Homeschooling or GED Diploma?

When you homeschool your child, the diploma certifies that your child meets your state’s requirements for completing a high school program.

As a homeschool parent, you can issue your child’s high school homeschool diploma upon graduation from your homeschool program. But there are rules you have to follow.

If you don’t follow a recognized homeschool high school study plan, chances are your child will have to take and pass the four subject tests that make up the GED exam to make it into college or achieve a decently paying position.

GED Diploma

The GED diploma (issued by your state) has the same status as a regular high school diploma, both academically and legally. Students with a GED qualify for federal tuition support just like high school graduates.

There are some very good online GED prep courses that will help your child reach passing scores on the four independent GED subtests fast. The testing subjects are Social Studies, Science, English Language, and Mathematics.

But if you use a well-respected or accredited homeschool program to educate your child, and if you record everything carefully, you are the one that issues your child’s secondary education diploma and transcript.

Responsibilities

When you have homeschooled your child, the diploma you issue certifies that your child has successfully completed a secondary education program.

This is a huge responsibility that you shouldn’t take lightly. It is essential that you record what your child has learned and what they need to know to graduate. Throughout your child’s high school years, you must maintain consistent records very carefully.

In all fifty states, children with homeschool diplomas and transcripts can enroll in credit-bearing college academic courses. Homeschool diplomas are accepted nationwide as proof of graduation by practically all employers, educational institutions, and government agencies.

Sometimes, problems will arise, but if you have been serious about your child’s education and have maintained all records carefully, if your program was aligned with state rules, and if you created a top-notch diploma and transcript, you can be sure your child will be prepared for professional success and further education.

Impact on Your Child’s Life

Homeschooling your child will not only academically affect his or her life. During adolescence, children are growing toward independence in life. When homeschooling your teenage child, your guidance and help are crucial on the path to freedom for them to interact with their own communities, make new friends, and learn how to navigate between the ideas and values of their communities and those of their immediate families.

You should respect their choices. If your child prefers to attend high school, that should be fine. If they want to be homeschooled, involve them actively in choosing and creating their study course and deciding how their homeschool experience should be.

Your Responsibilities

When you and your child have opted for homeschooling during the high school years, your role will not be only that of a teacher. You’ll also be your child’s career and college counselor.

Additionally, you are responsible for ensuring your child receives financial literacy education, has access to driver’s education, gets health and sex education, and so much more.

Your child’s education includes more than just academics. It’s also about getting well-rounded life skills. And there’s no period in your child’s life when this is more true than during the high school years when your child’s life is transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

Access to Mentors and Guidance

When homeschooling, your child also needs to get access to other adults and mentors outside of your family home. Your child needs people to provide guidance and support and who can provide letters of recommendation for college admissions.

Your child’s mentors might include sports coaches, club leaders, tutors, family members, friends, or friends’ parents. Mentors and friends may also come from outside your immediate family sphere, and as your child gets older, friendships will be increasingly important. Homeschooling parents, and specifically parents of teenagers, should be aware of this.

When homeschooling your teenage child, it is crucial to view and treat them as individuals with their own interests, ideas, and rights. All children, particularly teenagers, need the autonomy to develop into independent, self-sufficient, well-functioning adults.

All those things are your responsibility as the parent of a teen. You must guide your teenage child into well-prepared, competent adulthood without micromanaging the outcomes.

Your Child’s Future

Your child’s last stop before adulthood is high school. A secondary education degree (high school diploma or GED) and transcript is crucial regardless of whether your child wants to enter the workforce or enroll in college.

Some children did not get adequate education during their homeschooled high school years, and these educational deficiencies may have long-term consequences.

Studies have indicated that sometimes, homeschooled high school grads may not be as likely as other high school graduates to attend college. The quality (or lack thereof) of homeschooling can affect their futures in many ways.

Research has shown that homeschooled high school college students were less likely to major in STEM fields than other high school students, probably resulting from a homeschool math gap.

Adequate Education

So, if you want to homeschool your teenage child, be sure your child receives adequate education; otherwise, your child’s goals may be unobtainable, and they will be limited in their educational and professional options.

