In my post, Is Accreditation Necessary, I wrote about the current debate of accreditation in the homeschool community. Next, I wrote reasons to consider an accredited homeschool diploma. I also wrote about reasons you may want to avoid an accredited diploma.
This is a difficult debate for the homeschooling community. Many homeschoolers love the freedoms that they have to educate each child toward his or her individual strengths. Others, while appreciating that freedom, still want to be able to get help or reassurance that they are ‘doing it right’ in the form of accreditation. The safety net threatens homeschoolers who have paved the way on their own laurels. Still, accreditation while not absolutely necessary for homeschoolers in many cases may still be necessary for others.
For example, should a homeschooler choose to enter high school as a sophomore, without proof of credits the school may choose to enter the student as a freshman. Had that student’s freshman workload been overseen by an accreditation agency, a year would not have been wasted. (If you have no intention of putting your student back in high school, then this is not necessary).
Also, in the State of Georgia, many high school graduates qualify for a hope scholarship if they got to a state college. Homeschoolers however, are not eligible during their freshman year of college. Should they get a B average as a freshman, then they will receive the scholarship including for their first year. (Most homeschoolers however, do not mind waiting the year for the scholarship.)
Finally, there are still a few colleges that will not accept a parent written transcript as proof of college eligibility. If you know for sure that your child wants to attend one of these colleges, then you may want to consider and accredited diploma.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start with the 2006 homeschool blog in review!
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?