High School Evaluation of Academic Work
Foundational Information | Grading | Standardized Testing | College Entrance Testing | State Legal Requirements
Foundational Information
Systematic Grade Submission
- Consistent informal and formal evaluation (questioning, homework, quizzes, tests, projects) must be implemented to determine whether course objectives are being met.
- These evaluations result in objective grades—precise descriptions of a student's level of understanding and performance.
- Weekly grades need to be submitted each semester.
- More information is available in the BJU Press DVD Guidelines for Grading. Request a complimentary grading DVD (for enrolled AHE families only)
Finishing Textbooks
- The teacher/parent should be the key in making educational decisions that are based on students' individual needs and the classroom goals.
- It is not necessary to finish every textbook every year, but it is a wise goal.
- Curriculum is written to provide teachers a tool to meet personal, state, and national standards for learning, preparing the student for the next step of his education.
- Leaving out concepts can hinder future understanding of more complex concepts.
- Learning gaps can negatively affect achievement test results.
Locally Offered Technical Coursework
Since some homeschooled high school students take advantage of locally offered course work in technical areas, (such as driver education, introduction to computers, auto repair) credit may be earned in this manner and counted toward graduation requirements provided that credit is not also being applied to another institution.
Grading
- Since home schooling is under the instructional supervision of the home, all grades issued for work completed while enrolled in this program will be assigned by the parent/teacher.
- Grades are submitted to The Academy of Home Education at the end of each quarter for grades 1–8 and at the end of each semester for grades 9–12.
- A weekly grade must be provided for each course reported on the Grade Reporting Form. Courses taken outside the home do not require weekly grades and are reported by a transcript from the institution/teacher authorizing the class.
- All submitted grades become part of the student’s permanent record.
- Forms and instructions for reporting course grades are available online.
Standardized Testing
- A complete battery of nationally standardized achievement tests is required each spring. These tests should be ordered through the AHE office as they are provided as a part of the annual administrative fee.
- High school applicants and existing AHE students must take a learning abilities test and obtain a standard age score of at least 901.
- Each student is expected to maintain a stanine at or above the 5th stanine.
- The results of this testing will become part of the student’s permanent record and should support the weekly, quarterly, and semester grades.
*Tests for high school admission must be administered by an approved non-relative proctor.
College Entrance Testing
All students regardless of academic track will be required to take the ACT or the SAT.
These separate college entrance tests are conducted on predetermined sites only on specific days, so they are not available through our testing service. Details on location, cost, and dates are available on their websites: www.collegeboard.com (SAT) and www.actstudent.org (ACT).
ACT or SAT tests must be taken sometime before completion of the first semester of their senior year.
These scores (and PSAT and PLAN scores, if submitted) will be posted to their permanent record.
The ACT and SAT institutional number for The Academy of Home Education is 410-884 and must be used when registering for the tests.
Your State's Legal Requirements
The course of study outlined for students enrolled in The Academy of Home Education is designed to fulfill the general requirements nationwide, both at the elementary level and secondary education and a high-school diploma.
Since specific state requirements may vary from the prescribed course under this program, it is the responsibility of the parent/educator to see that his own state’s legal requirements are also satisfied.
Any state requirements that differ from the curricular track of The Academy of Home Education must be reported to the AHE office upon acceptance into the program.
HSLDA provides advice on individual state requirements.
1High school applicants (including those coming from grade eight within the program) must obtain a standard age score of at least 90 on a mental abilities test* and obtain overall standardized achievement test* scores that indicate readiness for ninth-grade work. If any stanine score in any academic area is below 5 on the achievement test, the student may be admitted on a conditional basis pending improvement in that area. This decision will be made upon the recommendation of our home school consultants.