Creating a Comprehensive High School Plan
Creating a comprehensive high school plan will help you feel confident that you’re meeting your student’s educational goals. Without it, you are left to wonder how you will fit everything in and if there are critical subjects you might be missing.
1. Multi-Year Planning
Start by printing this FREE Planning Template.
Next, pencil in the courses and activities that you envision your student completing in each of the grades. Begin by writing in courses that progress in a sequence, such as math. Adjustments will be made based on your student’s ability and interests in the last step.
Gather information by referring to your state’s home education statute to ensure you are fulfilling all requirements. I also encourage parents to review college admission requirements and recommendations from their local state university to ensure they are preparing their college-bound students for a seamless transition.
Elementary vs. Secondary Grades
There are a few distinctive differences between the elementary and secondary years that can be helpful to consider as you create a plan.
PreK – Grade 6 are the foundational years where you enjoy learning right alongside your student, teaching them the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Your student’s days are filled with play, visits to the library, short math lessons, and together you explore people, places, and ideas through your choice of resources.
Parents often have a general plan for the year, but each day is fluid and the pace is set by your student’s interests, development, and understanding.
Grades 7 – 12 require more direction and planning. The pace and content of the secondary years, while still taking cues from your student’s development, transitions to completing parent-directed courses that satisfy your graduation goals. Transcripts need to be prepared, college admission requirements met, and personal skills acquired to enter today’s job market.
In most states, you, as the homeschooling parent of your student, will set your own graduation requirements, create your own transcript, and certify your own homeschool high school diploma.
2. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Once you have drafted an initial plan, consider eliminating, rearranging, and adding courses based on the following suggestions.
Eliminate Repeating Subjects
Instead of having your student study a course with similar content in grades 7-8 and again in high school, consider eliminating the repeat. Pencil in the course just once, when your student is ready for the high school-level. For younger students with strong reading, comprehension, and vocabulary skills, this might be before ninth grade. For other students who aren’t ready to advance early, this may leave a hole in their schedule. Instead of repeating a subject with similar content, replace it with something different. For example, eliminate middle school U.S. History and replace it with a research project, or study of cultural geography, or a fine arts elective.
After eliminating repeated subjects, you might notice more white (free) space in your plan. Your student will thank you for that! Consider alternatives such as economics, psychology, worldview – or elective studies that coincide with your student’s interest such as music, art, computer technology, and robotics – then include skill-building courses such as career exploration, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. These courses are a welcome addition as you build a schedule that bridges education to vocation.
Bundle Like-Subjects
As you review the arrangement of your student’s courses, consider bundling like-subjects together. For example, have your student study American Government the same year he takes U.S. History. The two are so intertwined that it just makes sense to group them together. Focus all literature, field trips, family travels, volunteer activities, family movie selections, current events reading, and research assignments, around the topics of U.S. History and Government. Study it once, study it well, and move on! Your student’s knowledge will expand, and you may find planning to be more enjoyable. Do the same by planning World History and World Religions in the same year. Consider including ethnic cooking, geography studies, and missionary biographies, as part of that year’s studies.
Introduce CLEP and DSST Exams
With encouragement and guidance, students can use the same high school resources to prepare for CLEP or DSST exams. These are nationally-recognized exam programs that enable students to earn college credit by demonstrating competency in subjects often studied in introductory-level college courses. They are popular with homeschool families since students of any age can take these exams. Homeschool parents can add them as a final exam to their students’ high school-level studies. Exams cost less than $100 and can be taken at several local testing locations.
The time to introduce CLEP and DSST exams is when your student is ready to study at a high school-level. For some students, their comprehension and vocabulary will enable them to study at a high school-level in some subjects before grade 9. Start by reviewing your student’s plan and note which high school-level courses have a corresponding CLEP or DSST exam. Popular CLEP exam titles include U.S. History, Western Civilization (World History), Analyzing Literature, College Algebra (similar to Algebra 2), Composition, Biology, and Psychology. Two popular DSST exams that work well for younger students are World Religions and Environmental Science. Course guides specifically for these two subjects are available on my website.
Finding out about credit-by-exam changed the way we approached grades 7-12. Adding CLEP and DSST as final exams to courses my students were already studying provided additional incentive to study the subject well. Because they accumulated a significant amount of credit, they were able to graduate early and earn their bachelor’s degree for under $15,000. Not every college awards credit for these exams, so if you know the school your student will be attending, I recommend reviewing its policy. If you are not sure which school your student will attend, I recommend students take these exams alongside their high school courses. For more information, CreditsBeforeCollege.com/Getting-Started.
3. Customize Toward Your Graduation Goals
Consider Dual Credit Options
Many states have programs that allow qualifying students to enroll in post-secondary options to receive both high school and college credit concurrently. For parents considering this option, review your high school plan and adjust courses to account for classes you may want your student to take at an upper-level.
Teach Life Skills
Prepare your teen to step confidently into adult roles by customizing your student’s plan with an eye toward his/her post high school goals. For some, this next step is college. For others, it may be work, Bible school, travel, ministry, or military service. Help to make this step an easy transition for your student by teaching essential life skills such as home maintenance, personal well-being, and money management. Be intentional by including these life skills into your written plan. You can find a starting list at CreditsBeforeCollege.com/life-skills.
Foster Employment Skills
Think of grades 9-12 not just as the last four years of high school, but the first four years of a college or career plan. Give your student plenty of opportunities to develop employment skills by including volunteering, part-time jobs, and career-related internships in his/her schedule. Graduating with employment experience will enable your student to develop a resume and to make informed career decisions. Look for employers that will mentor your student. My most common recommendation is for students to work at a front-desk position where they learn to greet customers, practice first-impressions, and develop valued communication skills. It’s also exciting to see teens start their own businesses. I present options in my Career Exploration and Preparation curriculum for micro-business ideas, internships, and valuable volunteering.
4. Review and Revise
As each year comes to an end, review and revise your plan. Make adjustments based on your student’s progress and targeted pursuits. You are your student’s best advisor. Starting where you are today and following these steps will help you create a successful high school plan.
Additional High School Resources
- Learn more about resourcefully planning and ending the repeat between middle and high school with PART 2 of High School Planning
- Getting Started with CLEP Study Materials
- FREE CLEP Voucher from Modern States
- Career Exploration and Preparation with Capstone Project
- How to build a High School transcript
- Meet with Kristin
Copyright 2021 Cheri Frame
Home Schooling Questions and Answers
Cheri Frame is a certified Career Direct® Consultant and author of A Parent’s Guide to Credits Before College. She specializes in advising families on how to earn affordable college credits in high school, choosing a career, and graduating college debt free. She and her husband live in suburban Minneapolis.
