My two oldest were homeschooled through high school. I made their transcripts using a school transcript format. They each took a few AP classes and electives at public high schools. I also have 3 younger kids who graduated from a competitive suburban high school/2 still in school. Tbh, my schooled kids did WAY more work in high school than my homeschooled kids, who were somewhat “unschooled.” But their standardized test scores were all very similar.
Fitting work that is “less structured” into a transcript that meets the admission requirements of colleges–for # of credits of English/math/science/social science/foreign language, etc. is always an issue for homeschoolers. Many homeschool parents agonize over transcripts–wondering if they need to include textbook titles, reading lists, a portfolio of work, etc. to prove exactly what their kid was doing for 4 years. This is why some homeschoolers enroll in umbrella schools or transcript services–so someone else will write the transcript. Other homeschoolers use fully accredited correspondence or online schools that grade their students’ work and are much more like regular schools. There are all kinds of homeschoolers out there. Unfortunately, many look on homeschooling with suspicion (this sort of incident doesn’t help. . .) or only see its negative stereotypes.
Admissions officers, by necessity, usually look at homeschoolers’ standardized test scores above all else. My kids had no questions asked about their homemade transcripts–which contained mostly As. But they had excellent standardized test scores to back them up. While some might roll their eyes at a homeschooled kid with a 4.0 given by mom, there are plenty of schooled kids with merely average SAT/ACT scores matched with high GPAs, too. When scholarship money is tied to GPAs, there is even more motivation to keep grades as high as possible–and, while this can be done through hard work–pressure from parents, unwritten school policy to help out its own students, teachers seeking popularity/positive evaluations, etc. are also factors in grade inflation. This is why we have standardized tests.
What motivated this student/her parents to fake her transcript? She had the test scores to get in. She was trying to hide something – poor grades or behavior. I’d like to know more about the motivation of the staff member. ( If I were a staff member who saw something on FB, I might shrug and think,“I don’t recall her applying there…” and it would go no further.) Did the student have serious issues that made the staff want to dig into this/report her/get her kicked out? I’d bet there are a whole bunch of “transcript irregularities” out there, but most go unnoticed.
One question that came up in comments on the article was: “Is this really fraud?” (thinking like a lawyer here. . .
) What was the student doing in 9th grade, before she attended this school? Was she homeschooled then? Could it be said that her enrollment at the school was part of her homeschool program? While colleges ask applicants to “provide transcripts from all schools at which they were enrolled,” could homeschoolers say that the only school they were truly “enrolled” in was their homeschool? And the parents could list courses taken elsewhere on their transcript (whether to simply avoid the bother of requesting multiple transcripts-- or to change grades/hide issues. BTW, I realize that most homeschoolers value these outside transcripts and are happy to have them as “proof of work/achievement”).
A homeschooler (or anyone who claims to be), if he/she has the appropriate standardized test score for a college, could type up a transcript that meets the college’s requirements, send in his/her scores, take care of any additional requirements (essays/recommendations) and be accepted. If the student has the scores/can do the work/pay the bills, should the college care? If transcripts can be so variable, grade inflated, unreliable, or just plain fake, should they still be required? (I do think they should.) Yes, the student/parents cheated at this game. It was completely wrong of them. They could be horrible people. But maybe not. The game is broken in a lot of ways. I’d have to know more about the situation before I’d condemn the student to any further punishment. I hope she is able to continue her education elsewhere.