In the state of North Carolina you are required, as a homeschool, to keep attendance records, immunization records and your child's standardized test scores. You can print off an attendance sheet at the NCDNPE website by clicking here. Your doctor will provide you with your child's immunization record. As for the standardized test scores, no matter which test you use, you will always get a copy of how well your child scores. Sounds simple, right?
There are other records that are implied when we say 'record keeping'. For example, a daily planner to know what your child is doing each day or how much they've accomplished in a week's time. Do you keep grades or just mark an assignment as completed? What should you save and what can be thrown away? These questions plague many a homeschool mom so let's address them one at a time:
A daily planner: This is a must for any homeschool family but it doesn't have to be something wild, complicated or expensive. You can buy a standard day planner and use that or buy one that is specifically made for homeschooling. Some mom's simply use a notebook and that works just fine. There are computer programs that you can purchase or you can download a FREE program from homeschooltracker.com. If using the day planner, you can list your child's assignments and merely check them off as you go. Not all planners have a section for grades to be kept. The computer programs are a nice perk because not only can you type in your child's assignments, but you can also type a grade in when they are done and then the program can generate report cards with your child's grade averages. Find what works for you and remember, sometimes simpler is better - particularly if you have younger children.
What can stay and what can go? That is your choice. Some parents save all of the tests, reports and special projects their children have done for several years whereas others discard everything at the end of each year. The choice is yours. You can accumulate a lot of paper throughout a school year so the best advise would be to just keep the things that are important - daily worksheets and the like are not really necessary to keep.
To grade or not to grade? Grades are pretty important in the high school years for transcript purposes, other than that, again, the choice is yours to make. If you like to have grades on your papers or if you do a report card for your child then that is great; however, if you choose to not use a number or letter grade while your child in the elementary or middle school grades, that is fine, too.
You are your school's administrator and as such you should run your school in a way that is to your liking and easy for you to do.
Comments
Thanks for the link to the attendance record. It reminded me that I needed to print one out.
Very well said. We don't really do grades. We learn and don't move on until it's learned- that is one of the things that is so great about homeschool. It's always neat to see the yearly test scores, though, just to see where your child is at. But, most homeschoolers do well on those I am sure! :o)
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