Hi,
I’m hoping someone can help me here. My daughter is attending a private, Christian school. It lost its accreditation with the state because last year the state changed its requirements for where teachers obtain their degree. A couple of teachers did not meet that requirement- they graduated from biblical schools - and the school did not want to let them go since they were long-standing employees.
The school is considering private accreditation but that could take years. I’m 100% confident in their curriculum, their teachers, and graduation requirements. But how does the non-accreditation affect my daughter’s chances of applying to college? Financial aid?
Accreditation of your K-12 school does not, by itself, have any impact on college admissions or eligibility for financial aid. (I am basing this on the fact that, as homeschool students in a state that does not verify what my kids are learning, my kids are fully eligible for financial aid and college admissions.)
The place where it could have an impact is when colleges review your child’s application, if they have concerns about whether your child has actually been well-prepared for college. I don’t think the school having a sentence on their profile about “accredited by X X X“ is going to make a big difference, especially if your child has corroborating statistics, such as standardized, test scores, AP scores, etc… Also, any familiarity a college has with how previous students from your child’s school have done at the college would have a bigger impact than the accreditation of the school.
(In my state, the problem with the private school losing their state accreditation would be that it would no longer be allowed by the state to operate. However, I understand different states have different rules for private schools.)
My cousins mostly homeschool with some using similar schools. They all have strengths and weakness academically but when they had weaknesses, it was pretty profound. Many of them did not planning on going to college anyway but one branch had planned on it. They had a tough go and we’re rejected everywhere. Their mom was a licensed teacher and taught in the classroom before she had kids. However, they didn’t ever take state tests or other well recognized exams like NWEA MAP or AP tests and although she often called them gifted, they never had formal testing, admissions, classes or testing for gifted organizations. Based on my purely speculative observations as a child, I thought two of them needed various therapies. I think they were expecting pretty fabulous admissions by talk at that time Two tried to go to community college. But couldn’t do it. One just married. One tried multiple times to go to community college. He eventually got married and his wife, a teacher, helped him break down every assignment for each class, taking 1-2 classes a semester. He then applied to and was accepted to a four year school. He finished a master’s degree. And then completed a PhD. After his PhD he and his wife both sought out and received diagnoses in the autism spectrum but it is not discussed in the family. They homeschool their child.
One other cousin completed a law degree after many years of slow progress in education. Her parents were lukewarm about it. She did have some test scores/AP tests because her mom always doubted her abilities because she didn’t complete high school and always tracked their growth with an outside metric. She choose to go to community college but her parents wouldn’t pay anything and had very poor IRS records so she had to work way through school as an undergraduate without any debt. This was Oregon and later Idaho.
So, if you do choose a unaccredited school make sure you have a track record of outside scoring to track their educational progress by a third party and eventually complete standard testing in high school. Universities are much more accepting about homeschoolers but the ones that get the press are most always in homeschooling because they were profoundly gifted and not having their needs met in school.
Thank you for your insight! I really appreciate it. Yes, in my state, there is “approval” to operate meaning they meet all the legal requirements and then there is “accreditation.” They can still operate because they have approval and don’t need accreditation because they are considered church exempt.
I’m fully prepared to have to show SAT/ACT scores and curriculum details when applying for colleges. I feel confident this school meets all standards and even offers an accelerated track.
I think that your child will be evaluated in the same way as a home-schooled student, meaning that there isn’t much basis for the college to assess your child’s in-school achievement. However, high SAT/ACT scores, plenty of high AP scores from sophomore and junior years, and high grades in summer classes at your nearby 4 yr state college, all accomplished by the end of the summer before senior year, can greatly support an application by a home schooler or by a student who went to an unaccredited high school.
But my more immediate concern is whether the school can provide your child with a good education. Does the school administer annual standardized testing?
I think this is a little more than is actually necessary. Maybe true if you are trying for T50 schools?
My homeschooled S23 did 75% of his classes though an unaccredited online school and the rest were parent-taught or independent study. He “only” had 2 AP classes junior year (scores a 4 and a 5). He didn’t take any dual enrollment classes until senior year. (He did have a 1480 SAT.)
He applied to 3 colleges EA (Clark, WPI, and UMass Lowell) and got into all of them with good (for that school) merit aid. He has 2 RD applications still out and I know they are bigger reaches.
I don’t want you to be stressed that you have to do tons of APs and DEs before senior year. They will help if it works for your daughter, but if it doesn’t work and you are not aiming for tippy-top schools it should be fine.
I would really recommend that she be tested annually with a current diagnostic like NWEA MAP. Many schools will try and use CAT or some other out of date test. Test taking is a skill that grows gradually. MAP is adaptive so it is allows strengths and weakness to be determined as well as “frustration” when you can’t answer all the questions. Also, some schools have switched to iReady which is a notably inferior diagnostic tool.
Does the school release the information of where graduates apply and attend college ? I would think it would be helpful to see these results and does it map to your idea for college ?
That’s a good question! But I’m not sure the results will mean much because this is the first year they are no longer accredited. I have asked the principal to let me know if any of the seniors run into roadblocks with the college application process.
What with homeschoolers being admitted, I really don’t think that colleges care at this point whether or not the applicant’s school is accredited. I think that your main concern should be the quality of education at an unaccredited high school. And frankly, when I think about how awful the quality of education is at certain accredited high schools (think inner city and rural schools in impoverished areas), it makes complete sense that the colleges shouldn’t give a hoot about accreditation.
Agreed. I think the education at our public schools is good by itself. But when I hear from numerous parents/kids that their daughters and sons refuse to go to the bathroom as early as 6th grade because they’ll be forced to vape or bullied so they hold their bladder ALL DAY or how kids will break out into fights during class, I can’t imagine how they are actually learning to their full capabilities. I’d rather sacrifice the accreditation (after verifying the curriculum is solid) and have my kids feel safe and comfortable at their school. Some of the other private schools in the area that are accredited have their own issues - scandals of sexual abuse, bullying, etc. So really trying to do my due diligence here!
I totally get you. If I had no choice but to live in an area where the schools were unsafe, I would have also chosen private school or even homeschooling. As for the issue of sex abuse, I believe it is actually more likely to occur in a setting where the adults can claim religious authority over their child victims, in addition to school authority, so don’t be complacent. It can and does happen in every setting where adults have authority over children.
Very true, but some people choose the much cheaper cost of housing in the area with violent schools, so that they can manage on one income, with one parent becoming a stay at home parent. This is not that unusual among the home schooling demographic. Also, small private Christian schools can have relatively low tuition.
But of course, the vast majority of families in areas with dangerously violent public schools are impoverished single parent families, with no realistic option available other than the local public schools.