As a community to which the descriptions “non-conformist”, “individualist”, “independent” and “passionate” reasonably refer, home educators are not quick to accept external requirements on their methods, styles, and goals. Still, there is one area in which conformity and cooperation with the “system” should interest us: recordkeeping. There are many good reasons for keeping organized, accurate records for your homeschooled students. Good record keeping facilitates the learning process, ensures future options for our children and in some states is legally required. In this article I hope to persuade you to take steps toward better record keeping by addressing some of the objections and enumerating the benefits.
First of all, let’s define what we mean by “records”. I don't for a minute think that the reader is unfamiliar with school records - but for the benefit of "set up" I'd like to define them anyway. I apologize in advance if I bore you momentarily. There are a number of documents that fall under the school records umbrella, generally into one of two categories: academic and non-academic. Non-academic records include a document that informs the school district of your intent to homeschool, and immunization records. We don’t need to make a case for maintaining those as they are often required by law. Academic records, on the other hand, document the content of a student’s educational experience and his educational progress. Sometimes this information is required by a state or local school district. In some circumstances, the information is needed to demonstrate academic or even parental competence to third parties.
Among the academic records, a school transcript is most essential, particularly for students planning to apply for college. But they also serve in documenting the material and progress of students in any grade who may be moving between or into new educational environments, or who need to demonstrate their educational status for a third party. In some states, homeschool parents must submit Attendance Reports to verify that their students have met minimum school day requirements. Report cards and progress reports, rarely used in a homeschool setting, document progress over a limited period of time several times during the year. They are intended primarily as a communications device between a teacher and parent, and so are typically unnecessary in the homeschool environment. A diploma, or certificate of commencement, indicates that a student has adequately completed an extended program of study and is ready to advance to the next stage of education, enlist in the military or enter the workforce. These documents are not difficult to produce when homeschooling parents keep the associated data in an organized manner. If the idea of organization frightens you as much as it does me, then keep reading. We have solutions for you!
Before I address the objections to record keeping, let me discuss the main reasons that all home educators should document their students’ educational accomplishments and experience: proof. You may reflexively ask, “Why do I have to prove anything? Education is about helping young people discover who they are, what they are passionate about and what they are capable of. I don’t care what society thinks about my child’s education, I care what she thinks about her own education.” If your child lived in a vacuum, then you would be right. As it is, you are only partially right. It is important that your child care about her education. But it is important that I care about it as well.
We live in common. Society is an organization of interdependent individuals. We all benefit from the accomplishments and contributions of others within the society and, for that matter, throughout the world. Not only do I depend on your child’s success directly and indirectly, your child will in turn depend on others throughout his life for an income, for community, for support services, for opportunities, for enrichment. That dependency will require him to demonstrate competence, often through personal contact, but also on paper.
Look at the several ways, for example, a GPA (Grade Point Average) facilitates a student’s life:
- Lower insurance rates
- opportunities in the armed forces
- access to academic scholarships and grants
- admission to particular colleges, and
- access to certain types of employment.
I have been told that in some industries like banking, an employer might request your high school records even though you have earned a college degree!
But there are other reasons that you may need to prove your child’s educational competence. Even though homeschooling has made enormous gains over the past twenty years as a viable educational option within mainstream society, there is still a lot of opposition to it. In some individual cases, parents have had to prove the effectiveness of homeschooling in court. Even in very accommodating states, a parent may find themselves legally defending themselves against their own spouse for the right to homeschool. Printed quarterly report cards, attendance records, a GPA and a few sample tests or essays go a long way toward convincing a family court judge that you take homeschooling seriously and can be a trusted educator. I sincerely hope you never have to deal with that situation. But we never know what the future holds for ourselves and our children. It makes sense to be prepared.
Finally, being able to attest on paper to the effectiveness of homeschooling promotes the homeschooling movement generally, and eases the pressure on all of us. So many homeschooling pioneers have paved the way to assert our right to homeschool, and the threat against homeschool as a legitimate alternative looms even so. Our students hold up well to scrutiny. Why not shout it from the rooftops?
If these reasons are not enough to convince you, then lets investigate some of the persistent concerns.
#1 - “My student is a person, not a statistic. Grades do not accurately reflect her competence, capabilities and interests.”
