FAQ - Grading

How should I grade a Kindergartener?
How private are my student’s records?
What if he doesn't fall into just one grade level?
How often do I report grades?
Will I be receiving an email or some kind of record to keep showing completion of the school year?
How do I figure a GPA?
May I advance my student a grade level mid-year?
May my student(s) skip a grade?
May I hold a student back a year?
How detailed do my records need to be?
Am I required to keep daily attendance records?
How do I start entering grades?
Do we need to make up the days she missed for being sick?
What is the final deadline for submitting grades?
What is Home School Reporting Online? Why do we use it?
My child spent her first semester in public school. How do I set up our school year on HSRO if we’re transferring mid-semester?
Can we simply report the number of days in attendance or do we need to actually go through and say Y or N for each day in HSRO?
How do I know if my grades went through on HSRO?
Should we keep up with grades on a daily basis?
Do we have to make sure that the dates on the grades are accurate?
In HSRO Grade Reporting, the weekends are grayed out. Can I record attendance on weekends?
How do I know what grade to give my student(s)?
Is there a way to avoid re-entering same subjects for the second semester that we entered for the first semester?
How many hours a day do we have to teach?
How do I report grades if we use Quarters?
What is the purpose of the grade consolidation?
May we submit grades as often as we like?
What is HLA's Grading Scale?
Are we required to report sick days?
Are transferred grades included in transcripts?
May we report grades for a previous school year?
Do you have any helpful hints for grade reporting?
Why can I not login to Home School Reporting Online?
Are we supposed to send our tests in to HLA?
Can you explain how we set up the school year in HSRO?
How do we enter electives into HSRO?
When do we move to the next grade level?
Can we use PASS/FAIL or SATISFACTORY when reporting grades?

Q: How should I grade a Kindergartener?

A: For transcript purposes HLA must have letter grades for each subject. However, you may not want your K5 student to get concerned about what "grade" they are receiving (esp. when they are little). You didn't give them "grades" the last five years and still they learned loads of things. Now, to suddenly shift the rewards for learning to a system of letter grades could do more harm than good in the long run. But, when it comes to submitting grades HLA still needs letter grades so that the transcripts are official. So here's what to do.

Many of our teachers do not show their young students the grades they submit to HLA because they want the motivation to be centered more on the success and rewards of learning than red letters at the top of an assignment. This is perfectly acceptable and is left to the discretion of each of our approved teachers. What's encouraging is most of our students are making straight As!! (Whether they know it or not. )

To read more about reporting grades link to http://www.homelifeacademy.com/faq.php#Grading

To set up your school year, add your student(s), use the portfolio, and get ready for grade reporting link to http://www.homeschoolreporting.com.

Hope this helps!

"Okay. Now another question. (Forgive me, but I'm an ex-public school teacher and I'm having trouble with all this freedom! : ) )

"Little Susie is learning basic kindergarten math. She's done great so far this year, but is struggling with a certain topic at the moment. But it's grade reporting time. The last test she took in math (a diagnostic test to see how well she's grasping the topic) was not so hot. On your grading scale it would be about a C or less.

"So, since we're in the middle of that particular topic that she's struggling with --at the exact moment that grades are due-- do I have to count that? I know that EVENTUALLY she'll master it because I'm not moving forward until she does. But I don't want to have to report a "yuckky" grade for her in the meantime.

"So what should I do?"

These are wonderful questions. The short answer is you can just wait and report the Math grade when she has finished. Or if she is not ready for that task yet, you may drop it altogether and come back to it later. Sometimes six months can make a lot of difference.

The long answer is:

Many of our teacher's struggle with "all this freedom." However, freedom is exactly what gave many of our early inventors, writers, and thinkers time to produce things of lasting value. I sometimes wonder if we would still have some the modern inventions had the brilliant minds of the past been told to "Put your hand down, it's not time for questions."

Many of our teachers struggle with all this freedom, but I often think back to when I was a teacher and what things I wish I could have done. The thing nearly every teacher in every classroom in America wishes they could do is take time for each individual student, dedicated time until "they get it." So many times in the classroom my heart would just break because I wanted to stop everything and sit down with little Susie until she mastered the exercise or subject. Once she had it, then we'd move on. But I couldn't do that. I had dozens of kids to grade and pages of material to cover.

As I look back on those teaching experiences I now realize that going on before the little students had mastered the exercise has a much more damaging effect than just a "C" on the report card: I call it "Educational Discouragement." You've heard it said that "nothing leads to success like success." Well, the opposite is true as well. Start a five year old out with some failures (a C is a failure to their little minds because they can see the disappointment in our faces) and it is likely to have a lasting effect.

With that said, now to the nuts and bolts: How do you report grades? You wrote, "I know that EVENTUALLY she'll master it." We'll that's when it is time to report the grade! You have the luxury that most teachers wish they had, the ability to keep the student encouraged, keep praising them at every turn for what they are accomplishing, continue an exercise as long as it takes (or drop it all together and come back to it later), and not have to report grades until they have mastered it!!

This is what one of my teachers in College did with me (copied from another question):

I had a Child Development course in college which I will never forget. The teacher passed out note cards to each of us on the first day of class. She said, “I want you to write on the card your name and what grade you would like to receive for this course. And you can only choose an A or B grade.” After repeating the instruction a couple more times (because this was so out of the ordinary) we did it, and most put an A on the card under their names. Then she collected the cards and explained: “Here’s how this will work. I will give you an assignment, sometimes a writing assignment, sometimes a test. You will turn in the work. I will grade it and give it back to you with suggestions for improvement. You will turn it back into me as many times as it takes for me to be satisfied that you have made an A on it.” We were in awe. “I call this the mastery model of education,” she declared. I LEARNED MORE IN THAT CLASS THAN ANY OTHER. We learn from correcting our mistakes, learning why we missed it. We learn from being able to mull over it a while, think about, come back to it later if need be. We learn, not from testing and rushing on to the next test, but from stopping long enough to digest the subject matter and connect it to other subjects and to real life. True, it was harder work for my Child Development teacher. She put in long hours to ensure we learned from our mistakes. It took her longer because her teacher-student ratio was 17 to 1. ...The average teacher-student ratio of HLA is 1.7 to 1!

Well that's the long answer. The freedom DOES make so many uncomfortable, but I thinks it's because we're all trying to wiggle free from the inflexible systematized schooling that has been handed down to us.

Our goal in all of this is to provide freedom with accountability: Freedom for each teacher to do what is in the best interest of their student(s) and the accountability of a school to report to and keep records with. It's a fine line to walk. But one day your daughter will be very grateful because that spark of interest in her will be a raging fire.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

—William Butler Yeats

Q: How private are my student’s records?

A: How private are my student’s records? All student records are strictly confidential and secure. Record releases can only be fulfilled with a signed release from the parent or an official record request from another school.

Q: What if he doesn't fall into just one grade level?

A: This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions we receive. The reason is because MOST students are NOT in just one grade level for every subject.

If you have listened to “Are We Filling a Bucket or Lighting a Fire,”by Elijah Company’s Chris Davis you may be asking this question.

