Transfer from India, finished 10th in India but HS wont recognize the courses - should take GED?

Parents Forum
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My son, who just finished 10th in India and now has been transferred to Schaumburg, IL. His transcripts we sent to his new school but they wont accept the classes. They put him back in 10th and making him repeat courses like Biology, Chemistry, etc. He showed his India books to his teacher and his teacher even agrees that he needs to be placed in AP Chem, Bio, etc. but the district wont budge.

He said I’ll just take the GED and go to community college and finish off. He’s 16 now, so he cant take the GED until he’s 17, in Feb. I’m a confused parent, what should I do, I need some advice on this subject matter. I grew up in the US and GED was always frowned upon, but my son’s circumstances are different. He’s a topper (#3 in his class, and his test scores reflect that) and he’s studied at one of the tops schools in the state.

Any advice would be appreciated. The school is just too rigid to understand. So should he pursue a GED and go to CC right away? Or can he fight the school in anyway?

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Have you chosen this particular school for a particular reason? I imagine you haven’t just gone into this blind?

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Can he do a dual enrollment program with most of his classes at a community college? Some states will pay for college if the student is enrolled in high school.

GEDs are not frowned upon, but his ACT and SAT scores will have more weight at some schools as they won’t really have anything else to judge him on. Also, is he ready to go to college in February? Would he prefer to be in high school?

4

Why does he need to go to such a rigid high school? Is this the public high school where you live, and if so can you afford a different high school?

Is there an option to live with a relative elsewhere (whether in the US or India)?

5

He’s only 16, I don’t understand the rush to attend college. He can take some AP’s and some community college classes while in high school.

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He’s actually depressed that he’s going to have to repeat what he already knows (i.e Biology, Chemistry, Physics). If they put him in the right classes, then it wont be an issue.

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The school is a public high school, where my parents live. It’s the best option for him as we live in India (finishing off my final 2 years at my employer)…

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I’ve BTDT in a related way with a move from a public school overseas back to a US high school. Since my kids hadn’t been in an international school, the high school said D would have to start over since she lacked credits for classes from an accredited school. I worked with the guidance counselor and with a homemade transcript that satisfied all their requirements, she got a “pass” for algebra since she was able to test out of it.

Here are some things you might be able to try:

*Enroll him in a virtual school if they’ll allow him to test into the right level of classes. He can then transfer to the public high school and will have a record of being at a certain level of classes.

*See if the school would allow him to take classes by teacher recommendation or by testing into them. (This is actually how we got D into the final class we were fighting over. After about three days of class, she talked to the teacher and told her that she already knew everything in the syllabus. They worked it out that she be allowed to sit in on a different class at that time and when it became apparent she could handle the higher level of work, both teachers signed off on the schedule change.)

*Homeschool him. Your parents don’t have to teach him everything, just get him the resources he needs to learn at an appropriate level. That could even be taking classes at the community college. He would get a homeschool diploma and not a GED when he’s done.

*Dual enrollment. He takes classes at the community college (which will put him in classes based on placement exams most likely) and gets credit for them on his high school transcript.

Like you, I don’t think getting a GED is the best option for him right now as he may regret that later.

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In many states- -not sure of IL-- you can’t take the GED until you’re 19.

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You have two different issues going on here.

Students are part of the graduating cohort based on they year that they started 9th grade anywhere in the world. Your child is probably part of the junior cohort with an expected graduation date of June 2019.

However, based on credits accumulated, he may have not accumulated enough credits to meet the state’s requirement to be in the 11th grade Don’t be caught up on your son being in 10th grade, if he does not have to make the whole year of work up. He can make up the credits that the school feels he needs to meet for promotion requirements and still graduate on time.

Did the high school explain how they are evaluating the transcript (using just giving a grade of CR-credit if passed, or NC -if the student was not successful) and allocating credits?

If the student has already taken math and bio, you cannot get credit for the same course twice. you (the student’s guardian) needs to find out why the school will not accept the credit for a course that he has successfully passed. When he applies to college, he would submit all of his transcripts.

In NYC we use this as a guide for evaluating foreign transcripts

www.uft.org/files/attachments/evaluating-foreign-transcripts.pdf

Here are the graduation requirements for the state of Illinois

https://www.isbe.net/Documents/grad_require.pdf

also read through the student handbook

http://shs.d211.org/

You need to know what age must students be enrolled in school and if he meets the age where he can be withdrawn without child protective services being involved. I know in NYC, you cannot take the GED until you are 17.5 and you will have had to miss your cohort’s graduation date. In your son’s case, the earliest date would be July 1, 2019.

Breathe, because you need to weigh the pros and the cons of your decision. You have already stated that he cannot take the GED in Illinois until he is 17 years old. IF your son takes the GED, he may not be eligible for instate tuition which may be based on him graduating high school in your state (after attending 2 years). In addition he may not be eligible for merit money/scholarship at some schools if he has a GED vs gradating from high school with his cohort (you need to play the long game).

From the school’s perspective they should want to work with your family, because your son not graduating with his class will be a drag on their graduation rate. I would definitely have his grandparents meet face to face with his counselor and your son to see what a graduation plan would look like for your son to be able to graduate with his cohort.

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Wow, thanks for the advice. Great advice from all of you. Appreciate it. Anymore advice, feel free to list it… I’ll be checking this post a little later.

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I teach GED prep courses. Not one of my students would recommend the GED over finishing a high school diploma. The high school diploma and the letters of recommendation from his high school teachers will give him more, and better, options than he would have with a GED.

Your child will almost certainly need a formal evaluation of his foreign transcript when he applies to college, so go ahead and get that done now. I don’t know any college or university that doesn’t accept evaluations by wes.org so start with them. If the transcript was not formally evaluated before he enrolled in the US high school, an evaluation from wes.org might also be useful there for getting his credits sorted out.

