What does NCLB (No Child Left Behind) have to do with homeschooling?  After all, homeschooling is exempt from NCLB.  The regulations set forth by NCLB are all directly tied to federal funding and homeschools are not federally funded, so why should you care?

The pressure of the testing that is directly related to  NCLB not only stresses out the kids, but it makes otherwise wonderful teachers virtually ineffective.  They are pressed to "finish the book."  They don't have time to stop at the teachable moments.  And teaching to individual learning styles?  Unless that learning style involves filling in a bubble with a #2 pencil, you may as well throw that out the window.  It's not necessarily what teachers choose to do, it's just what they are left with.

Is it any wonder so many families are choosing to homeschool?  Homeschoolers do what NCLB was designed, in principle, to do:  Not leave any children behind.  Homeschoolers teach a topic or a skill and you work on it until it is mastered.  In 2003, it was estimated that 1.1 million children were homeschooled. That number is undoubtedly growing.

Evaluating progress is not, in itself, a bad thing.  It's the manner in which it is occurring that is disturbing to me.  NCLB wants parents to "know that their children are learning."  But the testing doesn't test what they have learned.  Take a look around this site to see what I mean:  http://www.fairtest.org/facts/whatwron.htm.  However, some states, such as Alaska require homeschooling students to take standards-based assessment tests.  If these children are taking the same test that the public school children are taking, what is the difference?  The difference lies in the fact that the homeschooled children have not been "taught the test."  And parents, then, have an opportunity to see the results year to year and adjust to their individual child instead of having to make broad generalizations about children who won't even be learning with you the next school year.

Something many people are unaware of is the fact that there are not any federally recognized national standards.  There are many organizations (such as the National Council of Teacher of English) who have written "voluntary" standards, but NCLB does not actually define what schools are supposed to be teaching.  They just want schools to be held accountable for whatever it is that they are teaching.  Nearly every state has a different assessment test.  This is why:  Each state lays out their own set of standards (often based on the recommended or voluntary standards of teaching organizations).  And then, in many states, each district writes their own scope and sequence to meet those state standards.

So, what is the correlation then, between homeschooling and NCLB?  Because in most states, some type of reporting to the state is required. Homeschools are already regulated under state law. While section 9506 of the NCLB Act protects the rights of homeschools, religious schools, and private schools, state officials often have to be reminded that this is the case.  It is important that homeschooling parents, especially those just starting out are aware of their rights.  How, then, do homeschoolers know that they are getting the "right" content to their children?  Some don't follow any of that and prefer to let their child lead their own learning.  Some, however, would like a little more structure, especially in states where there is no "homeschooling law" present.  The best comprehensive guide I have found that covers all age groups (preschool-grade 12) can be found at http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum.  But my best piece of advice would be to choose a curriculum that works for you and your homeschooler.

I am often asked for recommendations on books or websites that can help with  high school credits?  I bought myself one high school book a year, and considered it part of my curriculum expenditures. I started with Barb Shelton High School FormULA, and it was pretty good. She leans a lot on the unschooler approach - less structured approach, I should say. Lots on how to write up your high school experience after the fact, a lot about learning naturally in high school.

She does seem to like forms, though. I always thought it was interesting that someone who was so into what appeared to be a go-with-the-flow style in curriculum would be a bit uptight about record keeping! She has tons of forms and stuff, lots of intricate stuff on how to make grades. I didn't use that stuff. But her overall theory of "write it after you do it" was helpful. She has a very VERY personal writing style - like she's just emailing you.

I also liked Mary Schofield's book The High School Handbook. She had some great course descriptions that I used a LOT in writing my own. It was a little less scary than Shelton's book, because there were fewer forms to fill out. She has quotes from a variety of homeschoolers using different techniques, but her advice is more concrete and straightforward, as if she's a textbook homeschooler. I got a lot out of her book.

Cathy Duffy's High School Curriculum Manual is good for choosing curriculum, and deciding what courses you should have. She doesn't go into the construction of a portfolio, however.

And I love Cafi Cohen's book on College Admission.

Of course, my favorite book now is the one I wrote!  "Setting the Records Straight" covers how to make both homeschool transcripts and a comprehensive record.  Check it out.

We have to ask ourselves what we are assessing when we give a child a failing grade. This is a hot topic amongst homeschoolers who tend to take a critical view of the school system. Schools are reluctant to assign a failing grade to young children and I have heard many parents bemoan the fact that kids are getting away with something by not failing. They see it as missing a natural consequence for their behavior. But is it the school's job to assess behavior?