Or if you have read "A Different Kind of Teacher" by John Taylor Gatto you may be wondering how to teach to age levels instead of teaching to grade levels.

Because HomeLife Academy is a school we must use grade levels to keep track of records. However, our dependancy on grade levels DOES NOT mean you must be dependant on grade levels. Many of our parent-teachers do not teach to grade levels but to age levels. This shift in focus, to viewing your students by their age instead of their grade, can immediately release you from the trappings of the scope and sequence, or standardized schooling. I would quess that 80-90% of the counseling we do concerning "homeschool burn out" may be attributed to parents trying to teach in their homes using the traditional institutional models. Being overly focused on grade levels, i.e. concerned if he/she is not reading, writing, or adding by such and such a grade, is an indication that a shift in focus may be needed.

Many of our teachers do not tell their students what grade they are registered in. This is acceptable, even encouraged. This way they are released to focus on the content needs of each individual student. Of course, this shift in a philosophy of education/grading raises the obvious question:

"But if i'm going to teach to the age-level instead of the grade level what grade should i register my student for?"

First, look at the overall picture when deciding which grade level to place your student(s) in. Guess if you have to. Remember that, in reality, a child may be ahead of the average in one subject and behind the average in another. This is normal. We accept that there is a range in which children learn to walk. There is a range for all subjects, at all ages, as well. Grade levels can easily be changed. If the majority of their work advances to the next grade level we would change them to that grade during the school year. This is fairly common because of the one on one teaching provided. However, when reporting grades always choose the grade level in which he is currently registered.

Q: How often do I report grades?

A: How often do I report grades? Whether you prefer to set up your school year with semesters, quarters, or year-a-round, Home School Reporting Online makes it possible to keep track of your student’s progress. We ask that you submit grades at least twice a year. A reminder and instructions are sent in January and May via email. Once enrolled you may login anytime to submit and view grades, make revisions, find out what your student(s) GPA is, make entries in his or her portfolio, and much more. Our counselors can also view your student's records and advise you. It's a great way to make grade reporting smooth and easy for you and for us here at HomeLife. If you have any questions please call 888-560-0774.

All information submitted is kept strictly confidential and secure.

Q: Will I be receiving an email or some kind of record to keep showing completion of the school year?

A: Once you enter your final grades in our online grade reporting you are all done! You can print a copy there for your records if you'd like.

Q: How do I figure a GPA?

A: Home School Reporting Online, our official grade reporting service, will automatically figure your student's GPA once you have entered the appropriate grades. It is based on a 4.0 scale and is un-weighted, meaning that there are no "advanced placement" courses or grading. (Because most of your students are already advanced ).

When we enter grades for parents we enter a 94 as an A, not as an A-. The reason is most high schools drop the - and + signs from the grades. If you still use them in your reporting that is fine. But keep in mind...

Both and A and an A+ are a 4.0. An A- is not a 4.0. It is the next third down, a 3.67. That is the way most schools figure GPA. If you want to call a 94 an A instead of an A- that would make it a 4.0. Since our grading scale is 94-100 (see http://homelifeacademy.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=338 ) a 94 would qualify as a 4.0 GPA.

The GPA conversion scale is as follows:

ID	Grade	Points	Value
1	A+	4.00	A+
2	A	4.00	A
3	A-	3.67	A-
4	B+	3.33	B+
5	B	3.00	B
6	B-	2.67	B-
7	C+	2.33	C+
8	C	2.00	C
9	C-	1.67	C-
10	D+	1.33	D+
11	D	1.00	D
12	D-	0.67	D-
13	F	0.00	F

Q: May I advance my student a grade level mid-year?

A: May I advance my student a grade level in the middle of the year? Yes. You are the trusted teacher and faculty member of HomeLife Academy and we allow you to make this decision. This is fairly common because in reality, students are usually in more than one grade level for each subject. Please notify the HLA office of your student's advancement: admin@homelifeacademy.com or 888-560-0774.

Q: May my student(s) skip a grade?

A: Yes. Many teachers find that their student(s) can move at a much faster pace in this one-on-one, or mentoring, model of education. Please notify our office of your student(s) advancement: admin@homelifeacademy.com or (888)-560-0774.

Q: May I hold a student back a year?

A: It is sometimes necessary to repeat a year for various reasons. If curriculum was a factor you may want to try something else to cover the material. Please contact the HomeLife office for more advice: admin@homelifeacademy.com or (888) 560-0774.

Q: How detailed do my records need to be?

A: We recommend keeping a daily journal. However, your students records may be as detailed as you need them to be. We will not request a description of your day-to-day schooling. The vast majority of HLA's teachers are very diligent and want the best for their students. If you choose to keep a journal or planning schedule, please do not send it to our office (file space simply doesn't allow us to keep these).

A daily attendance schedule and portfolio is available to you through our GRADE REPORTING services at homeschoolreporting.com. These features are optional but highly recommended.

Q: Am I required to keep daily attendance records?

A: The short answer is:

180 days is the minimum that is required of church related schools, but we encourage you to use as many days as you need, realizing it is only necessary to report between 180-190.

The long answer:

You are not required to keep detailed daily attendance records. However, we do ask that you record total days of attendance. There is a feature in http://www.homeschoolreporting.com that allows you to enter days of attendance by placing a "Y" for yes and an "N" for no for each day of the school year. Currently there is not a programming option for you to just enter the total days of attendance without entering a "Y" for each day. However, it's easy to enter "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, etc. until your days equal the desired amount. If you do not keep up with the entries for each day that is ok. You may go back and estimate. The important thing is that the total days of attendance number at the bottom be at least 180 days at the end of the school year. If your student missed days due to sickness you may record fewer days. However, it is up to you whether to repeat the school year.

Here are some additional questions and responses related to this subject:

"It appears to me that no matter how I do it, I need to keep attendance records, and according to TN I need 180 days of 4 hours of instruction each day. Is there a minimum requirement on subject matter? If so, how often should each subject be offered? (daily, weekly, in a block format, is anything okay?) If I want to begin this summer, will that count for the next school year? What is the "school year" during which these 180 days must be completed?"

Yes, summer lessons will count as part of the following school year. When you go into grade reporting, you will be able to select between quarter or semester. Choose quarters and begin the first quarter in May or whenever and this will begin your 180 days. I do not worry about how many days a year we complete because with a lifestyle of learning, our children learn 365 days a year all day long.

As far as how you homeschool your children, that is up to you. Just because the state requires a set number of hours and days per year does not mean that you have to do things the same way as the schools. You do not have to sit down at the table four hours a day 180 days a year in order to fulfill the requirements. We have the unique opportunity to make all of life an education. Teach your children math, how to read, how to write, and let the rest be whatever your children are interested in. Do what works best for YOUR children. You do not have to keep attendance records. Some families do not keep any records at all while others keep journals of all their kids activities. Do whatever works for you.

As far as grades are concerned, if your children have mastered the material and has a good attitude (tries hard, works hard, etc) then they would get an A. An early elementary student should get all A's because you should not be moving forward until the material has been mastered.