Your homeschooling activities should not hold your child back; they should push them forward and provide them with a broad range of new opportunities for a rewarding career.

It is a good idea to have your child’s experience and progress evaluated by an outside observer from time to time, but especially before graduation. That way, your child will be better prepared for this sort of situation both in post-academic education and the contemporary workplace.

Your local community college or local high school may offer opportunities to have your child’s experience and progress assessed by teachers.

Perhaps your child finds it difficult at first to be evaluated or supervised by someone other than you, but later on in their lives (be it in college or at work), they will only benefit from this challenging experience.

This is a skill they will have to develop anyway. Your teenager will experience similar situations of being supervised or evaluated by somebody other than you in an after-school job, in team sports, or in community theater.

Homeschool High School Diploma

So, when your program meets all of your state’s requirements and your child has completed your homeschool high school program, you, the homeschool parent, can issue your teenager’s homeschool diploma.

To issue the diploma, you may buy a blank diploma online or from a local office supply store. The diploma should

State it is a high school diploma
Include the student’s name
State that the student completed the required secondary education program
Include the name and signature of the person verifying the student completed
the program (when homeschooled, usually the parent is that person)
Include the date the diploma was issued and signed

The following wording on your homeschooled child’s diploma is suggested:

“This diploma certifies that (student name) has completed the prescribed course of study for high school graduation by his/her parents, (father and mother’s name, alternatively named the Family’s name Home School).”

“In testimony whereof, this High School diploma is conferred, and we, the parents, have subscribed our names on (month, day, year).”

Frequently Asked Homeschool Diploma Questions

Q: Should I have a teaching degree if I want to homeschool my child?

Answer: You are NOT required to have a teaching degree to homeschool your child. However, it is essential to understand the subject matter you’ll be teaching. You should put in some effort and time to ensure your child’s education is up to par with standard requirements.

Q: How do you choose a suitable homeschool curriculum?

Answer: Choosing a good curriculum for your child’s high school education may be overwhelming. There are so many options available to you, but first and foremost, you should consider the interests, preferred learning style, and academic weaknesses and strengths of your child. Read trustworthy reviews and speak with other homeschooling parents.

Q: What are the available homeschooling methods?

Answer: You will find several homeschooling methods, such as the Montessori method, traditional or classical method, unschooling, and many more. All methods have their own approach to educating your child, so do lots of research and select a method that best suits your child’s education requirements and your way of teaching.

Q: Will our local public school issue my child’s diploma?

Answer: No, your local school will not issue a diploma. You chose to homeschool your child, so that’s no option.

Q: Is my teen’s homeschool high school diploma accredited?

Answer: Your child’s homeschool diploma is NOT accredited. If you want your teen to achieve an accredited high school diploma or the equivalent, sign up for a comprehensive, accredited online GED preparatory program.

Q: Must a homeschool high school diploma be from an accredited educational institution?

Answer: No, a homeschool diploma does not have to come from an accredited institution. Colleges, employers, and also the military accept homeschooled high school diplomas in the same way as conventional diplomas and GED credentials.

Q: Since homeschooled high school diplomas aren’t accredited, should our kids get the GED?

Answer: The choice is yours. If your homeschool activities meet your state’s requirements, your child will probably be fine with your diploma. If that’s not the case, earning a GED might be the best and fastest solution. It used to be that there were stigmas associated with the GED, but those days are gone, and today, the GED diploma is respected in the same way as a conventional high school degree.

Q: Are homeschooled high school students ready for a college education?

Answer: It depends on the parents’ program, but, in general, homeschoolers perform just like traditionally-schooled high school grads. Many universities and colleges recognize homeschoolers’ unique education and recruit homeschoolers actively.

It is crucial, however, to ensure your child has completed all necessary college admissions requirements and to provide ample opportunities for test preparation and college-level coursework.

There are many parents that, though highly motivated, cannot guarantee their child receives complete and proper education and that the program they use satisfies all prerequisites and requirements.

For these students, earning their GED credential is the best option to get into college or qualify for positions that require a high school or equivalent degree. The best way to earn a GED is by attending a properly accredited online prep course that will get your child a GED fast!