The high school transcript is an official document detailing a student's academic record. The transcript includes a list of courses, grades, GPA, credits, and test scores, along with an overview of honors, awards, and extracurricular activities.
An Official Transcript Form
In order to prepare transcripts for our homeschool, the internet was searched extensively and all pertinent information was compiled and organized into a concise two-page document. This form was used successfully in the college admissions process. You are welcome to utilize these blank copies of the form that we used.
High School Transcript Form - pdf
High School Transcript Form - doc
The Transcript as a Planning Tool
A blank transcript form may be used as a handy high school planning tool. Pencil in your student's required and elective courses for each year. Be sure to check state homeschooling requirements and possible college admission requirements.
Maintaining a Transcript
- Maintaining a transcript can be accomplished easily by updating the document on a regular basis.
- At the end of each quarter or semester during high school, transfer grades from report cards to the transcript (or simply add the grades to the transcript if your homeschool does not use report cards) and assign credits earned.
- Several resume entries relating to a similar activity or topic may be condensed into a single line on the transcript. For example, if on the resume several entries relate to 4-H, they may be condensed into one line on the transcript, such as "2010-2014 4-H Club".
- Record the highest test score obtained for each type of test.
- A transcript should not exceed
two pages in length; therefore, adjust font sizes, page margins, and table settings as needed.
- Keep a transcript for each student with your homeschool's permanent records.
College and Scholarships
The student's high school transcript is typically required for college admissions and scholarship applications. When applying to some colleges and universities, the Common Application is used. Having an up-to-date transcript will make the task relatively easy to transfer the required information to the online forms.
You Can Do This!
Yes, you can compile an official high school transcript for your homeschooled student.
- Download and/or print out a blank transcript form.
- Begin editing text and filling it in.
- Update the transcript on a regular basis.
- Customize the transcript according to your needs and preferences.
Sample Transcripts
The Home Scholar
Mary Baldwin College
Home School Incorporated
Eclectic Homeschool Online
Related Links
HSLDA
Donna Young
Oklahoma Homeschool
7 Sisters
Examiner
Extra Tip
Compile an elementary and/or middle school transcript for a younger
student as a way to practice for preparing the high school transcript...
and to document your student's early academic years as well.
Schedule school subjects and their corresponding resources by downloading and printing out the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) worksheets listed below. This convenient system will help you to successfully plan and customize your child's academic years, as well as to plan purchases of books and other materials.
Individual Learning Plan for Elementary doc
Individual Learning Plan for Elementary pdf
Individual Learning Plan for Middle School doc
Individual Learning Plan for Middle School pdf
Individual Learning Plan for High School doc
Individual Learning Plan for High School pdf
Assign Required Courses
Referring to your state's homeschooling and high school graduation requirements (see my previous post), assign required courses and electives to be taken each year on an ILP worksheet. Indicate which courses your student is to take each year and cross out any unused blocks. For example, a first-grade student might not take English, so the English block under the "1" would be crossed out.
For high school students, refer to the courses and credits needed to meet high school graduation requirements in your particular state or area, as well as any additional college admissions requirements, and assign each course to an ILP block. Minimum high school graduation requirements may not be sufficient to meet college admissions requirements, so be prepared for your student to take more than the minimum number of required high school courses if planning to attend college.
Scheduling high school courses takes a bit more thought since subjects may be taken all four years, a few years, only one year, one semester, or one quarter. For example, the high school science courses of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics could be taken in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, or with a break in between. Check for course pre-requisites and schedule them on the ILP accordingly. For example, completion of Algebra I may be a pre-requisite for a Chemistry course. When a subject is not taken every year, cross out any unused blocks. For example, Health and PE would probably not be taken all four years of high school, so the years that Health and PE are not taken would be crossed out.
Add Electives and Family Preferences
Add subjects to the ILP that your child and/or your family find interesting and important to learn about, such as Bible, Vegetable Gardening, Bicycle Maintenance, or Pet Care. In high school, elective courses may focus on college-prep and career-oriented subjects. The ILP worksheet will help you to evenly distribute and appropriately schedule all required and elective courses throughout the homeschooling years. As your student progresses, you will have the flexibility to make adjustments as needed.
Include Supplements
Think outside the books! Include an
interesting variety of educational games, kits, DVDs, CDs, field trips,
websites, projects, and activities to your child's ILP worksheet, too. When the blocks on the ILP worksheet get full, continue with notes on the back of the same page. If using the Word document on the computer, the table cells will expand as needed.
List Resources to Consider
Browsing homeschool catalogs? Shopping online? Going to homeschool conventions? Make a note of specific titles, publishers, item numbers, and prices of resources to consider purchasing for specific courses. Resources may include, but not be limited to, textbooks, workbooks, e-books, audiobooks, online courses, DVD courses, and dual-enrollment classes. Then, when the time comes, you will already have a collection of possible resources to choose from listed for each subject. This list will help to reduce impulse buying and over-spending! In the case that a particular resource doesn’t work out as expected, you will likely have other options already listed on the ILP worksheet.
You Can Do This!
This simple, thorough, and flexible planning system worked for us during our 12 years of homeschooling. Whether you use the ILP worksheets listed above, create your own, or plan by hand on notebook paper, the method you choose is not as important as the actual planning itself. The long term benefits of first getting the big picture, planning thoughtfully, and then focusing on the details will definitely be worth all your efforts.
