Documenting Your
Learning--Diploma, GED, or Portfolio?
Whether you are an unschooler
or school-at-homer following a prescribed curriculum, if you plan to attend a
college, conservatory, service academy, or trade school when you're
"done" with high school, you will need to document your learning as
part of the application process. The best way to learn about any particular
school's application requirements is to visit that school's website, but most
schools will ask for some combination of these types of documentation:
•
Diploma, GED, or Portfolio
•
Standardized Test Scores
•
Grades from Community College or Online Classes
•
Transcript
•
Resumé
•
Reading List
•
Recommendations--Personal and Academic
Over the next few weeks, I'll write a little about each type of documentation, but this blog post focuses on Diploma/GED/Portfolio.
Accredited post-secondary schools generally require
either a state-endorsed diploma or a GED or a portfolio from their homeschooled
applicants.
Diploma
There are 2 general paths to a state-endorsed
diploma
☛ enroll in and complete the
requirements of a non-NJ accredited high school such as Clonlara School's
Home Based Education Program (Michigan) or
☛ if you are over 16, you can earn
a NJ state-endorsed diploma by completing the Thirty College Credit Program. This path
includes 30 General Education credits taken at an accredited college and earning a sufficient score on an assessment exam such as Accuplacer/SAT/ACT.
GED
General
Educational Development (GED) Tests may be taken by those 16 and
older (16-17 year olds need a parent's permission). The GED examines reading, writing, social studies, science, and mathematics skills. This path can also yield
a NJ state endorsed diploma. The GED is currently a paper-only exam, but in
Jan. 2014, the testing format will switch to computer-only.
Portfolio
If you don't choose to seek a diploma from an
accredited source or to take the GED, you'll want to compile a portfolio. A
portfolio is basically a representative sample of work you've done in high
school. It can be paper or electronic (e.g. a website), and its contents will
vary according to the post-secondary school's requirements, your areas of
interest during high school, and your intended course of study--students who
want to study art, music, engineering, or history would each want to highlight
different content in their learning portfolios.