After teaching in the classroom for seven years and homeschooling the last 13, I've learned two things about tests and measurements. First, while that college-level class was certainly helpful, it could have been summed up in a pamphlet or a short, one-day workshop. And second, when your kids enter the upper grades, you don't have to have a bunch of letters behind your name to create a watertight high school transcript.
I was chatting with a friend last year. At the time, she had a sophomore in high school. She mentioned that she had found a free website that would tabulate her son's GPA for her based on the grades she assigned him. She figured, she'd just use that computer-tabulated grade point average to slap together a transcript at the end of his senior year. She thought I should check out the site too.
"You'll love it!" she said. "It makes everything so easy."
"You'll love it!" she said. "It makes everything so easy."
But, after looking at the website she had mentioned, I tapped out a hasty email to her, laced with cautionary thoughts. You see, the website delivered on its promise. It did generate a GPA based on whatever grades were entered into its system. However, it did not weight those grades accurately according to the appropriate credit hours of a class. Half-credit elective type classes like Driver's Ed or Calligraphy do not and should not hold the same academic weight on a transcript as a full-credit core class like English Literature or Biology. Not to mention the fact that AP or dual-enrollment courses are worth more than one credit.
At the end of her son's high school years, he'd come away with a GPA, but one which would hold little to no value to a college admissions department. To be fair, not every high school graduate has college aspirations and more and more colleges are preferring to pass over transcripts and opt for ACT or SAT scores only. However, for the sake of my friend's time and effort, I thought it only prudent to point out the inaccuracy.
She thanked me and then asked for a copy of my transcript making procedures. I handed her this: my Brave High School Record-Keeping for Homeschoolers pack.
Brave High School Record-Keeping for Homeschoolers
So what exactly is the Brave Homeschool High School Record-Keeping for Homeschool pack you ask? Well, you can consider it a hack--a “clever solution to the tricky problem” of creating a high school transcript. It will help you bravely change the direction of your high school organization in an extraordinary way.
In this 22-page digital pack, you'll have everything you'll need to keep a 4-year record of grades for your homeschooling high schooler in order that you can curate a paper trail, tabulate grades, award credit, and create a fail-proof transcript that can be submitted to any post-high school admissions office.
Eight pages of step-by-step instruction and sample charts have been included to help walk you through every part of the process.
In addition, twelve reproducible record-keeping pages have been added and can be used with one child or multiple children within the same household.
The main purpose of the pack is to teach you all that I learned in Tests and Measurements. Once you feel comfortable with the process of tabulating grades and awarding credit, you can write directly on the record sheets or just use them as a guide for creating your own one-of-a-kind record-keeping spreadsheet on a computer.
In addition, twelve reproducible record-keeping pages have been added and can be used with one child or multiple children within the same household.
The main purpose of the pack is to teach you all that I learned in Tests and Measurements. Once you feel comfortable with the process of tabulating grades and awarding credit, you can write directly on the record sheets or just use them as a guide for creating your own one-of-a-kind record-keeping spreadsheet on a computer.
What's included in the Brave High School Record-Keeping Pack
- 8 pages of test and measurement instruction
- a 4-Year High School Plan worksheet
- a Time Log
- grading worksheets for four different types of high school assignments
- a Quarterly Grades worksheet
- two GPA Calculator pages
- a 2-page High School Transcript worksheet
What you'll love about the Brave High School Record-Keeping Pack
It teaches you the process while also helping you create a product.
If you're homeschooling more than one child, chances are you'll spend many years keeping high school records. The Brave High School Record-Keeping pack not only provides you with the tools you need to create a transcript, but it teaches you how to make one. As the old saying goes, "Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." You'll be able to use the record-keeping skills found in this guide over and over again throughout your entire homeschool journey.It's firm but flexible.
The step-by-step guide will teach you some concrete, industry-standard formulas for calculating GPA and the reproducible pages will allow you to create a one-of-a-kind record-keeping system that works for you.
It's cheaper than any other high school record keeper on the market today.
Other than the inaccurate, albeit free, transcript creators hovering in the dark alleys of the internet, you won't find a cheaper high school record-keeping system. Yes, there are software programs and umbrella organizations that will gladly take your real cash money to do the work for you, but the grand total for your child's completed transcript might just leave you feeling robbed.
Grab your pack today!
You don’t have to be a guidance counselor, work in an admissions office, or have a teaching degree to calculate high school credit. You just need to have the right tools in place. You can do this! You can create a successful four years, one simple record sheet at a time.
Grab the Brave High School Record-Keeping for Homeschoolers today.
Hi Jamie! Thank you for sharing!! My oldest just turned 12 but I'm looking into this already just to prepare. I was wondering if you know if this works the same here in Canada? Thank you!!
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