"We were wondering how to count attendance? Somedays, we do everything I planned for several days in a few hours and other days we don't do as much but it takes a lot more time.

"Also, can other things besides just "books" count as learning? Sometimes our kids spend time counting, sorting, making shapes with different toys. With younger children, I know they need to do things like this, but wasn't sure if it should be classified play or schoolwork.

"Also, how much should we be keeping in terms of records?"

If your idea of education is that all the world's your classroom, and your child is learning in every experience, then the 180 days will just fly by. In fact, you will end up with many more days! If you teach some days and take a few days off, that's ok too. That's the beauty of Home education!

I have a 2 1/2 year old (Nathan) and a 1 yr. old (Zachary). I consider everything that Nathan does "learning". When he watches Dora or Blue's Clues, he's learning thinking skills. When he's playing with his Little People play sets, he's letting them interact with each other, and is learning how to pretend and role play. (I've even noticed that Zack's starting to pretend to "eat" things and offers me whatever he's "eating".) We have a huge bookshelf in his room, and Nathan frequently goes over and "reads" books to me or his Daddy or to his little brother (even to the cat, if she doesn't run away!). All of this to say that, especially with little ones, play time is very important to their education. I would absolutely count this as teaching. Not all learning comes from textbooks. More often than not, it comes from real life.

"If my attendance record showed that we attended say 174 days out of 180 days, would that be acceptable? Does my school calendar have to be at least 180 days including holidays, in-service days, snow days etc. or should I have 180 days of school not including holidays, snow days, etc.? If the latter were the case, I would be having school way past the County schedule."

This is another good question that relates to this subject. Technically, even in the school system you are allow a certain number of excused absenses and still allowed to pass onto the next grade. The church related laws simply state, "Church-related schools shall be conducted for the same length of time as public schools." So if a public school student is allow absenses then so are private school students. So yes, 174 days is exceptable. But this is still the legal answer. The educational answer is different.

Another answer suggests that education goes on most of the time. School may be "scheduled" (and planning is a good thing) but education can—and should—spring up at unplanned times as well. If the home is full of resources and a general excitement about learning then these times are more frequent. There are thousands of books on every subject, and there are all sorts of wonderful ways to learn: field trips, biographies, time lines, interactive programs, web sites. The list of possibilities is nearly endless. Truly being educated is not necessarily just “passing the 12th grade” or "getting all the work done" or completing the legal required number of days. None of these legalistic things are sufficient motivators for what is truly wanted—a student that loves to learn and will continue to do so throughout adulthood. In fact, as we know from a great number of examples, due to human nature, such legal boundaries more often cause the oposite of the desired result.

Education is the ability to think, research, and understand the world of knowledge. It is arguable that this is not happening in the strict confines of compulsory schooling. Compulsory schooling itself creates anxiety and defeats the purpose of education. Evidence of this is apparent in the number of students that cannot wait until there 180 days is up so they don't have to "do school" anymore.

If you choose a set curriculum and set schedule, don’t feel “locked in.” If you find a better way to teach something, supplement. (e.g. Fractions and measurements may be best learned in the kitchen.) Let your home be a rich environment of learning opportunities, microscope in the corner, telescope on the porch, science kits in the bedroom, music, pets, (critters?), games, gardening, arts and crafts and books on every subject in every room. That way you can say at anytime, “Hmm? I don’t know. Let’s look it up!” Make learning a lifestyle of asking how, when, why, and where questions...about EVERYTHING! That way you won’t nag your children with “Get in there and finish your homework!” Instead, you’ll be their guides on a wonderful journey of lifelong interests and appetites for learning.

So all of this to say that if we as parents have the attitude of excitement about learning combined with a house full of resources then education becomes contagious, children love to learn, and a 180 days is just a given. In other words, you know that if you add up all the spontanious times of learning throughout the year they go well over 180 days and of four hours a day. Since it is a given there is no need to worry, just login and type in enough Y's to make the total 180 and log back out.

What about proof? Well, if anyone from the state happens to call and ask for total days of attendence (which has never happened) we would reply with, "Due to the nature of home education, most of our teachers teach well over a 180 days. But all that we ask them to show in record keeping is the 180 days required."

Q: How do I start entering grades?

A: The last step of registration allowed you to pre-register for Home School Reporting Online (HSRO). If you did not click that button to pre-register it is not difficult to register with HSRO now. HSRO is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. We are so grateful to HSRO for its instant online grade reporting services. Below are the steps for getting started on the Grade reporting side of things. Just give us a call if you need help. Once you do it the first time and get the hang of it it's easy from there on!

1. SIGN UP

(NOTE: If you are already SIGNED UP with HSRO, have set up your school year, and/or added students, please skip to the appropriate step below.)

First, go to Home School Reporting Online (HSRO) and click SIGN UP at the top of the page and enter your information. Ignore the information about a 30 trial and $20 a year. HSRO serves individual homeschoolers as well as schools. Your registration fee for HSRO is included in the $50, $70, $90, or $100 you paid to HomeLife Academy. After you click SIGN UP you'll be taken to a simple, one-page form. Red asterisks * indicate mandatory fields. Be sure to choose HomeLife Academy as your Umbrella/Cover school. Skip the HSLDA Discount Code, Umbrella / Cover Account #:, and Hours in Attendance Day. Those fields are used by other schools. Once you click SAVE you will be sent a password by email. Check your email and proceed to step two.

2. MEMBER LOGON

Now you are ready to LOGON. Before you can submit grades you must first go to www.homeschoolreporting.comLOGON. Your username is your primary email address. Your password was emailed to you when you went through SIGN UP on HomeSchoolReportingOnline or finished the HLA registration process. If you do not remember your password for HSRO just enter your email address and click "Remind Me." Then check your email for your password. Once you are logged in you are ready to setup your school year.

3. SETUP SCHOOL YEAR

Once you LOGON the first step is to set up your school year. If you have not set up your school year here are the steps:

(1) Click Setup School Year at the top of the page.
(2) Under "Existing School Year(s)" click Add Record.
(3) Follow the instructions to enter beginning and ending dates for your semesters or quarters (use quarters if you teach year-around). NOTE: Estimating the dates is permitted. Remember my favorite quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." —William Butler Yeats. If the fires are lit you will find that your students will easily exceed 180 days of education per year.
(4) Click SAVE SEMESTERS.

4. ADD STUDENTS

Once your school year is setup the next step is to click Add Student. Add all your students who are registered with HomeLife Academy. You do not need to re-enter existing student's information. This only pertains to newly enrolled students.

5. ADD GRADE (REPORT GRADES)

Final step is to Report Grades and Attendance. Click "Add Grade" to enter the Subjects and Grades. (Note: Listing the "Textbook" and "Hours Spent" is optional. And listing the "Credits" is only required for High School.) Repeat this step for each subject and for each student.