13

It sounds like the conflict/problem is in how the school is evaluating the course he’s taken in India, and his current proficiency in the relevant subjects.

He’s in the USA.

You’re in India (it seems).

You grew up in the USA. Son will be living with (it seems) grandparents in the USA.

How culturally savvy are the relevant players? Are the grandparents that he’s living with of Indian origin? Are they your parents or your spouse’s? Did the grandparents themselves graduate H.S. in the USA? Did they shepherd you (or your spouse) through H.S. in the USA?

Basically, it sounds to me like your son needs an advocate, in the USA (ideally), who, hopefully can speak English clearly, understands American (and perhaps Indian) H.S. educational scenarios, and can talk directly to the relevant folks at the US H.S. (or perhaps school district headquarters) and try to smooth this out.

If the grandparents are not well positioned to do this (i.e. if their experience with American schooling is limited and/or their English skills are weak), then perhaps they have friends or acquaintances who they can ask to help with the process.

I agree with the other posters, that a GED would not be a great outcome.

14

Sounds like working with the teachers who know he knows the material is a good idea. They can help. Schaumberg is a rich western Chicago suburb. Have his grandparents talk to his guidance counselor and the gifted and talented supervisor. He needs an “appropriate education” just as much as any other high/low end student. Proper placement within the school system may take a bit of time but is worthwhile. There are always exceptions to general rules- keep working on it. As teachers get to know him they should be willing to help. Your son could be working on the material for the classes he wants to be in on his own in the meantime so he can be up to speed when changes are hopefully made. His grandparents likely also know enough people in the local Indian community who can be of help.

btw- being 16 is no reason not to go to college. Our son did (turned 17 that fall). But- he had been with the same grade group since elementary school. Indian H and his father had also been two grades ahead in India. However, your son needs the time to learn the American school system and culture. Hopefully Indian education has changed from the British memorization of my H’s era to the American questioning approach. Time spent in an American HS classroom will teach him how to think in different ways. He will be much better off with being integrated into American society instead of just taking classes.

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                 If the school is very rigorous (again, I assume you have chosen a specific high school) I am not sure what is to be lost be coming into 10th. The culture shock is going to be significant. A chance to ease in and develop a relationship with the school and another year to get on the college train is a bonus assuming the school is rigorous and selected for that reason. I assume you have moved him for college purposes, then he has a chance to develop some nice ECs, a job, volunteering etc, that would be a challenge in 11th as they would look contrived pre college apps.And he can make freinds!
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In all honesty, I’d tell your son to just take a deep breath, repeat the classes and do great. Look at the positives. Repeating 10th grade should allow him to not be stressed academically out during his first year in the US. He should use this opportunity to give other aspects of his life time to develop.

He can: 1) bump his GPA by doing extremely well in the courses he is repeating 2) if he is below par in any other subjects (ex. US History) he will have the time and energy to catch up and do well 3) he can have some breathing room to adjust to living in the US with his grandparents 4) it will allow him time to develop new friendships in his HS 5) being in HS three years (rather than two) should allow your son ample opportunities to get involved in EC activities, take on leadership positions etc. which can be important for top tier colleges.

Life isn’t a race. The person who gets to college first doesn’t win. In the scheme of life, this is nothing to get depressed about. If he goes in with the right attitude, he will be just fine even if he has to repeat some coursework.

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Good for him to learn American English and customs as a HS student instead of being a new foreign student in college. Do not have regrets about sending him here instead of having him finish HS in India. He will be much more well rounded. My assumption is that he intends to stay in the US beyond college- otherwise there is no reason to be here. There is so much he will learn by being fully integrated into the HS system that will help him in the future. A lot more to life than just the academic studies. The next few months will be “interesting” and challenging. A learning curve. Your son is at an age that once he learns the ropes he will be advocating for himself in getting appropriate classes. It will not matter if he is one year older than if he had stayed in India- the education gained within the usual school will be invaluable to his functioning in American society, including college.

18

I’m not sure why he doesn’t just do that extra year in HS here in the U.S. I can’t see any down side to it. He will have the time and opportunity to take a rigorous coirseload in HS, and perhaps excel.

This isn’t a race to the end…it’s a journey.

I totally agree with @wis75

As a point of reference…DH (many many years ago) DID attend international schools. When he moved to another country after 11th grade completion in the previous,country…the headmaster of his new school politely suggested that he do TWO years more in HS before going to college. So DH actually repeated 11th grade in his new country.

He says…it was THE smartest thing his parents did educationally for him. He was the eldest of six kids…and was sent to Kindergarten (also at an international school) when he was under five. That extra year in HS, he says, made a huge difference.

I would encourage your kiddo to enroll in HS as a tenth grader and complete his high school education that way…perhaps with some dual enrollment courses as time goes on.

Either that…or he can return to India…and finish HS there.

19

If his teachers agree that he is in the wrong classes, have the student get the teachers to talk to the guidance department. If that doesn’t work, the teachers need to offer him differentiated instruction. Grandparents should talk to ever single teacher about how they will challenge your son.

The GED path may affect his post high school plans, so don’t do it rashly. GED and starting community college is great for a kid who knows what they want to study and who wants to study it in the state system the community college feeds into. Otherwise, it can get a little complicated.

20

@jashupatel - Do I understand correctly that you have two more years on a work contract in India before planningto return to the US? If that is so, then three years of high school in the US is perfect. In two years when you move back, you will be able to be here for the 12 months most states require to establish in-state residence for tuition and fees at public colleges and universities. That alone can present a huge financial savings.