Transcripts

 

Index:

As soon as your child begins working on high school level subjects, start a high school transcript.

  1. Sample Transcript (pdf document)

  2. Blank Printable Transcript (pdf document)

  3. HSLDA offers free, printable transcripts.

  4. Accredition: Public schools in the midwest get accredited from: North Central Association (www.nca.asu.edu) They set these standards for granting credit for high school level work:

    • Semester Hour: successful completion of a course which meets one period per week for one semester of at least 18 weeks. (1 credit)

    • Carnegie Unit: completion of course that meets 40 min/day, 5 days/week, 36 weeks or 120 clock hours. (1 unit)

    • Credit by performance: school establishes guidelines by which credit may be given on a performance basis by means of approved assessments of varying kinds covering the content ordinarily included in a regular school course in the subject.

    • Independent Study Programs: planned programs of independent learning in which students need not attend classes a specific amount of time during the semester. Credit is granted for satisfactory performance on proficiency exams or for successful completion of curricular units, steps, or phases as comprising the equivalency of a unit of work.

    • Work-study programs.

    • Credit through extension, correspondence, and televised courses.

    • Credit for study abroad and military experience.

  5. Homeschool Credits: You are the principal, counselor, and teacher of a small private school. Like a small private school, you grant credit any way you want.

    • Use the same terminology and grading system as the public schools to prevent confusion.

    • Have your child complete the same number of credits and/or units required at public schools, minimum.

    • Use your common sense. If it seems comparable to public high school level work, take it. Public schools grant high school credit for remedial reading through calculus.

    • See Making the Most of Extracurricular Activities for more information on recording elective credits. A great resource for keeping track of your extracurricular activities is The Checklist!

  6. Grades do not necessarily give an accurate picture of what a child has learned. Read more about abolishing GRADES by professional teachers.

    • You can, however, use grades to speak the same language on transcripts for high school. Use letter grades and the 4.00 grading system to avoid confusion.

    • Award A’s for subjects you feel your children have mastered or completed as required. Tell college admissions what you did. They are not as concerned with the grades your homeschool child received as they are what he actually studied and how he went about studing it. This is best demonstrated through a portfolio.

  7. The most commonly used grading symbols used and recognized are A, B, C, D, and F. Generally they are understood to mean the following:

    • A= Excellent, Outstanding, Superior Achievement, Completed assignment as required.

    • B = Commendable, Good Achievement

    • C = Acceptable, Adequate Achievement

    • D= Minimal, Poor Achievement

    • F = Failure, Unacceptable Achievement

How to prepare a transcript.

  • Include the following at the top of the page:

    • The student’s full legal name, birth date, sex, address, phone number, and social security number.

    • The name of the parents or legal guardians.

    • The name of the school, if applicable.

    • A list of the subjects studied, the dates studied, the grade awarded, and credits earned.

  • Designate the units earned for each subject studied. North Central Association (the accrediting agency for public schools) assigns units as follows:

    • Carnegie Unit: This is the amount of credit given for the successful completion of a course which meets 40 minutes daily, five days per week, for at least 36 weeks, or the equivalent amount of time within the school year. The equivalent time is 120 clock hours.

    • Credit by Performance: The school establishes guidelines by which credit may be given on a performance basis by means of approved assessments of varying kinds covering the content ordinarily included in a regular school course in the subject. A school also may use assessments as the basis for admission of students with educational experience for which transcripts of credit are not available.

    • Independent Study Programs: The school may provide planned programs of independent learning in which students need not attend classes a specific amount of time during a semester. In such instances, credit may be granted for satisfactory performance on proficiency examinations or for successful completion of curricular units, steps, or phases established by the school as comprising the equivalency of a unit of work.

    • Work-Study Programs: Credit may be given provided the program is under the supervision of the school.

    • Other methods of obtaining credit include: Study Abroad, Credit through Military Experiences, Credit through Extension, Correspondence, and Televised Courses, and Credit for Summer School Study.

  • In general, “Academic” subjects such as English, Math, History, Science, Government, etc. are usually assigned one unit (2 credits) per year.

  • “Non-academic” subjects such as home economics, physical education, music, art, woodworking, etc. are usually assigned .5 unit (1 credit).

  • The difference between an “Academic” and “Non-academic” subject is that the “Academic” subject includes an instructional component. An instructional component is the addition of reading, research, and written assignments to the subject being studied. Example: To earn a unit in music appreciation, in addition to taking piano lessons, the student could read biographies of great musicians and listen to a variety of music styles and forms. They could do some research on musical instruments, music terms, and the history of music and then create a written report about their study in music. (See Elective Course Descriptions for more information.)

  • Physical education is no longer required in Oklahoma for high school. If giving credits for physical education, credits are usually earned at a rate of .5 unit (1 credit) per year.

  • One unit of music and art are required in Oklahoma. This can be earned by the student taking music or art lessons at a rate of .5 unit (1 credit) per year. If you add an instructional component to their music or art lessons during the year, they would earn one full unit for the year.

  • Bible is usually earned at a rate of .5 unit (1 credit) per year unless an instructional component is added.

  • If no instructional component is added to the activity, list it as an activity or “extracurricular.”

  • Include a write up about extracurricular activities the student has had piano lessons, drama class, etc.) and special awards or educational opportunities.

  • It is especially important to list any leadership roles the child has had and volunteer or work-study programs where particular skills were learned. Be sure to list the skills learned.

  • List any hobbies or home businesses in which the child participated where he learned particular skills such as bookkeeping, graphic arts, marketing, etc. This might be another area where you can add an instructional component to create a credit course.

How to Figure GPAs.

  • Write the course name and the grade received for each course taken.

  • Assign a numerical value to each grade earned as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. This is the Grade Point.

  • Write in the number of Units earned for each course.

  • Multiple the Grade Point times the Units earned for each course to get the Extension.

  • Total the Units and Extensions.

  • Divide the total Extensions by the total Units to compute the GPA.

  • Here's a free GPA calculator.

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