Reporting homeschooling in Michigan?

Question

I live in Michigan, and will be homeschooling my daughter next year. She will be in 9th grade. I'll be keeping detailed records of all the work she completes, as well as test & quiz grades. I've purchased her cirriculum which includes math, history, science, English, & religion. We are also getting 2 elective courses, art and accounting. I'll also be adding other activities...watching nature & science dvd, choosing books for her to read, science experiments, field trips...etc...

What I need to know is....in Michigan, do I need to report her grades somewhere? It seems too easy to just be able to take your child out of school and teach them at home without having to supply teaching records & grades to someone.

Also...how does college work for a homeschooled child? There will be no high school records...only the ones I keep. Is this enough to get into college?

Answer 1

Yes, check with your state's education department. They can provide the information you need.

Good for you, going the home schooling route.  Most home scholars are way ahead of pubic schools in knowledge and scores, as well as limiting bad influences of peer groups. I hope your daughter works with you successfully and appreciates your efforts for her future.

Answer 2

Here are the HS laws in MI:

http://www.nhen.org/leginfo/detail.asp?S...

Yes, some states are *very* easy to HS in.  I've lived in two of the easiest - KS and IL.

For college, you'll need to keep a portfolio of her work (books read, scope & sequences, etc), keep a transcript, have her take the PSAT, ACT/SAT, and otherwise have a great record of her HS'ing years.   You will issue her a diploma when she completes all her credits.

Another good option for HS'ing in high school is to do "dual credit" with a community college (or even university).  Then you get both high school, and college credits.  CC classes are sometimes less expensive than other high school options also.

I recently purchased Homeschool Tracker Plus for lesson plans and record keeping.  We are moving to a more eclectic style, and have two high school courses this year, so it's more important to document than the past 5.5 yrs we've been HS'ing.

http://www.homeschooltracker.com

HST Plus makes grade reports, transcripts, and stores a ton of information.  I'm really loving the teacher journal.  You can try/use their basic free version.  The $49 price for the Plus version includes lifetime updates/upgrades.  Their customer service is unlike anything I've experienced.  The co-owner spent hours with me on IM and email getting things set up.

Anyway, I in no way work for them, or get any kickback - I just wanted to let you know about a great resource for high school record keeping.

Answer 3

In Washington state we are required to have our home schooled children take exams to test where they are compared to their peers as well as become home school licensed as parents.  The link below should help you get started on what your state requirements are and give you the appropriate links and contacts for you to provide the school district your Letter of Intent, and other paper work that you might need.

Good Luck and Congratulations!

Answer 4

I'm not sure about Michigan but here in Indiana we don't have to report to any one, you should really check out the Home School Legal Defense Attorney basically you pay a small fee for an attorney that will make sure that if the government or someone else comes snooping demanding anything they legally can't ask for they will protect you. Also they'll tell you all the regulations and other things for your state, it's deff. worth it just to be safe.

As far as college, I'm soon to attend a college and I've been homeschooled all my life (I'm only 15) you'll just have to take some test like ACT or SAT all that and then you're considered the same. Also if your daughter finishes Highschool early and wants to attend a college but you feel she's too young to stay in a dorm the first year (which is required in most places) you can ask for the special circumstances so she can stay at home while just driving to the college every day.

Answer 5

i am homeschooled, but i live in alabama, but from what i've heard is that i think you have to join a cover group, and you  have give the recorded grades at the end of each month.

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

UI'd say the SAT & ACT test will be a good indicato of knwledge taught to your childern.

Answer 7

Please see the link below, which will answer some questions and give you other sources to check.  Basically, it seems that you do not have to report grades.  The MME test (Michigan Merit  Award Examination) seems to be a test for students in grade 12 in preparation for college.

There is more on the web.  I went to search engine www.altavista.com

Then I clicked Advanced Search

In the first box, All words must be present, I typed in

Michigan homeschooling

In the second box, Exact Phrase, I typed in

Department of Education

Several items that look useful came up.  The link below is one of them.

Answer 8

you will not have to report her grades but you will need to make sure she takes all proficiencies and state required tests. Depending on the school district that you live in, some require that they approve the materials that you are using and that students be tested by a certified teacher at the end of every school year and be tested out of that grade. But that really depends on the school district you live. I would give them a call.

It is much easier to use an online school (Michigan does have one it seems for middle school and high school students) but there is no law stating that you need to.

For high school, make sure you keep a record(transcripts) ... that is really the only thing a college will be interested in. And yes you can make your own.

All of the above information can be found on the web site below