Let's say the subject is LA and the project is to write a paragraph. If the child doesn't do it, we might give her an F grade. Are we saying that she cannot write a paragraph or that she is lazy? Are we giving her an F in skill or in effort? Maybe she has a bad disposition. so are we are giving her an F in attitude? Let's say she hands it in two weeks late. Do we give her an F for not having the assignment in on time? But suppose that it is an A paper? Now, is the F because she cannot meet the student learning outcome of writing a paragraph or is she getting an F in time management?

Therein lies the problem. The school's job is to teach the subject matter and there are certain student learning outcomes that must be met. The child should be able to write a sentence, use periods at the end of sentences, write a paragraph, etc. Schools assign work so that children can demonstrate that they are able to meet the objectives. Whether or not the child is lazy, has a bad attitude or poor time management is beside the point.

You might find a lawyer who aced the bar exam but who has lousy ethics. They are separate issues. The lawyer might be fantastic in the courtroom. You still may not want to hire this person because of poor character, but that doesn't change the fact that he or she is good at the job.

I have struggled with this issue for years because I thought the same way as many people, "How does not getting an F prepare the child for the 'real world'? The answer is that it doesn't necessarily and nor does it have to.

The school can't be everything to everyone and cover all the bases. They have a specific mandate and that is to teach subject matter and skills. It is not the school's job to instill morality and ethics in our kids; that's still our job, whether or not we homeschool. It's up to parents and the church to teach morals, ethics, behavior, life skills, etc. I think that it's unfair to put all of that on the school system and to criticize them for a crumbling society. We all bear responsibility.

To be fair, the school must assess student learning outcomes. If a child can write a perfect paper but hands it in three weeks late, the school must assess whether or not the child can write a paper, not whether or not he or she is responsible and manages time well.

When kids tick us off and we want to teach them a lesson, we have the power to give them a failing grade, but to be fair to them and to our system, we must ask the question, "What are we really grading with this F?"

Dianne Dachyshyn is a freelance writer and a motivational speaker who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  She works as a home education facilitator, helping homeschooling families plan their programs and deal with challenges.  Dianne is passionate about teaching children to write.  Visit her website at HomeschoolWell.com.

When my sons were 15 and 18, we decided to try to earn some college credit using CLEP exams.  We thought this would help defer college costs and also make our time at community college (dual enrollment) more productive.  Surprisingly, we discovered that sometimes community colleges accepted fewer CLEP exams than 4 year universities.  In our case, the university we were aiming for would accept a year's worth of credit by CLEP, but our local community college only accepted two CLEP exams.  That meant that we couldn't combine CLEP and dual enrollment to make a AA degree.

What we did instead was to very carefully pick and choose classes from the community college that were perfect matches for our first choice university. In other words, some math courses transferred and some didn't, and we were careful to choose only classes that would transfer into the university for their degree.

However, it also meant that my boys didn't actually start the university with an AA degree. If you don't start the university with an AA degree, then there are certain prerequisite course that you have to take. My kids are required to take 6 prerequisite classes at the university instead of the 3 prerequisite classes they would have been required if they had an AA degree. That will vary depending on the university you are considering.

If they had gotten an AA degree from community college, then there were some classes they would have had to take that I didn't want for them.  Like diversity classes with controversial content. I'm glad we didn't go that route. I had to be really careful about my 15 yo started college, so we didn't expose him to too much adult content.

You’ve seen them, and so have I.  We’ve all received ads delivered to our in boxes suggesting we can be awarded (read that purchase) various degrees.  Once we possess the degree, we can move easily into the school or profession of our choice.  Barriers to entrance are flattened.  Diplomas mills, as these are called, are everywhere.  And the U.S. Department of Education is taking action!

Effective 2011, the U.S. Department of Education is requiring colleges that receive federal funds to adopt procedures to determine the validity of a student’s high school diploma when the student applies for Federal Aid through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Does this new rule apply to students who are home schooled?  No, which is good news!  If you plan to complete a FAFSA this winter, we recommend that students who are home schooled check “home schooled” to avoid delays in the processing of their application.

What about students enrolled in a diploma program?  For the time being, we also recommend checking the “home schooled” box simply because there is bound to be confusion as colleges establish “procedures” and the U.S.Department of Education creates “lists” identifying “valid” (not necessarily accredited) diploma program options. Everybody knows (even though some are unwilling to admit) that bureaucracies are not known for their speed and adroitness.