6. ATTENDANCE

You are not required to keep detailed daily attendance records. However, we do ask that you record total days of attendance. There is a feature in Home School Reporting Online that allows you to enter days of attendance by placing a "Y" for yes and an "N" for no for each day of the school year. Currently there is not a programming option for you to just enter the total days of attendance without entering a "Y" for each day. However, it's easy to enter "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, etc. until your days equal the desired amount. If you do not keep up with the entries for each day that is ok. You may go back and estimate. The important thing is that the total days of attendance number at the bottom be at least 180 days at the end of the school year. If your student missed days due to sickness you may record fewer days. However, it is up to you whether to repeat the school year.

7. PORTFOLIO

The Portfolio features are optional. We're happy that HSRO makes them available, however, because it's a great place to enter activities as you see fit. It's up to each teacher to decide how (and if) to use the Portfolio.

We recommend the Portfolios more for High School than anything else, because many colleges and universities are impressed with a list of extra curricular activities that a student accomplished in grades 9-12. Sometimes the list (sort of like a resume) of activities, clubs, field trips, special projects, accomplishments, etc. can tip the scales in your favor. It's a great addition to the High School Transcript. And all we have to do is print it and send it with the transcript when you get ready to start enrolling in colleges.

Q: Do we need to make up the days she missed for being sick?

A: There is a law that requires public schools to be open for 180 days. However, that law DOES NOT require that a student be in class for 180 days. Each public school system establishes it's own attendance policy and how many days to allow students to miss.

The Church-related laws under which HLA opperates read, "Church-related schools shall be conducted for the same length of term as public schools. This is in place to allow for smooth transfers to the public school (note context). However, like the public schools, this law DOES NOT require that a student be in class for 180 days. It requires that the school be "conducted" for 180 days.

Therefore, the 180 days of attendace is a policy, or better worded, a "guideline" of HLA, not a strict requirement. Here is the main reason why:

There is a significant difference in the classroom model and the mentoring model in which you and your student are now part. If a student misses a few days in a traditional school classroom due to illness the student will return to school "behind" the rest of the class. These days are never made up although the work missed may be required as additional home work. However, with a mentoring model, or one-on-one model, of education the work can be made up with greater flexibility.

As a teacher for HLA you are trusted to make discisions as to what is best for your student(s). Just like in a traditional school, you DO NOT have to have 180 days or more at the end of the school year. But consider the bigger picture, the bigger question—What is education?

William Butler Yeats wrote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." The 180 days of attendance policy of HLA is just a policy, one which is intended to aid the education process and not hinder it. If keeping track of daily attendance is pouring water on the fire it is not benefiting. However, if your home is a rich environment of learning opportunities, microscope in the corner, telescope on the porch, science kits in the bedroom, music, pets, (critters?), games, gardening, arts and crafts and books on every subject in every room, then 180 days of "attendance" will be far surpassed!

If you make education a lifestyle of asking how, when, why, and where questions...about EVERYTHING the fire will be lit and you'll find that your students will learn even on days when "school" is not "planned." (And yes, this can be true all the way through high school).

Q: What is the final deadline for submitting grades?

A: Grade reporting is your most important administrative responsibility. Therefore, we require that all teachers of HomeLife Academy submit grades in a timely manner, at least twice a year—by January 15th and June 15th. This will help insure that your student(s) are meeting all requirements and will graduate as planned.

However, we realize you may need extra time to complete the year for various reasons (sickness, loss, etc.). Therefore, a sixth month extension is granted. You must submit grades no later than six months from the end of the academic school year to avoid being dropped from HLA. (This requirement is meant to encourage a high standard of accountability.)

This means you must submit the previous years grades by December 15th, six months from the final grade reporting period. In other words, if you are not completely finished with the current school year by June 15th, you may reenroll for the next school year without submitting final grades for the previous year. But if final grades for the previous year are not submitted by Dec. 15th your student(s) could be dropped. (Some exceptions apply.)

Finally, for high school, download the Goal-Based Planning Sheet to help you keep track of credit requirements. Remember you are the teacher and main guidance counselor for you high school student. Diligence and proper planning on your part is necessary to guarantee your student will graduate on time.

ALL Grades must be submitted for transcript requests (withdrawals, insurance purposes, transfers, scholarships, college applications, etc.) allowing 7 - 10 days to prepare and mail the transcript.

Q: What is Home School Reporting Online? Why do we use it?

A: Home School Reporting Online (HSRO) is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. We are so grateful to HSRO for its instant online grade reporting services. Our teachers love it. Our records department loves it. As a school administrator this is the best resource for record keeping that I have found. Our school is incredibly organized thanks to HSRO. The thing I love the most is being able to instantly look up a student's entire transcript while I'm on the phone with the parent. And the parent can see the same thing, at the same time, on their end! It makes our service so much better.

Whether you prefer to set up your school year with semesters, quarters, or year-a-round, HSRO makes it possible to keep track of your student’s progress. We ask that you submit grades at least twice a year. A reminder and instructions are sent in January and May via email. Once enrolled you may login anytime to submit and view grades, make revisions, find out what your student(s) GPA is, make entries in his or her portfolio, and much more. Our counselors can also view your student's records and advise you. It's a great way to make grade reporting smooth and easy for you and for us here at HomeLife.

All information submitted is kept strictly confidential and secure.

Q: My child spent her first semester in public school. How do I set up our school year on HSRO if we’re transferring mid-semester?

A: When you set up the school year you set it up from the time you transfered into HLA. So yes, you do enter that your first semester ran from November to December. This, combined with the previous school records, will show the entire year. In other words, let's say you had to move next year to another state and needed us to send a transcript and previous records. We would print an HLA transcript showing your student's work while enrolled with HLA along with the records from the school before HLA.

This is also the case with attendance. Just enter "Y" for the days you are teaching for HLA. In your case from your November transfer date to the end of the year. The total days you enter plus the days from the previous school should then equal at least 180. This is standard for most school transfers.

Q: Can we simply report the number of days in attendance or do we need to actually go through and say Y or N for each day in HSRO?

A: Currently there is not an option for you to just enter the total days of attendance without entering a "Y" for each day. However, it's easy to enter "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, etc. until your days equal the desired amount. If you do not keep up with the entries for each day that is ok. You may go back and estimate. The important thing is that the total days of attendance number at the bottom be at least 180 days at the end of the school year.

Q: How do I know if my grades went through on HSRO?

A: Once you start your account with Home School Reporting Online (HSRO), we see everything you do, from posting grades and attendance to adding things into your student's portfolio. Basically, we see the exact same thing you see when you logon to the site. The only difference is that we cannot do some of the things you can (for example, we can only see your days of attendance, but we can't add or subtract any days).

Our school has its own administration site for our students on HSRO. We have a user name & password, as do you. This way, we can manage the records on our end. When you need a transcript sent to a school or college, we logon and print off transcripts from the same site. As long as you click the SUBMIT (or SAVE) button, and you can see your grades, we can see your grades.

Q: Should we keep up with grades on a daily basis?

