There are organizations that provide curriculum or just provide record keeping and have gone through the accreditation process - check out www.bridgewayacademy.com
How Is Getting Into College/Universities Using A Homeschooling Diploma and Transcript Honestly Fair?
we have homeschooled for 15yrs, in seven different states, every state makes the homeschool parent fill out forms to homeschool and then given an id number.
@jean1960 not in Texas! and in FL we just registered under an umbrella school. Not sure if they reported us to the state or not.
Every state has its own homeschool regulations. There are some states where paperwork has to be filed, but in others there’s no reporting at all. In NYS, families are required to turn in paperwork, but we’re not assigned ID numbers.
It’s extremely important for homeschoolers to read and understand their own state regulations. Google “[your state] homeschool regulations” or look on your state education website.
Transcripts don’t amount to a hill of beans if they have nothing to back them, so there is nothing to be gained by producing fraudulent ones. I’d like to know how you come by the assertion that some kind of massive fraud in need of addressing, exists in the first place, works in the second (without test scores demonstrating those abilities to back it), and is therefore victimizing everyone else and thus in need of redress.
Also, you wouldn’t consider SAT and ACT scores and/or a GED proof enough that the person is as educated as they claim? Why not?
It isn’t fraud if the person is actually capable of what they say they are. Again, where are these colleges that accept only transcripts as evidence, such that someone might actually be being defrauded?
This thread is a year old. Nobody is here anymore.
The argument of “if it is possible, then it must be defended against” requires examination. Many things are possible in life, but happen so seldom, or are of such small consequence, that the effort of attempting to prevent their occurrence makes no sense in light of what would be gained. However, that line of reasoning is often used when trying to get people to agree to give up their own freedoms, or agree that the freedoms of others be curtailed “just in case” because the argument goes, if wrongdoing is possible, we must assume wrongdoing as the default, and act accordingly. It’s a sort of “guilty until proven innocent” line of reasoning used to get people to agree to the need for otherwise unreasonable limitations.
Noooooooooooooooo
Don’t bring this thread back!!!
okay! darn, it was fun. But, okay. I’ll see if I can delete my mess.
I have been homeschooled for a long time (and am thankful for it) including my freshman and sophomore years of high school. I used an accredited, college-prep course which handled all of my transcripts. I have never heard of any homeschooling students being able to make up their own transcript without any sort of regulation. In fact- and I think that many people do not realize this- homeschoolers are held to standards and regulations just like any other student and I am pretty much positive that any high school courses for homeschoolers have to be officially accredited in order for a college (or high school in the case that a student transfers) to accept them. Actually there is a lot of red tape put on homeschoolers and in my opinion (and in many others’), if the education system is unfair for anyone, it is unfair for those who choose to homeschool.
It should also be noted that colleges like homeschoolers because they tend to have high scores on standardized tests (which they are required to take like anyone else) such as the SAT. Colleges do not want people who have simply made up a transcript that isn’t worth the paper it is printed on to enter their school and drag down its reputation (that’s why they have GPA, test score etc. requirements), so I have a hard time believing that many colleges if any would accept a transcript from anyone based solely on their word.
@JustOneDad #4
"It would be too easy to just create your own BS starting in 9th grade. It could be like “Zach’s Country Academy”.
What would be wrong with that as long as you kept everything above board? You’d be first in the class and pull down nearly all the awards for sure. You could even let your siblings be admitted as they grew older. That way the entire school size would be at least bigger than one. "
Oh sure. Do you really think that “Zach’s Country Academy” is going to make it past the officials. And some people don’t seem to realize that homeschoolers have to have official transcripts just like any other high schooler if they want them to be accepted by a college. That is the whole reason for having accreditation- to ensure that the course is legitimate and up to par by certain official standards.
@albert69
I’m sorry albert69 but I just can’t agree with many of your arguments. Yes homeschoolers are under regulation just like any other high schooler, No they cannot just print off their own transcripts at home because they need to be officially accredited, and No it is very (very) unlikely that a college or university of any standing is going to accept transcripts without question from someone without checking first to see that they meet the necessary requirements; they will not need to worry about this with high schoolers from a public/private school because their schools are of course accredited or they wouldn’t be open. There are a few unacreditted high school courses out there (for free study I would think) that some may use as their regular homeschool course work not realizing that it is unaccredited. but this accounts for only a very small percentage of homeschooled high schoolers.
It would be helpful to look at the date on a thread before responding. This thread is old and the OP is probably long gone.
I did want to respond to your post b/c the information is inaccurate. I have been homeschooling for 23 years, have graduated 4 kids, and a fifth is a high school senior. We have moved multiple times and my kids have graduated from different states.
No, high school courses for homeschoolers do not have to be accredited. My senior has a grand total of zero accredited courses on her transcript.
The reason she will not face any difficulties in applying to colleges is b/c in addition to her transcript, she has course descriptions describing her course work, standardized test scores, multiple awards (both regional and international), and excellent LOR from private tutors.
She is also submitting a portfolio of some of her work. But accredited courses, no.
@jennaben99 Ditto what Mom2aphysicsgeek wrote. We did not need any accredited high school courses and our transcripts were totally home issued. Two of my boys homeschooled through high school. One went to public school. None had any difficulty getting into colleges that fit them with decent merit aid. My highest level son was a homeschooled lad. He’s now applying to med school (with terrific college stats too, etc).
My boy who had the toughest time adjusting to college (academics and life) was my public schooled lad. He’s doing fine now, but his first year was rough.
@jennabean99 I also want to chime in to reiterate that homeschoolers do not need accredited courses or transcripts. I have graduated one of my kids so far. He was accepted to every college he applied with my home issued transcript. He just completed his freshman year at MIT.