Keeping Records, Testing, Tutors, & More
How do I keep the required records?

Is standardized testing required? Should we test?

Are co-ops, tutors, and correspondence courses legal?

What I've learned - advice from other homeschoolers

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I've read your legal requirements area and would like more information about how to keep the required educational records such as journals or plan books, portfolios, and bi-annual reports.

Journals and Plan Books

Journals and plan books are records of what your children learn from day to day. You can maintain these daily, weekly, or somewhere in between.

A journal is used to document topics and activities after your children have completed them. This method is great for families who want more of a child-led or unschooling approach because you never know what each day will bring. You may have a general idea, but you're open to change and recording the details at the end of the day makes more sense. This method is homeschool-friendly, but can also cause stress if you're the type of person who feels "scattered" if you don't have a plan or a list in front of you.
 

A plan book is used when you list each day's (or week's or month's) activities in advance. This approach is better for those who feel more comfortable with structure and having a "plan of attack." You can still delete assignments that you don't get to, or add activities if you do more than you expect. However, it may make you feel overwhelmed and "behind" if you don't do everything you initially planned.

If neither a journal nor a plan book seem quite right for you, start with a combination of the two and adjust from there. Just write down a bare skeleton (maybe weekly goals), and allow yourself and your kids to be flexible within those goals. Fill in the details as they accomplish each task and add new ideas and opportunities as they arise. Also, keep in mind that we learn 365 days a year, but you only have to document 180 days.
 

Portfolio

The required portfolio contains samples of your children's work. There are no rules for how many or what types of samples, so just use your best judgment.

If you use a structured curriculum, include some worksheets, assignments, and tests if you use them. Math usually fits into this category.

If you're more relaxed, there are other ways to provide samples. For reading, consider including a book list; for writing, include some samples of your child's written work -- paragraphs, essays, poems, riddles, copies of letters they've written to family or friends, etc.  For social studies, consider including a book list (historical fiction, non-fiction, etc), brochures and pictures from field trips, and titles of magazines, videos, and documentaries that would fit into this category. Use the same approach with science (brochures from fieldtrips, photos of experiments or projects, titles of magazines, book list, etc).

You're only required to document the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature.
 

Semiannual Progress Reports
The required semiannual progress report (normally required at the end of 90 days, and at the end of 180 days) can be a simple report card, or it can be a summary of topics studied during the preceding 90-day period. If you use the "summary" approach and use your computer for your plan book or journal, you can just copy and paste topics from those records into a page divided into the required subjects and add a statement regarding the number of days your child attended your homeschool during that period. If you decide to use the "report card" approach and don't give grades in your homeschool, you can use "satisfactory" and "needs improvement" instead. The high school level becomes a little more involved if your child is planning on going to college and wants to apply for state scholarships. At that point, a class rank and/or grade point average is needed. Your association will be able to give you more information about the documentation they recommend at the high school level -- especially if they have a diploma and transcript program.

Are we required to test our children? If not, should we test?

Homeschooling under the Third Option allows parents more freedom in deciding what's best for their children. Most, if not all, Third Option homeschooling associations leave the testing decision up to the parents. If you decide to use standardized tests, the results will be sent directly to you. You don't have to report the scores to anyone else. Testing can be used to reassure reluctant husbands, family, and friends, but they can also cause stress for parents and children.

If you decide to test, remember that tests really have nothing to do with learning. They're normed on public school students, not homeschooled students, so they don't accurately reflect the broad range of knowledge that is typical of homeschooled students. In addition, they're usually administered with time restrictions. This penalizes homeschoolers who aren't as experienced working under conditions with artificial time constraints. We give our children time to think through problems. We value quality over speed. After all, when is doing a math problem in 5 seconds flat ever going to be a life or death situation?

To complicate things even more, sometimes the tests are published by the same company that publishes textbooks. The tests are developed to correlate with what's taught in the textbooks they publish. If your children aren't using their textbooks in the areas of social studies and science, then they're not going to score well in those areas. The texts and tests may cover American History in the 5th grade, but your children studied Ancient History. Current standardized tests just can't capture the depth and breadth of what your children may have accomplished.

So what's the use in testing? As stated above, they tend to reassure spouses, parents, and friends. And sometimes it reassures moms, too. The scores will give you a general idea of how your child is doing in the tested subject areas when compared to publicly schooled students. If you decide to test, consider skipping the science and social studies portions and just focus on the reading, language arts, and math sections. These three sections are more skill-related and depend less on content that may correlate with a specific text. Also, keep in mind that many sections of the test will have time limits, so help your children become more comfortable with timed situations before administering the test.

And last, if you decide to test, keep in mind what the test scores actually mean. Don't expect your child to do advanced work just because they score at a higher level. If test results indicate that your child scored at a high school level in math, it doesn't mean that your child can do high school-level math. It just means that your child answered as many questions correctly as the high school students they used to "norm" the test. Your children may be above the "norm" for their age group, but whether or not they're ready for Algebra is another matter entirely. You'll know when they're ready to progress to each stage of learning. Don't let the test scores replace your own judgment. Links to several test suppliers is available in the Resources & Links area, scroll down to "Standardized Test Suppliers".

Is it legal to count co-op activities, field trips, correspondence courses, and other "outsourced" resources as part of our homeschooling?

Absolutely! Any rumors you have heard to the contrary are false. Homeschoolers in SC have always been free to utilize outside resources (such as co-operative learning experiences, field trips, correspondence courses, tutors, concurrent college enrollment, etc.) as desired. As long as you direct the education of your children, oversee instruction, and realize that you're the one who is ultimately responsible for their education, you are free to use any resources available to you.

The reason why some homeschoolers misunderstand this is due to an old Attorney General's opinion that states, "Statutory provisions do not authorize students to be taught by anyone other than their parents or guardians in a home instruction setting (1989 Op Atty Gen, No 89-22, p. 60)."

This opinion just reaffirms that only parents or guardians can homeschool their children (as opposed to grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc). It doesn't mean that we can't use all the resources that are available to us.

Our third option law (Section 59-65-47) defines the subject areas we must teach. It does not dictate the materials and resources we can (or cannot) use. Moreover, the opinion doesn't refer to our section, which wasn't even in existence at the time the opinion was written. The Attorney General's website further explains how, in any case, his opinion is just that - an opinion. It's not law.

What I've learned -- advice from other homeschoolers

I made my first son read and write too much. I realize now that I can incorporate reading and writing into my science and social studies units. I don't feel like we are jumping from one thing to another trying to fit all areas of instruction into our day. It all just flows along (not that every day is peachy, but it is less complicated and less stressful now). -- Mary

I learned that young children will not learn a new skill until their brains are ready to learn it. I would get frustrated trying to teach and re-teach an idea or skill day after day, only to find my daughter had not retained the skill. Just as I would reach a great level of frustration, it was like a light bulb went off and she acted like it was a skill she always knew. As homeschoolers we have the gift of time and one-on-one instruction. Make the learning experience something to remember and treasure! -- Tracy

I have definitely learned that there's no curriculum that works well for all children. This is my first year of homeschooling and I finally realized that just because I bought something, it doesn't mean I have to stick with it, no matter how much it hurts the pocketbook. If it isn't working, it isn't working. This has been a hard and expensive lesson that I've had to learn this year. -- "Thuba"

We hope this section of our FAQs has helped you to better understand how to homeschool in South Carolina. If you have any questions or concerns about the answers here, please email us and/or consult an attorney. Although we've tried to include the questions that new homeschoolers seem to ask the most, we're not attorneys or "experts" and can't give you legal advice.

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Disclaimer: Any legal information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be considered complete, professional legal advice.