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Failing Grades in Online School

Many parents choose online classes for their students, and from time to time will experience the "crash and burn" of failing grades from these classes. How can you make sure your smart child is represented fairly on the transcript, even if your child has failed some classes?

If your classes are NOT accredited, then the class and grades are essentially like a homeschool co-op, and you are completely in charge of those grades. Their transcript is like a "serving suggestion" or recipe that you can use for informational purposes and modify it at will and is not sent to colleges. They only see what your child submits/does in class, and you are the teacher who sees the full picture. You are the real teacher here, and you can give her the grades she deserves. There are multiple ways of doing this.

1.     Give a grade for what she knows.


2.     Give a grade for her hard work.


3.     Give extra credit so she can boost her grade.


4.     Repeat the class if necessary, so she can learn what she needs to know.


5.     Give a subject test to prove her knowledge. (SAT Subject test, for example.)

If your classes ARE accredited, then you have to work within their system to modify those grades. These transcripts must be sent directly to the colleges. You can't change the class titles, grades, or credit values, even if you are putting those classes on your own homeschool transcript.

Homeschool independently for more flexibility. When you homeschool independently, you have all sorts of flexibility to modify curriculum to keep your child challenged but not overwhelmed. When you are not independent, it's possible for kids to fall in over their head. When you homeschool independently, you can change your expectations, adapt assignments, and turn on a dime when facing difficulty.