Again, we need to be very careful about terminology and definitions. When a homeschooling parent objects to grades I have to ask her what she means. Even if it looks the same on paper, a homeschooler’s grade and a traditional grade do not represent the same thing. If one defines “grade” as “an arbitrary assessment made by a teacher based on statistical expectations against material determined by a third party”, then the “A”, “B”, or “C” reflected in a homeschool transcript is not a grade. If, on the other hand, one defines a “grade” as merely an assessment of a student’s capabilities, then a home educator's own opinion qualifies as a grade, whether or not it is presented symbolically (A-F). Herein lies the beauty of homeschooling: A homeschool “grade” whether expressed as A-F, Pass/No Pass, Mastery of Material or “My student is particularly compassionate toward the vulnerable” is the most accurate reflection of a student’s capabilities because the evaluation comes from the educator who knows the student intimately: an involved and committed parent/guardian.
Some would argue that a parent would be the least objective evaluator. But the statistics don’t bear that out. Homeschoolers, as a group, perform well in standardized tests, college entrance exams and college performance. Home educators must be getting it right.
Knowing, therefore, that homeschooling is the best option for your student’s education, shouldn’t you have a way to prove that to any entity that has the power to make decisions about your child’s future? From this point of view, grades, credits and the documents that communicate them are tools for your benefit and that of your child.
#2 My child has access to a Running Start program or similar college-in-high school program, and will therefore use her community college records for university admissions.
Transcripts from community colleges may improve your child’s chances for earning his place at a university. However, a university may still require his high school records for admission. Admissions requirements for college transfer students are often identical to that of incoming freshmen. If the student’s first two years of college do not meet all of the standard admissions course requirements, a college will refer to high school transcripts to make up the difference. For example, most colleges require at least two years of lab science prior to admission. So, if your student took only one science lab in Running Start, he would for most colleges need a way to demonstrate a science lab credit from high school as well. There are a number of ways to demonstrate that, but a transcript is by far the simplest for you and for the prospective university.
#3 – My child is not going to college, so I don’t need to keep records.
I have heard this objection many times, and still have difficulty relating to the position. How many of us are currently living the life we anticipated when we were sixteen? A high school student is not in a position to know where he will be after graduation. How could his parent? As a parent you may have opinions about your child’s suitability for college, the importance of college, or whether or not you can afford to send them to college. But that does not mean you have the right or even the power to decide whether they go to college.
I can offer a couple anecdotes to illustrate this point. My college roommate overcame many barriers to attend UCLA. In high school she lived with her divorced mother who was an alcoholic and drug addict, constantly in trouble with the law or passed out on the couch. My roommate spent her high school years waitressing until late at night to support the two of them. It was a hard and lonely road. But she kept her grades up and was accepted to UCLA, which she paid for through grants, scholarships and working. She earned her degree and is now a successful professional.
The Notre Dame football player, Rudy Ruettiger, famous more for not playing football than playing it serves as another good example. In 1993, he was the subject of a movie that bears his name. As an academically challenged and undersized youth, Rudy’s dream of playing football at Notre Dame should not have been realized. But through sheer determination, he maintained a satisfactory community college GPA that earned him admission to Notre Dame, and worked his way onto the football team as a fearless although unlikely walk on. Granted, these two can be seen as exceptional examples. But why would any of us prevent our own children from being exceptional?
The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) recommends that homeschoolers keep records for three years in elementary and middle school, and permanently for high school. Although the HSLDA’s primary focus is advocating for homeschoolers’ rights in the court system, they refer to other practical reasons for record keeping, like the psychological affect organization has on our ability to perform effectively. The cost benefit weighs heavily in favor of heeding their advice.
And there is a cost. Record keeping can be time consuming. But if you take the time to set up a system that works for you, you will save time in the long run. The data that you should store in order to provide thorough reports includes:
- Course names and descriptions for each student and grade;
- Total credits earned (most full-year academic courses equal a single credit);
- Total grade achieved in each class;
- Portfolio of significant work like midterm or final tests, essays, science lab reports with methods, results and photos and literature analysis records;
- A booklist (not required, but very helpful); and,
- Number of days attended with dates if needed by law.
While there are a number of available record keeping solutions, LessonMinder specifically integrates record keeping into our web-based organization and planning system to provide those documents at a touch of a button (or two!). It keeps all pertinent records automatically, so that after having used the system for the school year, transcripts, report cards, attendance and other pertinent data is readily available.
This month, LessonMinder.com is free for a year for anyone who registers by September 30th. Check it out at: www.lessonminder.com
The hope of the world lies in what one demands, not of others, but of oneself. ~ James Baldwin
