Login
Homeschool Credits - How to Calculate Partial Credit
What do you do with hours that don't add up to a full credit? Can you give partial credit?
When you don't have quite enough hours for even a partial credit and you are counting credits based on hours, then the answer is "wait." Just keep adding up those hours until you DO have enough hours for a credit. Then write "Spanish 1, 1 credit" on the transcript. It's OK if that happens in December, June, or October - whenever they get to the 120 -180 hour mark, give the credit. Then you can keep working on Spanish throughout the year, and when your child arrives at the next 120 hours, record a second high school Spanish credit.
There are some exceptions. If you are using a curriculum that is designed as a one year or one semester credit, then you can give credit based on how much curriculum your child has finished. In other words, if your child completes level one of Bob Jones, Rosetta Stone or Power Glide, you can give a whole credit regardless of hours.
If your child is good at Spanish, and didn't do much bookwork, then you can measure the level of Spanish achievement with a SAT 2 Subject test. If your child passes the exam, even with just a sample test at home, you know they have learned two years' worth of Spanish. That only works if your child has become relatively fluent. Here is a link to the SAT 2 Subject Test.
If your child is a junior, the time is getting just a bit short to cover enough foreign language credits. To finish in time, it would help to make sure they do Spanish FIRST each day, before everything else. That will help your child be consistent and complete two credits by graduation.
Please note: This post was originally published in September 2009 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Looking for more information? Check out my Total Transcript Solution to help you with all your transcript questions and to help you create a transcript for your child that colleges will love!
I have a question for you. Last year, Katie's sophomore year, she spent only 28 hours on Spanish. This summer she added about 15 more, for a total of 43. What can I do with these hours, since they don't add up to a half credit? Would it be alright to assign no credit for the sophomore year, and use these credits toward the junior year? We could even try to achieve an entire credit for the junior year, using these 43 hours toward that goal. Does that work?
~Jan in Washington
How to Calculate Partial Credit
When you don't have quite enough hours for even a partial credit and you are counting credits based on hours, then the answer is "wait." Just keep adding up those hours until you DO have enough hours for a credit. Then write "Spanish 1, 1 credit" on the transcript. It's OK if that happens in December, June, or October - whenever they get to the 120 -180 hour mark, give the credit. Then you can keep working on Spanish throughout the year, and when your child arrives at the next 120 hours, record a second high school Spanish credit.
There are some exceptions. If you are using a curriculum that is designed as a one year or one semester credit, then you can give credit based on how much curriculum your child has finished. In other words, if your child completes level one of Bob Jones, Rosetta Stone or Power Glide, you can give a whole credit regardless of hours.
If your child is good at Spanish, and didn't do much bookwork, then you can measure the level of Spanish achievement with a SAT 2 Subject test. If your child passes the exam, even with just a sample test at home, you know they have learned two years' worth of Spanish. That only works if your child has become relatively fluent. Here is a link to the SAT 2 Subject Test.
If your child is a junior, the time is getting just a bit short to cover enough foreign language credits. To finish in time, it would help to make sure they do Spanish FIRST each day, before everything else. That will help your child be consistent and complete two credits by graduation.
Please note: This post was originally published in September 2009 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Looking for more information? Check out my Total Transcript Solution to help you with all your transcript questions and to help you create a transcript for your child that colleges will love!
Stay Informed
When you subscribe to the blog, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.
.jpg)
208 N Western St.
Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: 1-888-533-2435
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am to 03:00 pm (PST)
Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: 1-888-533-2435
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am to 03:00 pm (PST)
Comments 7
Perfect thank you. Yes I agree to award when completed, but I wasn't sure with 2 years of one language needed in highschool if putting 2 credits of Spanish in 10th grade would be acceptable.
I hope I'm understanding your situation well enough.... You can certainly combine 9th and 10th grade experiences into one class. Generally speaking, parents can combine the number of hours spend in 9th and 10th, and then give either 1/2 or 1 whole credit depending on the time spent. I'm guessing that spending a month in a Spanish-speaking country is like a field trip for your one credit class that you give in 10th grade.
Blessings,
Lee
Thank you for your quick and helpful response. When adding up hours from 9th grade and 10th grade do you have to award the credit for the year completed or can you use credit from a higher grade and put it with a lower grade? Like in my situation. Can I combine the 9th grade credit hours with the 10th grade trip and award it as credit for 9th grade?
Thank you
You can award it any time. To me, it makes sense to award it in 10th grade, when that class was completed.
Blessings,
Lee
Hello I have a similar situation. My son has enough hours to have .25 of a credit in Spanish during 9th grade. He will spend one entire month in a Spanish country with family in the third month of his 10th grade year. I want to continue his Spanish education for the remainder of his 10th grade year and he will be doing Running Start for grades 11 and 12. Can I combine the month spent in 10th grade with his 9th grade .25 credit? Or should I separate the two by putting .25 credit in 9th grade and 1 credit Immersion Spanish on 10th grade? If I do that, can I have a second credit during his 10th grade for Spanish?
Thank you for your help.
Hi, I have a similar situation. My question is if my daughter takes the SAT subject test, and gets a good score, does the high school have to accept that as 2 or 3 credits, or is it state by state? Can I find any rules somewhere that I can take to the school? Thanks.
Sofia,
Good question. It does vary from state to state, and school to school. Your school district should have their rules of acceptance posted online, and most universities do too. Lee talks about homeschool laws in this article: Know Your State Homeschool Law
Blessings,
Robin
Assistant to The HomeScholar