A: There are so many different approaches to home education in America that work, and many different ways in which parents teach their students. Some parents never give their students a test or grade or anything their entire life, relying solely on spontaneous teachable moments as they occure. And it works. On the other end some parents prefer a very very structured day and year. Keeping some sort of daily grades and attendance is done much the same way the school system does it. "Proof" can be produced for what was "learned" on such and such a day if necessary. And this works for some as well. And of course there are 3 million homeschoolers that fall somewhere between these two extremes with approaches that work for them.

Our challenge, as we developed HLA, was to meet the needs of parents with philosophies of education all across the spectrum. Therefore, the bottom line is the only thing we require is semester or quarterly grades and total days of attendance. Everything else is optional. Those parents that never give their students a test or grade or anything their entire life must subjectively submit grades based on their interaction with their students. Parents who prefer a very very structured day and keep some sort of daily grades and attendance much the same way the school system does it objectively average all the grades together and submit the finals.

Where do we fall in the wide range of philosphies? In my 15 years of experience talking with homeschooling parents I have dealt with many more families that were burned out and frustrated trying to do "school at home." In fact it has become a standard response when someone calls in and says we're having trouble and feeling burned out to ask "What sort of curriculum and philosophy of education are you using." I would guess 9 times out of 10 they are trying to do "school" at home. Six months later, after trying a more Lifestyle of Learning approach I usually hear that everyone is much happier and education is fun once again. So we encourage a balance of structure and spontanaity. However, I would say that spontaneous learning is often better than planned because most of the time it is born out of the students interests and appetites. Any learning that a student does from his or her own desire is going to "stick" longer. So I would suggest making your plans but keeping alert for the teachable moments each day. And don't hesitate to forgo the planned learning when this happens. In fact, don't hesitate to "engineer" some spontaneous teachable moments yourself.

Q: Do we have to make sure that the dates on the grades are accurate?

A: It's fine to just leave everything dated the day you enter it, or even an approximate date can be entered later. The Portfolio features are completely optional. We're happy that HSRO makes them available, however, because it's a great place to enter activities as you see fit. It's up to each teacher to decide how (and if) to use the Portfolio.

We recommend the Portfolios more for High School than anything else, because many colleges and universities are impressed with a list of extra curricular activities that a student accomplished in grades 9-12. Sometimes the list (sort of like a resume) of activites, clubs, field trips, special projects, accomplishments, etc. can tip the scales in your favor. It's a great addition to the High School Transcript. And all we have to do is print it and send it with the transcript when you get ready to start enrolling in colleges.

Q: In HSRO Grade Reporting, the weekends are grayed out. Can I record attendance on weekends?

A: Dan just grayed out the weekends, probably to set them off from the other days so everything was not white. It's also probably because most people "formally" teach on the weekdays.

However, you can enter "Y" on the weekend days as well and they count toward the total.

Some of the most productive times are those "unplanned" weekends. (oops...we're learning! ) Those are often the most memorable "lessons," aren't they? So yes. Count them.

Q: How do I know what grade to give my student(s)?

A: No one knows your student(s) better than you do because you are with them all day, everyday. You know if your student is putting forth an effort in his/her studies or not. Furthermore, you are now working from a much different MODEL of teaching: The mentoring model, or one-on-one model. Unlike in the classroom you have the luxury of personalized attention (unless you have 35 children!). In short, you are a mentor!

I had a Child Development course in college which I will never forget. The teacher passed out note cards to each of us on the first day of class.

“I want you to write on the card your name and what grade you would like to receive for this course," She said. "And you can only choose an A or B grade.”

After repeating the instruction a couple more times (because this was so out of the ordinary) we did it, and most put an A on the card under their names. Then she collected the cards and explained:

“Here’s how this will work. I will give you an assignment, sometimes a writing assignment, sometimes a test. You will turn in the work. I will grade it and give it back to you with suggestions for improvement. You will turn it back into me as many times as it takes for me to be satisfied that you have made an A on it.”

We were in awe.

“I call this the mastery model of education,” she declared.

I LEARNED MORE IN THAT CLASS THAN ANY OTHER. We learn from correcting our mistakes, learning why we missed it. We learn from being able to mull over it a while, think about, come back to it later if need be. We learn, not from testing and rushing on to the next test, but from stopping long enough to digest the subject matter and connect it to other subjects and to real life. True, it was harder work for my Child Development teacher. She put in long hours to ensure we learned from our mistakes. But she had 17 of us.

You may think that you are biased: your child is perfect and will always “deserve” a perfect score. But think about it this way: Imagine that a public school was able to hire enough teachers to have a 3 to 1 ratio. One day the principle walks into a home room of 30 kids, followed by nine more teachers. The principle declares to the teachers, “Find three students each, take them to the library and work with them all year until each of your three students make straight A’s in all subjects. As you get to know your three protégé’s you may cater to each child’s strengths and weaknesses and you may use any resource you deem useful. Use the mastery model. Don’t move on until they’ve got it. If you need to wait a while and return to a certain thing, that’s fine. From now on your three student(s) are all that you are responsible for. Next year, and every year until they graduate, you‘ll have the same three students.” With that much freedom, personalization, time and resources it is certainly feasible that the kids of this public school would make nearly straight A’s. Well, that is exactly what home education offers you. And that is why WE SEE MOSTLY A’S in your files.

It's very exciting to see kids enjoying learning. I continue to be amazed by the quality of education when freedom to explore and master the subject matter is involved.

I spoke to a mother this morning who's 9 year old son is so excited about animals he can't get enough. Because he has the freedom to explore this subject to his heart's content he's already beginning to learn the scientific names. She has not told him to learn those long words. He just wants to because he wants to know everything about animals he possibly can. So they're using everything from biology games and magazines to web sites and field trips to continue to fan this flame.

This mother and I agreed that the worst thing for her son at this point would be to construct a 100 question multiple choice test on animals and make him take it. It would be counter productive because it would end up punishing him for the few things he may not know. NO, what this young student needs is just all the room in the world to satisfy his appetite to learn about animals. He may never become an oceanographer or biologist but he will take the confidence and skill he is gleaning from being able to master this subject with him the rest of his life. No matter what job he ends up with he will always draw from the time he was 9 and couldn't get enough of animals!

She asked me how to submit a grade for this. I said, "You select Science or Biology and give him an A!!"

What if it doesn't look right to give all "A"s?

I'm the high school guidance counsellor at HLA. I wanted to comment on your statement that it wouldn't look right to give all A's. Actually, most homeschoolers do give all A's because they're doing exactly what you are doing. You don't accept work until it's done well, until it's "A" quality. In fact, if David or April at HLA see students getting B's, C's, and D's and no A's, they really get concerned and find out what the problem is, because our kids should be getting all A's, or at least mostly A's. We are more like private tutors for our children than teachers. Teachers have to move on whether a child has learned the material or not, but a private tutor doesn't move forward until the student has mastered the material.

