Documenting Your Learning

April 26, 2013
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Documenting Your Learning–Diploma, GED, or Portfolio?
Whether you are an unschooleror 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.