CHOIS Connection is published quarterly by Christian Homeschoolers Of Idaho State.
This article appeared in a previous issue.
CHOIS Connection
CHOIS Tidbits
by Linda Patchin
"Beating the Records"
Fall 2009
Have you made any NEW YEAR resolutions? As this school year begins we all have an opportunity to start fresh once again. One of my goals is to do a better job with record keeping.
Why should an Idaho home educator keep records? Diane Kummer, the high school coordinator with Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) says, "You may never know how important records are until someone asks for them." The list of who might someday ask to see them includes the following; colleges, employers, scholarship applications, professional licensure, public or private schools you may someday wish to enroll your child in, or another state's laws should you ever move. If you are ever so unfortunate as to be involved in a court case challenging your homeschool, courts often assume that good record keeping equals a good education. Your records will prove that you are in compliance with state standards, and show officials that you take your child's education seriously. Your child is counting on you, as their school registrar, to be the keeper of the records. Finally, though it's tempting to think that records are kept for someone else's benefit, in reality, steady record keeping will make your own life easier in the long run.
What sort of records should an Idaho home educator keep? While our current education statute does not require record keeping or assessments, it is always wise to keep a healthy paper trail. HSLDA suggests the following as minimal record keeping standards, and they also recommend that you keep these annual records for a minimum of three years, with high school records being kept permanently.
- Daily Attendance
- Log of daily hours spent on different subjects, lists of curriculum used, subjects taught, and grades given; work samples, including tests; immunization and other medical records; standardized test scores.
- Letters or other documentation from authorities and government officials.
- High school transcript; SAT or ACT scores
- Lists of extracurricular activities, volunteer work, job experience and skills.
- Reading lists
- Resume
- Certification or licenses your student has received
Overwhelmed? Don't be! While this list sounds intimidating, it really is not, especially when it is broken down into bite-sized pieces. Remember that old saying, "eat an elephant one bite at a time?" The same holds true for beginning a record keeping habit. Here are just a few examples of what record keeping looks like in my home. I have also included a few ideas on the areas that I hope to improve on this year.
The most basic form of record keeping that I have employed is a teacher's daily lesson planner. I spend time in the summer writing in the days that we plan to do school, leaving room for vacations and holidays and birthdays off. I shoot for somewhere around 180 days of instruction per school year. That gets broken down into 36 weeks with five days of instruction per week. Some subjects are easy to plan in advance, and I pencil them in for daily lessons. Some subjects only require a broad outline that I can fill in as we progress through the year, but it still helps me to have some rough estimate plans on paper so that I reach my goals in a timely fashion.
The lesson planner that you select should have a simple enough format that your children can understand it after a simple explanation, which will provide them with an opportunity to learn how to monitor their own pace and progress. As assignments are completed, they can be crossed off, and at that point the planner becomes a daily progress report detailing what has been accomplished. The planner that I have always used has a space to record grades on course-work assignments and tests, as well as a place to record quarterly and semester final grades.
I keep detailed notes to myself written on my used lesson planners, while work is in progress. These notes and used planners become a template; make organizing a subsequent child's lessons in that grade a snap.
Another record keeping device that I have found invaluable is a filing cabinet and record folders. Each of my children has a variety of folders. In hindsight, I wish I would have color coded each child's folders so that I could tell by the color whose folder I was pulling out of the file.
One of the folders that each of my children has is a file that contains nothing but annual IOWA test scores and the information that comes back with the scores. I stick the score strips on the outside, one grade beneath another for ease of reference. During high school years, this folder may also contain Summa Cum Laude certificates, and Who's Who nominations. This paperwork is necessary for verification for honors cords when graduation time rolls around. This file eventually contains PSAT, SAT, and ACT test results as well. When it is time to begin writing transcripts, filling out college and scholarship applications and resumes, this one file is priceless.
A second folder contains awards and certificates from Kindergarten to college. Swimming advancements, certificates of completion, ceremony, play and recital programs, news clippings, and more, all have their place in this file.
A third folder contains an annual list of textbooks used and books read. This folder is also invaluable when it comes time to graduate. Typical high school transcripts do not contain this information, but I recently had to provide this information from ninth to twelfth grade for the NCAA Clearinghouse for an athletic scholarship. My son did not gain an interest in that particular sport until high school, and did not participate on a team until his senior year. If I would not have maintained this folder diligently, I could have been faced with the nightmare of trying to recapture what he had done for the previous four years at the end of his senior year. This folder spared my sanity. By the way, the NCAA Clearinghouse required not only the title of each textbook used, but also the publisher.
A fourth folder contains medical records. Copies of x-rays and lab reports, immunization records, and insurance information can all be found in one handy location. I wish that I would have kept a chart of their height and weight, and an annual photo in this file as well.
Learning portfolios are an additional step that some states require, and some home educators like to make and keep as a school memento. They can be simple or elaborate, and generally provide work samples, tests, writing assignments, significant time and labor intensive projects, and more. I am thankful that they are not required in our state, but in some ways I wish that I would have gone to the effort anyway. What a priceless treasure these portfolios would someday be as we and our children look fondly back at the years spent in our home schools.
Let me conclude by saying that I have never met an Idaho home educator who would admit to doing a fantastic job of record keeping. Most of us are uncomfortable with the sloppy habits that we have developed over the years, and we honestly strive each year to do a better job. May we never be content with minimal personal standards!
The best record keepers I know live in Pennsylvania where their state requirements are so stringent that parents spend on average a half hour per child, per week on record keeping alone. These logs/portfolios must be presented to a certified teacher or a licensed psychologist annually so that they can evaluate the student's work. The evaluator must interview the student and review the log and portfolio to see whether the child has made sustained progress in the overall homeschool program. The evaluator will then write a report certifying that appropriate education is occurring. This evaluation and the portfolio must then be submitted to the superintendent of the school district.
While I hope that Idaho never adopts the practices of Pennsylvania, I stand in awe of the dedication and industriousness of Pennsylvania parents. I pray that they will someday experience some of the incredible freedom that we in Idaho cherish, and sadly, take for granted. Let us each strive to be more diligent in our efforts, so that we can be self-regulating, and so that others do not feel an overwhelming desire to do the regulating for us.
Linda Patchin, and her husband, Paul, have three homeschool graduates and their youngest son is a homeschooled high school student. They hope you have a record-breaking record-making year.