For those of you completing a college application (not to be confused with a FAFSA) and are enrolled in a diploma program such as NCCA we recommend identifying the school you are graduating from.  FAFSA’s and college applications are separate entities.

Among the reasons colleges like to see that a student has received a diploma from a legitimate diploma program are:

• The student’s academic record is presented clearly and concisely by means of a transcript
• Increased credibility of the student’s record of achievement
• The ease of being able to determine scholarships the student may be eligible for based upon the transcript’s GPA and SAT or ACT scores

In addition to the above, many parents decide to enroll into a diploma program in order to:

• Benefit from the life experience of a mentor who has gone “before you”
• Receive professional, academic advice
• Request letters of reference from the student’s academic advisor
• Help ease the entrance into college

Hopefully, the above information clarifies the recent action taken by the U.S. Department of Education.  Expect additional communications as this new policy is implemented.

TEST!  This word strikes fear into the hearts of many a child.  For that matter, a lot of adults experience a mild form of post-traumatic stress when they hear that four-letter word.  Testing, or assessment of what your child has learned does not have to be a stomach-churning, fear-inducing event.  The use of multiple assessment methods is becoming increasingly popular in both public schools and home schools.

The use of multiple assessments has come to the forefront because of the acknowledgment of the diverse learning styles of our children.  Some people (myself included) love taking standardized tests and essay tests.  However, between having children of my own, and my own experiences as a teacher, I have learned that I was probably in a pretty small percentage of the population.  Because of this, it's important to remember that the goal of the assessment is to find out what your child has learned.  It's okay to use some variety in going about obtaining that information.

Some of the assessment tools that I have found to be helpful are as follows:

• Use a rubric - Discuss the rubric with your child before the assignment or project is completed.  This way your child will know exactly what is expected of him.
• Portfolios - Keep a record of your student's work over time to gauge progress.
• Performance evaluation - Have your child do a laboratory experiment, write and perform a skit, or create a model to show what they have learned.
• Traditional assessment - This isn't always a bad choice.  And it's a good life-skill to be able to answer questions in essay form or multiple-choice.
• Graphic Organizers - Instead of writing out long paragraphs, have your child show you what she has learned by filling out a graphic organizer, concept map, or Venn diagram.

There are so many ways to evaluate whether or not your child or student is retaining information from the lessons that you present to them.  You can find several assessment methods on this website:  http://www.csus.edu/indiv/r/rodriguezm/373bspring06/multiple_methods_of_assessment.htm.    Remember, to mix it up.  Testing doesn't have to be boring.  Your goal as the parent or educator is to find out what your child or student has learned so that you can go back and re-teach something that may have been missed.  Testing should be an extension of learning, not a source of stress.

Here are five reasons why we reluctantly use published tests and some follow-up responses.

Reason #1: We feel insecure.  Even though home schooling has become more and more mainstream, we still realize we’re not trained professionals, and we don’t want to risk ruining our children’s education by trying something too “out of the box.” We play it safe and stay with the “tried and true.”

Response: Feeling insecure is normal when you don’t have the “proper papers.” While it seems to go away with time, it returns when our students enter their high school years.   Years ago I began my teaching career in a private school without having completed my Bachelor of Arts Degree, let alone my teaching credential.  I hoped my students’ parents would not ask about my university training, and when they did, I changed the subject as quickly as I could.  As a non-degreed/certified teacher, my insecurities were eased by finding good teacher mentors to help me and give me feedback.  Our high school diploma program was born out of such concerns.  My recommendation is to seek out home school mentors.

Reason #2: We assume that book publishers know what they’re doing.  We say to ourselves, they are the professionals, and we are just the laymen.  They have the inside scoop on pedagogy, and we’re not even sure how to pronounce that word.

Response: Yes, professional educators and text book publishers do know things we don’t.  My recommendation is to use the teacher guides that come with the textbooks.  However, we need to see them as tools, not another set of the “Ten Commandments.” Many teacher guides were designed for teachers in classrooms of 25 plus students.  Don’t minimize your own ability to improvise on a lesson.  For most mothers, every day is a day of improvising, course correcting, and multi-tasking.

Reason #3: We tend to teach how we were taught, and we test the same way.

