Transcripts
A transcript translates what you have done in homeschooling into a language that others will understand.
Transcripts should be an accurate reflection of what your child has done/knows/has mastered. This is the student’s main vehicle for sharing their educational history with institutions of higher learning. Diplomas and test scores may not even be requested by schools when a student is applying to attend. The supervisor of the home education program is responsible for creating and maintaining the student’s transcript. Supervisors determine what grade and credit value each course studied will receive and fills out the transcript accordingly. Classes taken in the middle school years are not listed for credit on the transcript. They can be listed as a completed course if the course is a high school level course. See below for a video on credits and transcripts.
Here is a transcript generator
Information and transcript generator from HSLDA High School & Beyond
Methods for Determining Course Credits
Issuing course credits is up to the discretion of the homeschool supervisor.
Approaches that could be used, but are not limited to:
- Full or a portion of a textbook
- Completing Hours -120-180 hours*
- Converting a 3-4 Credit Dual Enrollment College Class to 1 High School Credit
- Project or Award Completion
- Mastery
- Combination of all of these methods
Borrowing from other efforts to standardize high school curricula and college entrance requirements, the [Carnegie] Foundation defined the standard for high school as a minimum of 14 units, with each unit representing 120 hours of classroom study. This standard unit, “the Carnegie Unit”, spread fast and far and is now an ever-present and defining element of our educational systems.
https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/blog/the-carnegie-unit-revisited/
It is important to maintain the integrity of your transcript and have it reflect what you have accomplished in terms that colleges and universities are familiar with.
Example: If it takes two years for a student to complete a Shakespeare course, this can be reflected on your transcript by combining coursework completed over multiple years and list it as one course for one credit that took place over one grade level.
Does My Child Need to Take the PSAT?
If you are absolutely sure that your child will never go to college, he doesn’t need to take the test. If you think your child will go to college, he probably should take the test. You may want to have your child take it in his sophomore year for practice. Then in his junior year he can take it for credit. There is a special code number for homeschooled applicants from Pennsylvania to use. It is 993999.
If your child does well on the PSAT, he may qualify as a National Merit Scholar Semi-finalist and eventually a NMS finalist, possibly offering a full-tuition scholarship.
What About the SAT and/or ACT?
The SAT and ACT are often used in college admission and merit-based scholarships decisions.
There are many options to use to prepare such as current preparation books found in your local library.
Alternative test
The Classic Learning Test is an alternative to the SAT or the ACT. It contains a different format and content than the SAT. Note that all colleges do not accept the CLT as a testing option. Check with the institute of higher learning to verify that they will accept the CLT instead of the SAT or ACT. Find out more about the CLT .
Testing Links
CLEP Testing https://clep.collegeboard.org/
AP Testing https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/course-index-page
PSAT https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt