Assigning Credits for Sonlight® Cores 2013 program editions and beyond

Many parents I talk to ask me how to translate the Sonlight® Core Programs into high school credits. I am not an expert on this, nor do I have any special insights or training into granting high school credits. But, I have graduated two children who used Sonlight® for high school and I can offer some idea of what is possible. My two children we accepted into state universities and a Christian college without any problems. They went on to state universities and did very well.

This is not any kind of official advice, just one mom giving you a place to start as you consider translating Sonlight cores into high school credits. You may also want to check this post on creating high school transcripts. You may also want to read this post on making a "Contract for Grade" as a way to give grades for non-test classes.

Sonlight® High School Courses changed with the 2013 editions. At this time Cores 100-400 were updated so that there is a History/Bible section and a Literature section. This actually makes it easier to assign credits.

Core F: Eastern Hemisphere and accompanying language arts. 
[I do feel this course is high school worthy. My older boys went to public high school starting in 10th grade and the Core F materials are more than they did for world history; but use your own judgment. You may want to add extra research or more in depth writing. I added further reading and more advanced writing.]

• World Cultures or Eastern Hemisphere or Eastern Hemisphere Geography: 1 credit
• English: 1 credit [If you increase the difficulty and expectations of the writing assignments and make sure they do the research in the Eastern Hemisphere Notebook]
• Geography: ½ credit if you student does all the mapping assignments and does a bit more research on the areas studied
• Bible: ½ credit

Core G or H or W LA 
[I do feel these are  high school worthy but I would only count one for high school credit. In other words, I would not use G and H for two years of study. Both are fine for a freshman course, but if you only have one year to do these and you want high school credit, then my advice would be to do Core W and possibly add in a  few books from G and/or H if you want to go more in depth. My older boys went to public high school starting in 10th grade and these studies are more in depth than they did for world history, but use your own judgment. You may want to add extra research or more in depth writing]

• Ancient World History [G] or Modern World History [Core H] or World History [W]: 1 credit
• English: 1 credit [You may want to break this down into composition and world literature, ½ credit each, but I just called it an English class]
• Bible [an elective]: ½ to 1 credit depending on time spent

Core 100-American History in Depth (2013 and beyond)

History and Bible Portion #120-MD
• American History : 1 credit
• Bible [an elective]: ½ -1 credit depending on time spent
Literature and Language Arts Portion #130-MD
• English : 1 credit [You may want to break this down into composition and literature, ½ credit each, but I just called it an English class. You could call it American Literature for 1 credit and composition for 1/2 credit. I think it would be fair to call it English (1 credit) and American Literature 1/2 credit]

Core 200- History of God’s Kingdom  (2013 and beyond)

History and Bible Portion #220-MD
• Church History or Western Civilization or World History [depending on what you child needs and what type of college, secular or Christian, they are applying to]: 1 credit
• Bible or Christian Apologetics- 1 credit
Literature and Language Arts Portion #230-MD
• English [You may want to break this down into composition and literature, ½ credit each, but I just called it an English class]
• If you child just does only literature part, you may want to call it Classic Literature and give 1 credit for it, and perhaps give ½ credit for composition.

Another mom I know counted Core 200 this way:

#220-MD
Western Civilization: 1 credit
Bible 1: Christian Apologetics: 1 credit
#230-MD
English 1: Introduction to Classic Literature and Composition: 1 credit

Core 300- 20th Century World History  ( 2013 and beyond)

History and Bible Portion #320-MD
• World History, Modern World History or World History 20th Century: 1 credit
• Bible study: 1 credit
Literature and Language Arts Portion #330-MD
• English : 1 credit
• *Modern World Literature: 1 credit

*As a note, I would give this if the student has done most of the writing assignments. If they did considerably less, I would give 1 English credit and maybe ½ credit of World Lit.

Core 400: Government/ Civics  (2013 and beyond)
[Total of 2-4 credits, using any of these combos, depending on what you covered, what writing was done, if you did the Bible, etc]
History and Bible Portion #420-MD  18 week course

• American Government - 1/2 credit OR US History and Constitution: 1/2 credit
• Bible: 1/2 credit 

Economics #570-00  18 week course

• Economics 1 Credit or if you do the AP tract, 1-2 credit

Economics  Overview -- Shorter course, 1/4-1/2 credit

• Money, Possessions and Eternity by Alcorn (#RR110)
• The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance by Roberts (#570-10)

Literature and Language Arts Portion #430-MD

• American Literature: 1 credit
• English: 1 credit
• Or perhaps English 1 credit and 1/2 credit American Literature

Core 520: World History and Worldview Studies #520-MD

• This could be called  World History and/or Intro to  Philosophy - I would give one credit for each. If you just want a World History course, you could use just the two "Streams of Civilization" books along with "The Universe Next Door."

Core 530: British Literature #530-MD

• British Literature: 1 credit
• English or Composition: 1-2 credits depending on the time that is spent

Psychology #590-00--10th grade and up

• 1 credit high school Psychology, this is an advanced AP type class (could also be a Social Science Credit or used for an elective credit)

College and Career Planning 580-00

• 1/2 credit Career Planning

What Good is Christianity? 18 week course

• 1/2 Credit  Name it Apologetics or  Christian Influence in the Modern World

For More High School Helps

• High School Credits for Sonlight® Cores--pre 2013
• Grading High School Work-Contract for Grade
• High School Transcripts-What's a mom to do?
• Dictation for High School Students?

Transcripts, again...

Transcripts are not scary. Say it again, "Transcripts are not scary."

I have to tell you that it grieves me how much money is charged and how much scary hype there is related to creating a transcript. There are boot-camp sessions, endless numbers of books and speakers who all conspire to scare the pants off of you when it comes to transcripts.

The basic message is that your children will be jobless, friendless and homeless if you don't subscribe to their method [and it always costs money] of doing transcripts.

It isn't true.

A transcript is simply a resume of your child's high school accomplishments. It should include classes taken, grades given and some other basic information. It does not need to be in any particular format. It does not need to be done by a professional service. It does not take a genius. Simply put, it is a resume.

Now I am not saying that you don't have to keep decent records and have a high school plan so that your student has a well rounded education. What I am saying is that the transcript is just a recording of those classes your child has done. If you can keep records, you can make a wonderful transcript. Don't wait till the senior year to start trying to remember what courses your child did as a freshman--that will make you a wreck.

The secret to a good transcript, is to keep records as you go along. Assign grades as you go along and make course descriptions as you go along. It is not hard, it just takes keeping on top of writing down the records.

I once knew a lady whose son did not go to college. He went right to work and at the age of 28 decided to go into the military. They needed a high school transcript. She had never made one up, and he had graduated from their homeschool 10 years earlier. Now that is a reason to panic! She was scrambling to find records, try to remember what he had done and so forth. It was not fun! So, even if you child is not going to college or the military, please--create a transcript so that if they do need it down the road you will have an accurate resume of what they accomplished while they were in your homeschool.


I also recommend the book, Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook, by Cafi Cohen. It has a lot of good information that can help with transcripts and a lot more. If you would like a sample of what I created for my children's transcripts, email me jevely@sonlight.com.

I have other high school blog posts as well and you can find them here.

• Transitioning to College from Literature Based Learning
• Using Dictation with High School Students
• High School Transcripts and Course Descriptons-- Not as scary as you think...
• High School Credits for Sonlight Cores
• Grading High School Work-Contract for Grade

Take care,
Jill

High School Transcripts--Not as scary as you think...

I talk to lots of moms and dads every year who ask about transcripts. They are not just concerned, but many are actually very worried about this aspect of homeschooling. There are all kinds of books, classes and lectures that focus on transcripts and getting into college, and many are very good, but this post is just to give you the basics. If you want more information, I suggest you might want to get the Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook

In my experience, with our two homeschool graduates, it is not something to stress out over. Do not let the thought of making transcripts keep you from the joy of homeschooling your high school student. My homemade transcripts were not questioned by the state universities and Christian College my kids applied to. But, I do have some helpful hints:

• Keep REALLY good records, starting in 9th grade, or 8th grade if you child is doing high school level courses such as Algebra, a foreign language, Biology, etc. I suggest keeping a spread sheet with the course title, the text or books used, authors and publisher, and a course description. I will put a simple course description at the end of this post.
  