Response: Like we were taught, before Google.  My recommendation is that for tests that are memory intensive and scheduled to be taken frequently, cut out some of the questions, maybe up to half.  Which half you ask? The “footnote” questions, the ones you could only find the answer to if you spent a lot of time in the index of the book, the ones whose answers bear little significance to getting the main idea of the chapter or section — these all should get the ax!   Again, our diploma program advisors walk their clients through this process.  Additionally, study sheets and oral reviews help students know what the test is targeting.  More on this in an upcoming article.

Reason #4: Published tests are easy to score.  Simply bring out the answer key, and in minutes you’re done.  Evaluating answers to essay questions is another story, and so we keep them to a minimum or exclude them altogether.

Response: True!  I like tests that are fast and easy to score tests.  We all experience time pressure. Tests that use primarily true-false, multiple choice, and matching items yield a quick score, and most students like their parents to tell them how they did in a reasonable amount of time.  But, I’m suggesting we move away from tests in which seventy to eighty percent of the items are fact based. That means using questions that require the student write a paragraph or more to answer.  How is this to be graded?  I recommend using a point system to quantify answers.  Here’s one way to do this:

• When evaluating the student’s response to a question, award the following:

4-5 points for good to excellent answers
3-4 points for adequate answers
1-2 incomplete answers

• Add up the number of points earned and divide it by the number points possible, and you’ll get a percent which you can use to justify a grade.

Reason #5: Publishers produce and sell what consumers buy, and we buy their tests.

Response: This is just simple economics. But what if you want to change how you measure understanding?  As the saying goes, “You can’t be something with nothing.”  Four different products we offer go beyond basic memorization.  While they do involve some recitation of facts, they also include questions that require comprehension, the ability to analyze, and the ability to evaluate.

Asking questions that extend student’s thinking and understanding must be done intentionally.  While it may be difficult and time consuming at first, with practice, it gets easier.  In future articles, I’ll present and explain six levels of thinking that you can put to use immediately to check your student’s understanding beyond their ability to parrot facts back to you.

I've been thinking about learning assessments lately. One reason this topic has been on my mind is because of a recent forum discussion that I took part in. Someone had complained that schools were no longer giving F's and that this was another indication of the poor quality of public education. If the child's work deserves it, give them F's, some demanded! Other parents agreed that withholding a failing grade was a lousy way to prepare kids for the "real world". I do not agree with that viewpoint and I said so in my posts.

Another reason that I've been mulling it over is that my job as a homeschool facilitator requires me to assign grades to my homeschooling students. Even as a classroom teacher, I have struggled with learning assessments, but I find it even more challenging as a facilitator when I am not the person spending the time teaching the child.

A Frustrating Topic

I have tossed this topic around for decades and it never fails to upset and challenge me. As a mother, I want to always tell my kids how amazing they are and what a wonderful job they have done, but I know from experience that my words don't always reflect the truth. Sometimes they haven't done an awesome job. As both a mother and a teacher, I also know that I have sometimes used bad grades to penalize children, to get even for whatever they have done to irritate me. I also know that there is an ugly part of me that loves pouncing on spelling, punctuation and grammar errors and I need to keep the safety on my red pen. I get a certain satisfaction from finding and circling every tiny error that I can find on a page. I know from experience that this does not instill a love of learning nor a desire to try again, yet like a addict, I continue to do it.

Teachers Hate Report Cards and Parents Dislike Marking Papers

Ask any classroom teacher about report cards and you will hear a groan. I've never met one who enjoys writing them. Ask any homeschooler how she feels about marking her children's work and you will likely hear just as big a groan, especially when it comes to subjects like language arts and social studies, those areas that don't typically have right and wrong answers. Marking a math test is one thing; grading a short story is a completely different matter.

More Questions Than Answers

There are so many questions and I am the first to admit that I do not have all the answers. Why do we assess? What, how much and how do we assess? Do we give grades? Do we use percentages, letter grades, descriptors, comments, anecdotal notes? Should we ever give a failing grade? What is the purpose of an F? How do we determine a grade? Is it objective or subjective? Do the kids know how they are being graded or do we keep our criteria a secret and try to catch them "in the act"? How meaningful and valuable are grades? Do they make a difference? What exactly is the point?

Let's Keep the Discussion Rolling

These are all questions that we ask as we try to wrestle this beast called learning assessments. I have been gleaning a lot on this topic lately in future articles, I will be sharing my thoughts. I would love to hear comments from you. Should homeschoolers even consider grading their children's work? What do you think is the point? Or do you think there is one?

