How do i know if my child has passed to the next grade if i am homeschooling?

Question

I am a homeschool parent and this was my first year homeschooling my 10th grade daughter. I tried to find out the answer from the department of education in albany GA and they told me to go online and i went but i coildnt find anything that helped. Now i don't know what to do. I am scared that she hasn't passed to the next grade. I am thinking about putting her back in public school next year and i don't want her to be in the same grade. That's like all of our work going to waste. Please help me.

Answer 1

You should contact a local teacher to have your child tested at least once a year. In some states homeschooled children can also make arrangements to take standardized tests. As to putting your daughter back into public school most states would give her an assessment test prior to enrolling her to determine what grade level she should be placed in.

Answer 2

Do have objective data showing she knows the material you covered this year?  If not, do you have subjective data, knowing she met the lesson & course objectives/goals, and/or scored well (if you gave grades)?  Did you cover at least 80-90% of the courses you used?

A school *may* test her with a placement test just to be sure she can handle 11th.  You may need some sort of objective proof of the courses she took this year so the school will issue her credits for them.  If not, then she may have to make up missed credits.

It's JMO, but putting her in back in PS for 11th grade is more likely the bigger waste than her repeating 10th.  Why not just continue HS'ing her, and when she has enough credits/courses, graduate her.  The best choice, IMO, for next year would be to have her take community college courses for dual credit - high school and college.  That's much preferred over PS.

EDITED TO ADD:  She does NOT need to take the GED test to "graduate" from homeschool.  A parent's diploma is absolutely fine.

Answer 3

I think you must have registered your daughter's name in the examination board in your country/state before you wrote the exam try contacting them .

Answer 4

You can always order a Mastery Test (the same that they would use in public school) online to test your daughter. I encourage all of my parents to use them to make sure they are "on track".  Search for information on the Stanford 10 or Iowa test series (you can order them from Bob Jones, bjup.com) that test in all core subject areas. A certified tester will need to give the test though, something to think about.

I agree....I think your daughter's best  bet would be to finish her high school career as a homeschooler....she has just as good a chance to get into college as a homeschooler as a public schooler. And since you can customize her senior year, you can tailor it to the college of her choice.

Answer 5

You decide if she passes or not. The high school you plan on putting her in decides if they will count her work or not. They can do the same thing if somebody moves in from another state or switches from a private school. Talk to the school.

Answer 6

Has she mastered the material you gave her? Then she has passed the grade. That's pretty easy. Don't let fear rule your life, take a deep breath and know that the choices you have made in the past were the best at that time, and the choices you will be making will similarly be what your family needs.

Grade levels however, are an artificial construct, a means to divide children yet again, not based on ability or desire, but to keep them progressing in an orderly manner to graduation. If school is for learning, then why not an extra year to cram in some more education before college? Why does one need to be finished by 18?

As other's have said, in high school, kids are not placed by age but by ability. She will most likely be tested to be placed into grades. Besides, high school classes are different for everyone regardless of grades. Some people are taking basic classes, while others are doing college prep, ie algebra in 11th grade vs calculus.

Answer 7

When I went from my son in 8th grade at home to putting him in the local HS, 'they' did not manage to find a test to give him to assess his level of learning.  the counselor suggested we SKIP a grade, (which is what ewe did) and he finished up his 4 high school years in 3.  Imagine!!

So, i suggest you just enroll her in 11th and get on with it.  if you did a half way decent job, she will be fine.

But, hey!  Why not homeschool her the whole way??

Answer 8

If she has passed all the required courses, ie.(Geometry, English, Science, Social studies.) then she should be recognized as in the 11th grade, you may want to find a public school teacher who will gladly tell you if she has passed, so they should know if is ready for the next grade.

Just in case- homeschooling goes a whole lot faster than public schooling, they work at their pase which is pretty fast, so even if the public school isnt even half way through the school year, then it is very possible for your child to be finished with the whole grade.

Hope it helps!

Answer 9

They (department of ed) is not going to be any help. They want you to fail anyway. That sounds harsh but true. They honestly don't know their head from a whole in the ground anyway.  Keep going if you have the materials and she can always take the GED test after she graduates. It is just as good as a diploma and most likely better. Don't put her back in school, what a wretched place school is these days.

Answer 10

If you decide to put her into public school next year, then talk to the principal.   The first question you should ask is "How many non-english speaking students are in this school?"  The second statement "I would like for you to give my daughter the same test that they were given to determine grade level."

I am all for educating everyone, but why should we place non-english speaking students by age and homeschooled students by their progress in particular subject matter?

We have a very homeschool friendly state and we are able to determine grade level in our homes by our standards and not the states standards.  We do not report to anyone with our progression through the grade levels.