Attitude has a lot to do with grades also. For all of you first year homeschoolers, don't worry, the good attitude about learning will come, although it may take a full year. Many things that my kids learn can't really be measured with a test, but I go by what they are learning, their attitude about learning, and the effort they are putting into it. You've heard the expression "an A for effort". I think that goes a long way in building a child's self-confidence and it also teaches them not to settle for less than an A. So don't feel badly about giving your kids all A's - it's the norm. I've only given one B to any of my four kids, and that was for handwriting - he improved drastically after that! And that reminds me - I'd better get my grades in!

Lani Carey

HLA Guidance

lani@homelifeacademy.com

TEACHER VS. TUTOR

We are more like private tutors for our children than teachers.

I've done two years of teaching, and I've done a lot of tutoring. They are very different.

The teacher must make the student conform to the schedule.

The tutor may conform the schedule to the student.

The teacher must follow the set curriculum.

The tutor may adapt the curriculum as needed.

The teacher must apply one curriculum to an entire group.

The tutor can custom tailor the curriculum for the individual.

The teacher has limited time to get to know the student.

The tutor gets to know his or her students intimately.

The teacher receives an evaluation from superiors.

The tutor receives an evaluation from the student.

The teacher is viewed by the student as an enforcer of rules.

The tutor is viewed by the student as a resource for further understanding.

The teacher's job and success is completely measured by the final grades (and now, the standardized tests).

The tutor's job and success is measured by interaction with the student (through conversation, relaxed projects, field trips, writing and re-writing, etc.).

The teacher's student is primarily concerned about making the teacher happy.

The tutor's student is primarily concerned about satisfying their curiosity and desire to learn.

The teacher must keep moving in order to "cover" all the material.

The tutor may take as long as needed for the material to cover itself.

If I could have my way I would change all our correspondance with parents, and all our information on the website, from calling parents "teachers" to calling them "tutors." It seems to make a great deal of difference.

Q: Is there a way to avoid re-entering same subjects for the second semester that we entered for the first semester?

A: No, there is not.

After talking with our web developer (who works on HLA and HSRO on the side), he said it would take quite a bit of time and money to make it auto-duplicate the first semester. There are so many behind-the-scenes features that are linked to it in the current format (things I couldn't begin to explain to you).

Anyway, for now, please just re-select the same semester classes. Eventually, maybe we can add a button that will do that for you.

Q: How many hours a day do we have to teach?

A: Public schools are required to teach at least 180 days a year, four hours a day. "Church-related schools shall be conducted for the same length of term as public schools."

Our hope and prayer is that this goal will be easy to reach because learning is enjoyable. If, for example, your plan was to cover fractions one day but your son or daughter saw a picture of a skeleton in the dessert and you ended up on Biology and Geography for three hours that is perfectly fine. The teachable moments should almost always take precedent over the planned ones. This is the best way to ensure your students will retain a Heart for Learning. If you need or want to call it a day after only three hours because you have a doctors appointment or need to run errands (or something of this nature) that is fine. The next day you may go way over four hours learning a wide variety of things.

Bottom line is we do not want you to feel like the four hours a day or 180 days a year is something that is hanging over your head. The state nor HLA requires a log of the hours. We do not want the students to be thinking, 'ok, I can make it...only an hour and 1/2 left.' Or, 'ok, we only have 32 days of school to go and I'll be FREE!!!' Instead we desire that every student, regardless of their age, enjoy learning the same as they did when they were 3, 4 and 5 years old. And we desire that every HLA teacher be a guide and a friend on this journey.

Q: How do I report grades if we use Quarters?

A: (This also applies to year-a-round scheduling and those that use a life-style of learning approach.)

When you setup school year you simply choose Quarters and set the dates the way you want them.

It is ok to estimate the dates. Although you cannot change the dates once they are entered, it is ok to not follow the exact dates you choose. Many variables occur throughout the course of the year (e.g. sickness, moving, loss, etc.) that may require you to adjust your teaching schedule. This is fine. It is one of the luxuries of home education. If you apply a life-style of learning approach you may not a have a teaching "schedule" at all. Therefore the dates are primarily for OUR record keeping purposes and not necessarily yours.

Submit grades for each quarter as you finish them. You may go back and edit the grades at any time if you need to make changes or bring some of the grades up. (We encourage all parent-teachers to keep working with their students until they are satisfied that they have made at least an A or B. See How do I know what grade to give my student(s)?)

All four quarters average together to make the final grades.

Standard Grade Reporting reminders are sent to all HLA parent-teachers in Jan and May because the majority of teachers use the semester format. This notice does not obligate you to change to the semester format or submit grades the same time as those who use a nine-month schedule.

Q: What is the purpose of the grade consolidation?

A: Some people were keeping individual records for every school day and then wanting a way to consolidate them into one record for a given reporting period. This tools was provided for them.

If you are just keeping one grade per subject, per semester (or quarter), you probably will never use this feature.

Q: May we submit grades as often as we like?

A: Sure. This is perfectly fine. We want the grade reporting to be a blessing and not a burden. So feel free to use HSRO in whatever way works best for you family.

Q: What is HLA's Grading Scale?

A: Most HLA parent-teachers do not use percentage grades in their teaching and grading. However, if you do prefer to use percentage grades the HLA grading scale is as follows:

A = 100 - 94
B = 93 - 86
C = 85 - 77
D = 76 - 70
F = 69 or below

The grade reporting system does automatically convert the letter grades to a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). Home School Reporting Online (HSRO), our official grade reporting service, will automatically figure your student's GPA once you have entered the appropriate grades. It is based on a 4.0 scale and is un-weighted, meaning that there are no "advanced placement" courses or grading. (Some exceptions apply in FL due to college and universities in FL requiring weighted transcripts.)

Here is a breakdown of the GPA scale:

ID	Grade	Points	Value
1	A+	4.00	A+
2	A	4.00	A
3	A-	3.67	A-
4	B+	3.33	B+
5	B	3.00	B
6	B-	2.67	B-
7	C+	2.33	C+
8	C	2.00	C
9	C-	1.67	C-
10	D+	1.33	D+
11	D	1.00	D
12	D-	0.67	D-
13	F	0.00	F

Q: Are we required to report sick days?

A: Due to the nature of our program we do not require our teachers to record "sick days." Home education provides such a great deal of flexibility that it is not necessary to "make up" days missed. For example, if a student is sick for a few days just take some time off and do what he or she is able to do. If you are using a LifeStyle of Learning method of teaching there are more than 180 days in which education takes place.

If you are using a scope and sequence approach you still have great flexibility, allowing you to do whatever is needed to provide the best education for your students.

If you want to enter Sick days in the Attendance record that is fine. You may prefer it for your records. However, HLA Bylaws do not obligate teachers to report sick days.

Q: Are transferred grades included in transcripts?

The original question:

"Since we transferred from another umbrella school this year, and I have been notified that HLA has received our transcripts from that school, I was hoping to see those grades included on the transcripts generated by Home School Reporting Online. However, the transcripts did not include any transferred grades. How can I verify what grades HLA received from our previous school? It would be helpful to be able to view all of a student's grades on one transcript (at least for high school), even if the grades were transferred from another school."
A: Originally we set out to include the entering of previous school records into HSRO as part of the regular annual enrollment fee. However, we soon learned that it was too time consuming for our records department to do this and the low enrollment fee not enough to cover the additional time it takes. Therefore, there are two options for viewing your student(s) previous school records:

Simply respond to the email you received from records@homelifeacademy.com indicating we now have the records and ask that copies of those records be mailed to you. This is done free of charge.