• If it is a course that is more hands on or does not use a traditional textbook, then you might want to keep a record of time spent on the course. For example, for a class like "Fine Arts" you might want to record events and times at the events over the course of all 4 years. You could include trips to art museums, attendance at music events and so forth. Over the course of 4 years this could be enough hours to count for 1/2 to 1 credit. A regular traditional school credit is generally equal to 140-150 hours. Most people figure since it takes less time to school using a tutorial method, it would be about 120 hours of homeschool time to count for one credit. This can vary, but this would be a fair estimate.
• Every quarter or at least every semester, award a letter grade to the course.
• Contact the colleges or universities you are interested, or at least go on their website to see what they want courses they want to see incoming freshmen have. I would do this when my child is in late middle school and check at least annually. Gear your 4 year high school plan so that you include what they want to see.
• Make up a transcript-you can email [jevely@sonlight.com] me for a sample- and keep it current. If you do this at the end of 9th grade and update it annually, it will a fairly simple thing to do. If you wait till your child is applying to colleges, it can get overwhelming. I used a combination of an Excel spread sheet and a Word document. You can find samples on-line or in the Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook
  
• Remember transcripts can look many, many different ways. Every school district does theirs different, so there is more than one right way. You can organize the credits by year or by topic--for instance putting all the English credits together. Either way is acceptable.
• Generally, all transcripts needs a cumulative GPA, a chart for telling what point value you give to each letter grade, an official signature, the name and address of the school, name and address and birth date of child and it must be dated. Check with the colleges you are interested in to see what they require if you have any hesitation. The admission officers are looking for a reason to accept your child, so they are very helpful.
  
• Remember, you child's transcript is like a resume. It should include all classes as well as a listing of extra curricular activities-these are generally included on a separate sheet, with the actual list and grades of classes all on one sheet.
• Keep a copy of everything you send in. Also, keep a copy of your child's best written work, term papers, a sampling of math work, and other work, just in case you need to show a portfolio. We were not asked, but you would be wise to keep a sampling, just in case.

If you have further questions, please email me or ask here. bluegrassjill@gmail.com


Sample Course Descriptions:

Algebra 1
1 Credit
An interactive course emphasizing the understanding of Algebra and Algebraic terms and concepts. Topics include real number system, number theory, algebraic expressions and sentences, linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, operations with polynomials, relations and functions, graphing equalities and inequalities, radical expressions, factoring polynomials and systems of equations.

Geometry
1 Credit
This course covers the applications of geometric relationships and principles. Topics include a wide variety of constructions with compass work, inductive reasoning, points, lines, planes, angles, triangles, similarity and congruence, circles, three dimensional geometry, area, volume, trigonometry, and coordinate geometry. Understanding and real life application emphasized.

Personal Fitness/Physical Education
1 Credit
This course revolves around competitive swimming including, but not limited to: extensive practice and instruction, proper stroke formation, understanding of rules, participation in conference competitions, sportsmanship and teamwork.

Conversational Spanish
.5 credit
An interactive course emphasizing conversational Spanish with native Spanish speakers. Particular emphasis on listening and understanding basic Spanish phrases and words.

Social Studies
1 Credit
This course explores the foundations of other cultures, including their economics, geography, governments, religions and histories. This study is taught through a thorough look at Eastern Hemisphere countries. It utilizes map and encyclopedia work, as well as extensive literature, video clips, and in-depth look at how different societies and cultures have changed over time. Special emphasis on critical thinking and understanding people who are different than us. Taught in conjunction with English I.

Intro to Computers
1 Credit
Introduction to basic computer skills. This class will teach basic keyboarding, how to use the printer, digital camera, access the internet, email, on-line research and other basic applications. It will also introduce the use of Excel Spread Sheets, Word and other common software. Ethical and privacy issues will be discussed, as well as web safety.

As a note of disclaimer: I am not any sort of authority on this subject. I am just one mom telling you what has worked for us. If what I have recommended is helpful, great--but you should read some books, ask some folks and talk to admission counselors if you have any questions. Also, I have heard that there is various software available to help you with transcripts, diplomas etc. Perhaps you may want to Google "homeschool software" and see what comes up.

For ideas on how to grade non-test subjects, you may want to read this post on Contract for Grade.
And for ideas on how to give credits for Sonlight Cores, you can go here.

For helpful no-cost brochures on Record Keeping, Developing a High School Plan, Planning for College or Work, a Timeline for Keeping onTrack and You Can Homeschool Through High School; click here.

[Pictures of our two youngest children who graduated from our homeschool]

Another blog post on transcripts.