So have you been thinking about the purpose and value of learning assessments? I thought that I would allow some time for our ideas to percolate before continuing the discussion that I began in a previous article. I have been contemplating this topic a lot, especially this past week as I prepared report cards for some of my students.

In educational circles these days, we often hear the terms assessment of learning and assessment for learning. The first few times I heard these terms, I thought that they were just educational jargon--mumbo jumbo that had little meaning. I was wrong.

Assessment of learning is what most of us do when we mark someone's work. We "correct" it, looking for errors. We circle and cross things out, draw arrows, make some asterisks or exclamation marks and scratch a solid red x beside each mistake. We total the number of correct answers and calculate a percentage or a letter grade. We may write comments such as, "Sloppy, try harder, you can do better or show your work!" Occasionally we might write, "Good work, good try or better luck next time!" We might even slap a sticker or a star on the paper before handing it back to the student.

Then we record the mark in our book and next week we do it all over again. Is there any wonder that kids get discouraged? You really have to ask yourself, "What is the purpose of such learning assessments?" All they really accomplish is to label the child as a winner or a loser.

We justify this process by telling ourselves that we need to point out children's errors so as to help them improve, but studies have shown that marking work in such a way has no positive impact on learning. In other words, pointing out one's errors does nothing to motivate that person to improve. The only kids who love having their work marked this way are the keeners who are almost guaranteed to have few errors. For them, getting their work back is a great ego trip. For the kid whose paper looks as if it has been dipped in a vat of red ink, there is nothing positive or motivating about it.

Studies prove that if a person receives a piece of work back containing a grade and comments, that the comments are completely ignored. The only thing grabbing the person's attention is the mark. So we can stop wasting our time drawing lines and arrows and making comments about how the child can improve. The only thing that will be noticed will be the grade and that does nothing to help anyone improve. Case closed. The grade tells children how they rank and that's all.

Assessment for learning is a different kettle of fish. The purpose of these learning assessments is to give positive feedback to guide and coach children to success. This is when we might say, "I love your title! It's so expressive and it draws in the reader. Now let's see if we can work on making the first sentence just as exciting! What do you think is missing?" Assessment for learning means pointing children in the right direction while giving them credit for having come as far as they have already.

Do you see the difference? One builds up; the other tears down. When you come right down to it, assessment of learning is not assessing the child at all. It is assessing the teacher. If the child does not understand the material and does not know how to answer the questions correctly or write the piece adequately, the buck stops with us. It's up to us to coach kids to success.

Ah, success! How do we define it? That's the topic of another discussion. Next time. Until then, try limiting your assessment of learning and instead begin assessing for learning. Transform yourself from a judge and critic to a coach and cheerleader. It will make a world of difference in your homeschool.

When I was making my transcript, I worked at it during the END of each school year. Some of the things we fully intended to do never actually happened. At the end of the year I would be aware of the classes we would complete, so I would insert them at that time, work on the course descriptions in the spring (right about now) and then add the final grades and details in June, when we were done. I didn't choose to use semester grades, I just had the final grade at the end of the class. It just fit my homeschool better - since I didn't do a lot of real "grading" it seemed to make sense to just have one big grade at the end. Other homeschools do it differently.

For packaging, we laid the one piece transcript on top of the spiral-bound comprehensive record. On top of that I had a cover letter explaining what it contained and the student that it was meant for. I put that into a large manila envelope. Only one college wanted my transcript sealed, so they were the only one that got it sealed. They wanted the transcript in a sealed envelope with the "principal's signature" on the seal of the envelope. So I did that for them - it didn't hurt anything after all. But when I got ready to mail that transcript, I had a sudden moment of panic - had I put Kevin's transcript in Alex's application? Opened them both up, yes I had mixed them (in my own defense, they were both applying to four schools, so I did actually have 8 applications in front of me at the moment, LOL!) I fixed the problem, resealed the envelop, and resigned it. I'm not sure how a sealed envelope helped them.

Each college will want their applications submitted in their own unique way. I encourage parents to conform to the wishes of the college, as long as they don't ask you to compromise your values in any way. If they want an official school envelope, then print an envelope on your computer saying "Official Home School" with your home address. If they want it sealed, then seal it. Notarized? Notarize it at the library for free! Whatever they want, that's how you do it. Of course, that means you have to read the fine print.