Send a letter requesting the previous school records be entered into HSRO for you and please send a donation fee of $2.00 per grades level which need to be entered. You will be notified via email as soon as the grades from the previous school are ready for viewing.

Back to top

Q: May we report grades for a previous school year?

A: Yes Just go login into the grade reporting site and click "Setup School Year." Then put in dates for the previous year(s). (Also click Setup School Year again and put in dates for current or upcoming year.) Then click "Add Student."

Once your students are entered click "Add Grade" and you'll be able to select this year or last year. Just enter all the grades for last year and they will show up on our end.

Q: Do you have any helpful hints for grade reporting?

A: Yes, we have put together a good summary of resources, please read them carefully.

Topics include:

Who Must Report Grades
Logging In
Set Up New School Year
Report Grades/Attendance
Optional Features
EZ Form
Credits for High School
We See the Same Thing You See
Paper Grades Forms
How Do I Start?

GRADE REPORTING TIME COMES TWICE PER YEAR!

Well, it's that time of the year again, time for Mid-year grade reporting. But don't panic! Jan. 15th is just a target date. We are here to make it as smooth and painless as possible. We have included some helpful tips below. If you do not see the answer to your question please take a look at the FAQ from our website.

If you still have trouble please email .

Who must report grades?

All HLA families who were enrolled prior to November 15th should report mid-year grades and attendance. If you enrolled after Nov. 15th, and transferring in from another school, you may wait until the June 15th target date to report year-end grades.

Logging in

Remember there are two login areas. The Member Login at the top of www.homelifeacademy.com is NOT for grade reporting. It is for editing basic information, re-registration, and updates. To access the grade reporting website, login to www.homeschoolreporting.com.

If you forgot your password, you may enter your email address in the password reminder field. Be sure to use the correct password with the correct website. If you are not receiving a response from HSRO, it’s possible you entered an email address the system does not recognize, or that the email response went straight to your junk mail/spam box. If you are still having trouble, please email Kim Anderson, Assistant Records Secretary, and she’ll be glad to help you. Her address is kim@homelifeacademy.com.

Additional tips for logging in:

Two Passwords: Your username is your primarily email address for both websites. If you need to change your email address, please be sure to do so in both websites.

Select Family: On the HSRO website, be sure to select FAMILY and enter the username and password.

No Capitals: Never use capitals when entering your email or password. Be sure your Caps lock is turned off on your keyboard.

AOL: If you have trouble and have AOL or Compuserve, try using Internet Explorer or Firefox to login.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you still have trouble.

Set up new school year

If you have not already done so, please set up a NEW school year. When you enter your grades, please make sure that you are entering them under the correct school year (2005-2006). Please see the bottom of this email for more information on setting up a school year.

Report grades/attendance

Be sure to select the current school year when reporting grades. Click Add Grade under the appropriate student for each subject. Credits are ONLY for high school students.

Attendance is may be estimated. Place a Y for days "attendance" and "N" for days off.

Optional features include:

Portfolio – Enter extra curricular activities here.

Credits - Credits are only for High School level (more below).

Lesson Plans – NEW FEATURE!! If you don’t already have a place to enter your lesson plans, you can take advantage of this!

Test Scores – NEW FEATURE!! Enter achievement test scores, as well as ACT/SAT scores!

Transcript/Report Card – NEW FEATURE!! After entering your grades, you can print off your student’s report card.

Hours Spent -- This is something that other schools use, and is not necessary for our purposes.

Textbook – You can enter the specific name of your textbook here.

Please do not use:

Consolidation – The consolidation button is used by other schools that use HSRO’s services. It is not necessary for our purposes.

Edit -- Please do not use this feature to enter your new grades. You can only use this feature to edit previous grades.

Delete: Please DO NOT delete any previous grades, school years, or any student information (even if that student is no longer enrolled with HLA).

EZ form is for end of year

The EZ FORM IS FOR SEMESTER 2 GRADES (or Quarter 2-4grades) -- If you entered first semester grades (or first-third quarters) the EZ FORM allows you to simply add the grades in for the final semester or quarter. Just click "EZ FORM" under you student's name and you will see fields for entering grades. NOTE: High School credits are NOT available yet in this feature. So be sure to EDIT each grade after using the EZ FORM and enter the appropriate credit amount.

Credits are only for high school students

Credit value for each course is only needed for High School. For more information on High School credits and planning click here: http://www.homelifeacademy.com/high_school.php. Any previous high school credits from your former school should be entered into HSRO. If not, please contact the Records department, and we will enter them for you.

We see the same thing you see

Once you report grades we see the same thing you do. There is nothing else to do but click save. You can log back in anytime as a FAMILY and we can log in anytime as a SCHOOL. Our side of things has a few additional features, like an official transcript, but they are basically the same. Call or write anytime if you have question and we can simply login to our School HSRO account, pull up your grades, and quickly answer your questions. As a school administrator this is the best resource for record keeping that I have found. Our school is incredibly organized thanks to HSRO!

As always, you are welcome to mail in grade forms

If you are having computer problems or would simply prefer to mail in your grades, paper grade forms are available. Either use a friend’s computer or library computer to download a grade form from our web site, or call us and we will mail you as many as you need. Once a paper grade form is received in our office, our staff enters the grades into your account and sends you an email letting you know they are available for viewing.

How do I start entering grades?

The last step of registration allowed you to pre-register for Home School Reporting Online (HSRO). If you did not click that button to pre-register it is not difficult to register with HSRO now. HSRO is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. We are so grateful to HSRO for its instant online grade reporting services. Below are the steps for getting started on the Grade reporting side of things. Just give us a call if you need help. Once you do it the first time and get the hang of it it's easy from there on!

1. Sign up

(NOTE: If you are already SIGNED UP with HSRO, have set up your school year, and/or added students, please skip to the appropriate step below.)

First, go to www.homeschoolreporting.com (HSRO) and click SIGN UP at the top of the page and enter your information. Ignore the information about a 30 trial and $20 a year. HSRO serves individual homeschoolers as well as schools. Your registration fee for HSRO is included in the $50, $70, $90, or $100 you paid to HomeLife Academy. After you click SIGN UP you'll be taken to a simple, one-page form. Red asterisks * indicate mandatory fields. Be sure to choose HomeLife Academy as your Umbrella/Cover school. Skip the HSLDA Discount Code, Umbrella / Cover Account #, and Hours in Attendance Day. Those fields are used by other schools. Once you click SAVE you will be sent a password by email. Check your email and proceed to step two.

2. Member logon

Now you are ready to LOGON. Before you can submit grades you must first go to http://www.homeschoolreporting.com and LOGON. Your username is your primary email address. Your password was emailed to you when you went through SIGN UP on HomeSchoolReportingOnline or finished the HLA registration process. If you do not remember your password for HSRO just enter your email address and click "Remind Me." Then check your email for your password. Once you are logged in you are ready to setup your school year.

