The thought of creating a high school transcript can send many homeschool moms into a panic. There seems to be a mystery surrounding this piece of paper that causes the most prepared homeschooler to second guess herself.
Don’t worry, however. A high school transcript is simply a list of courses taken, GPA, and credits received. Let’s go through it step by step and you will see that creating a quality high school transcript is no mystery and firmly in your grasp.
Basic information on a transcript:
- Student information: full name, date of birth, address, and SSN
- Parent or Guardian name and contact information
- School name
- Courses taken
- Credits and GPA for each course
- Total credits and GPA
- Academic Achievements
- Signature and date
- Graduation Date
Courses and Credits
The first step is to gather all your records over the high school years and write down all courses taken, material covered, and extracurricular activities. Avoid getting overwhelmed by simply going year by year. Don’t forget to include coursework taken online, through a co-op, online college, or local college. If your child took high school credit classes in middle school be sure to list those as well by adding in a section. You will only need to list high school credits.
Don’t forget to include coursework taken online, through a co-op, online college, or local college. If your child took high school credit classes in middle school be sure to list those as well by adding in a section. You will only need to list high school credits.
Related: Tips to Homeschool in High School
Many are concerned with matching up their child’s graduation requirements with state requirements. Most states do not require homeschoolers to abide by these standards. However, you will want to look up the law in your state. Your state should also shed some light on credit values for coursework.
Free Quality High School Transcript Form Printable!
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You may use that as a guide when assigning credits to your child’s courses. Usually, a one year course is equal to one credit. Some courses may be used for more than one type of credit. For instance, your child may earn a half credit for art history during his world history course if there was a particular focus or significant assignments on art history.
Do not forget to count elective credits for participation in science clubs, LEGO clubs, cooking classes, or the like. While it is necessary to think outside the classroom for homeschoolers, be careful not to confuse electives with extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities include sports, book clubs, 4H, etc.
Don’t worry, you saw your child through all of high school. If you can handle that, you can handle the high school transcript!
Lexi says
Thanks for sharing this! My daughter is starting middle school next year in our homeschool and it just hit me that we’ll be working on high school work in a few short years. That’s so crazy! So I just started researching transcripts and high school planning because I was feeling very overwhelmed about homeschooling high school. I’m saving this with the resources I’m finding about high school. I can’t believe I’ll be starting to create a transcript in a couple of years!
Dee says
Can you tell us more about the “add a section” for middle schooler high school credit? What exactly does that look like? How does one explain that they have taken those classes early?
Thanks