How to know how many credits to give per subject?

[Homeschoolmom28]

Hello Everyone, I have a question that I hope is not to stupid. How do you now how many credits to give per subject? As I stated before this will be my first full year homeschooling a high school age child. The few months that we homeschooled last year my daughters tutor mainly took care of that type of thing, because I had some health problems come up. This year I plan to do all the record keeping myself. After reading the reply to a post about record keeping giving 1/2 to 1 credit per finished subject I realized that I have no idea how many credits to assign to what subject. I remember when I was in high school having to have a certain number of credits to graduate, but that was a long time ago and I am sure it have changed many times since then. I really hope that I am wording this question right. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Teresa

[Dianna]

Teresa, don't worry about a question being "stupid", the only way we'll learn is by asking questions! :smile2:

When I went to school, we had to have 24 credits to graduate. These days, most schools require around 22 to 30 credits to graduate. Most students have somewhere between 24 and 32 credits by the time they're done. This would be 6 to 8 full-credit classes a year. Homeschoolers have a little more flexibility in scheduling, but I recommend listing at least 24 classes, and no more than 32 classes, on a transcript. Less than 24 may make your student look lazy, more than 32 makes you look dishonest.

As a rule of thumb, each full credit (1 Carnegie credit) course entails one hour of work a day, for 180 days a year. Since we're homeschoolers who can spend more concentrated hours on learning, anywhere from about 130 hours to 180 hours is fine. Do you have to run around with a stopwatch counting hours? No. There are several ways to determine the amount of credit a course receives:

Completing a text:
If the course is a typical full-year course, and you're using a text for the course, consider it completed when your student finishes the text and any other requirements you've set for the course (tests, papers, whatever).

Completing a contract:
Whether you construct a course as a semester (.5 credit) or full-year (1 credit) course, and don't use a text, consider writing a contract for you and your student. If the student completes specific learning tasks for the course (reading a certain number of books, doing interviews, writing papers, discussing progress, whatever), the student will receive credit for the course.

Counting hours:
Sometimes you may find that counting hours is the best method for a course. For a Music credit, for example, the student can keep track of the hours spent on lessons with his piano teacher, daily practice, and concerts. Once he reaches 130 (or whatever you set), then he's earned a credit.

Mastering the material:
Many times the best way to give credit for a course is when a student masters the material, regardless of time spent, or materials used. I knew my son mastered his study of Mythology when he scored high enough to receive a medal on the very rigorous Medusa Mythology Exam. It's an internationally standardized exam taken by high school students from around the world. I knew what the world average exam score was for that year's exam, and saw what my son scored after his self-study of Mythology, and I knew he had earned his credit based on his mastery of the material. Mythology courses are typically given a semester's credit at most high schools, so that's what I gave him.

Use a public high school syllabus:
Search for a syllabus on the internet (just google keywords such as "high school US history syllabus" or "high school Biology course"). You'll get examples of the way different high schools construct the specific course you're googling and how much credit they award. This will give you an idea of whether you're requiring enough work, or too much, from your student.

Ask other homeschoolers for help:
This is a very good way to help you with assigning credits (and grades). Just ask other experienced high school homeschooling moms to help you determine what would constitute a credit. You may not agree with them, but their ideas will give you a place to start.

I hope this gives you an idea of how to grant credit for courses. Hopefully others will jump in with more suggestions. :smile2:

Dianna

[hh_spring]

Many times the best way to give credit for a course is when a student masters the material

That is the best answer so far, When you think about all the time wasted in public school and they award a credit and may not of even mastered anything!!

I think people worry too much about cheating somehow....ThX Dianna

bye, Harriet

[Joanne]

Our HS senior still needed Physical Science, but I did not feel qualified to even try to help her since I never had that course myself. So, my good friend who homeschools suggested I use HS level, video tapes of Science-related materials from a Christian perspective; one hour of viewing each school day while taking notes and writing a report for each video. We gave her one HS credit when she finished the 24 tapes we chose for her and she got a well-rounded scope of Physical Science. :eusa_clap

[reedross]

If am using a 'course' (ie MathUSee Algebra I) we don't track any 'time'....... he'll get a credit upon completion of the course. Things like PE I'm having him track his time - at the end of the year I will either give a 1/2 credit or full credit depending on the time. I use 120 hours for a full credit. I highly recommend Barb Shelton's book High School Form-U-La for dealing with credits and planning of 'non-textbook' types of education!

- April C