3. Setup school year

Once you LOGON the first step is to set up your school year. If you have not set up your school year here are the steps. (1) Click Setup School Year at the top of the page. (2) Under "Existing School Year(s)" click Add Record. (3) Follow the instructions to enter beginning and ending dates for your semesters or quarters (use quarters if you teach year-around). NOTE: Estimating the dates is permitted. Remember my favorite quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." —William Butler Yeats. If the fires are lit you will find that your students will easily exceed 180 days of education per year. (4) Click SAVE SEMESTERS.

4. Add students

5. Add grade (report grades)

6. Attendance

You are not required to keep detailed daily attendance records. However, we do ask that you record total days of attendance. There is a feature in http://www.homeschoolreporting.com that allows you to enter days of attendance by placing a "Y" for yes and an "N" for no for each day of the school year. Currently there is not a programming option for you to just enter the total days of attendance without entering a "Y" for each day. However, it's easy to enter "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, etc. until your days equal the desired amount. If you do not keep up with the entries for each day, that is ok. You may go back and estimate. The important thing is that the total days of attendance number at the bottom be at least 180 days at the end of the school year. If your student missed days due to sickness you may record fewer days. However, it is up to you whether to repeat the school year.

7. Portfolio

Our goal is to provide flexibility with accountability for all teachers of HomeLife Academy. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact .

Q: Why can I not login to Home School Reporting Online?

A: If you are having problems logging in it is one of two problems:

1. You do not have an account set up. This may be because you were not able to complete the registration process (computer problems, etc.). If you never received an email from HSRO you most likely do not have an account. To set up an account start with step one below.

2. You have changed your email address but it has not been changed in HSRO. Home School Reporting Online (HSRO) is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. Therefore there are two login areas: www.homelifeacademy.com and www.homeschoolreporting.com (eventually we plan to have one login area for everything). If you changed your email address with one but not the other, you must login with your old username (email) and password and change it in that one as well. Contact our office for help if needed.

Passwords:

When you registered we emailed you both passwords. You may retrieve them by entering your email address in the Password reminder field. The first one came from the HomeLife Academy website and the second one came from Home School Reporting Online. Be sure to use the correct password with the correct website.

Also, a couple more tips for logging in:

Your username is your primarily email address for both websites.

On the HSRO website, be sure to select FAMILY and enter the username and password.

Never use capitals when entering your email or password. Be sure your Cap lock is turned off on your keyboard.

Q: Are we supposed to send our tests in to HLA?

A: You evaluate your students' progress according to how you think is best. You can use a written test, either one that came with your curriculum or that you make yourself. You can use a portfolio or notebook. You can use a checklist of what skills you wanted the children to learn. Or you can just trust your own intuition of how well they assimilated the information. I personally use all of those methods for grading, depending on the subject. I use written tests in math, grammar and Latin. I trust my intuition on history with my youngers, I require a history notebook with my olders.

As far as nosy people from your son's old school....keep a daily log of some sort, make sure you don't forget to register with HLA on time, and you should be just fine. Some people recommend a membership with the Home School Legal Defense Association as well, so that can be an option for you if you are interested.

As far as your starting and stopping times, it is up to you. Some people follow the traditional school calendar, some don't . My family homeschools year round, taking breaks here and there. You do this the way that works best for your family's lifestyle.

Kelli

Q: Can you explain how we set up the school year in HSRO?

A: Here's the short answer:

Here's the long explanation:

The way HSRO is set up, a school year is needed each year to tye all your information together. In other words, the system needs to know that your little Johnny got a A in 4th grade English in the 05-06 school year. That way, the system can generate a transcript that pulls all of that information together.

The dates are simply to let the system know that these records were some time between the dates you put in. Here in the office, we have a very broad range for our dates. We usually start with the first week of August through the last week of December for Sem. 1. Then, we use the first week of Jan. through the last week of May. That gives us somewhere in the area of 210-220 "days" scheduled for that year.

Keep in mind that this is separate from the attendance feature. The actual number of days that we see & require come from the attendance, not from the school year set up.

Clear as mud? If you have more questions regarding this, please don't hesitate to call or emali us in the office. We'll be more than happy to help you out in any way!

Q: How do we enter electives into HSRO?

A: When adding a subject, there is an option called 'Elective'. You can choose this option, then specify below it what the name of the elective is.

Electives show up with the specific title on the official transcript. It makes a great looking transcript!

Q: When do we move to the next grade level?

A: So many home educators ask this same question (in various forms). The difficulty is to try to balance the progression of learning, keeping your kids challenged but not board. Basically, for elementary age students, the grade level is just a number on a piece of paper. In most cases, because of the vast diversity of children and their academic abilities, it is best to register for the grade level in which the child is doing the majority of work and then FORGET about the grade level. Furthermore, we suggest not even telling the student what grade level he/she is in. This way you can completely focus on content.

Content is the really important thing. And you are doing this quite well. Just keep them challenged and moving forward and when they are doing the majority of work in the next grade level login and move them to the next grade level (or wait and change grade level when you re-enroll). Again, there is no need to tell them they have now advanced to the next grade level, this way the reward will be the learning itself and not advancing to another grade.

Finally, we only ask for grades twice a year: January 15th and June 15th. These target dates are flexible because, once again, every family is different and so we are flexible. But there is no need to submit grades at other times unless they are ready to advance to the next grade and you are starting a "new" set of books. And there is never a need to report grades for each book.

Q: Can we use PASS/FAIL or SATISFACTORY when reporting grades?

A: This is a great question, which also applies to using SATISFACTORY/UNSATISFACTORY to report grades.

The answer is YES.

After some lengthy discussions at HLA and with several parents we have decided to change our grade reporting policy regarding the use of Pass/Fail and Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, etc. when reporting grades. When HLA began our Bylaws insisted that ALL grades be converted to letter grades only. Today, we are happy to announce that policy has changed.

It is now fine to use

PASS/FAIL or
EXCELLENT (A)
SATISFACTORY (B)
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (C/D)
UNSATISFACTORY (F)

when reporting grades (Example Below).

This is just another option for grade reporting and is now available in the Grade Reporting site. It is totally up to you whether you use this method or the traditional grades.

NOTE: This method is ONLY allowed until a student enters 7th grade, at which time the grades should be recorded with letters. This will allow time to transition to letter grades before 9th-12th, when letter grades are essential.

WHY HAVE WE CHANGED?

Some parents prefer this method. Using this method of grade reporting is beneficial to home education because it releases the teacher and the student from the pressures of "making the grade." If education is a lifestyle the student will not only enjoy learning but the reward for learning will be where it needs to be -- not on making an "A." (See example below.)

In fact, many of our teachers do not show their students grades at all because they want the motivation to be centered more on the success and rewards of learning. What's encouraging is, due to the ability to "keep working until you get it," most of your students are making straight As, Excellent, or Passing!! (Whether they know it or not. )