dropouts in demonstrating diploma equivalency, this method
of corroborating graduation status tends to
short-circuit a home-educated student’s
opportunity to highlight all that he/she has
accomplished. There are unfortunately
some situations where a college may
require homeschool graduates to verify
their credentials by passing a GED test. If
you find yourself in such a position, use
the test as a tool to satisfy that admission
requirement—but don’t grant the high
school diploma based upon this criterion.
the titles of “principal” or “head teacher,”
but do include after your signature a designation of any degrees you have earned
(e.g., John Doe, M.D.; Jane Doe, B.S.N.;
A.A.; B.S.; M.B.A.; Ph.D.; etc.). In some
cases, a homeschool transcript may need to
be accompanied by an affidavit that certi-fies the accuracy of the document. Since
this is not a routine requirement, however,
you can wait until it is requested to
produce one.
25 correct answers
Wear the hat with pride—you deserve a
raise too!
23–24
Welcome to the “registrar” ranks—your
children definitely have an advantage!
21–22
Brush up on a few details, and your
new role will go very smoothly.
19–20
You need some encouragement to make
the most of your “tutorial” rights.
17–18
Your children deserve more credits than
you’re prepared to give them.
16 or less
Do a little research to build your confidence, and you’ll be well on your way
to success.
8. [F] Your homeschool is not a satellite of
the public school system! The diploma you
grant to your child is a certification that
he/she has met your own school’s requirements for graduation, and the transcript
provides the details of that process. It is not
necessary for your child to satisfy the
entrance requirements of any college in
order to graduate from high school—
though it certainly makes sense to do so if
you know that student is college bound.
6. [F] You may omit the student’s Social
Security Number (SSN) on the transcripts
unless he/she is planning to apply for any
scholarships or financial aid to help with
future training.
5. [T] Transcripts must be signed in order
to be considered valid. Don’t worry about
128 Finishing the Race
7. [F] Though it is certainly possible to
encounter a suspicious admissions officer,
most colleges and universities in the USA
are quite friendly to homeschool graduates—especially if parents demonstrate
diligence and organization in the submitted
records. (It is important to know, however,
that public high schools are often very
resistant to the prospect of recognizing and
transferring home-education credits into
their programs.)
9. [F] While the word accreditation is ubiquitous to the world of education, many
people have no idea what it means. Thus,
they don’t realize that the accreditation
process involves standardization of
curriculum to achieve predictability of
results in an educational system. Since home
education is basically a tutorial process, it
would be impossible for individual homeschools to be accredited according to the
traditional rules of this evaluation process.
10. [T] Many parents confuse the concepts
“transcript” and “portfolio.” A transcript is
actually an academic resumé—as such, it
should be limited to two pages—better yet,
two sides of one sheet of paper!
