In this post, longstanding Education Otherwise member Vicky N describes their personal experience of using a US style approach to home education.
As a home educating parent, I had always had an inkling that iGCSEs may not be the way to go for my daughter. She is exceptionally bright but her Audhd, selective mutism and OCD mean that there are other things to consider. For example, could she cope with going somewhere that she has never been to before take the exam? Could she cope with the strangers, the unfamiliar room and the silence? How would we travel there? How would we organise additional time and typing, as her hypermobility makes it difficult to write with a pen? If we had to stay overnight how would she manage the stress of staying somewhere new right before her exam? Also, the cost, the exams, the travel, it all adds up! I knew that she could do the study but worried that there were too many things that could negatively affect her exam outcome.
I was at a bit of a loss and had been researching alternatives on and off as she grew. Then, in 2022, I came across the US High School Diploma qualification. It wasn’t particularly well known in the UK but there were people following it. A lot were making their own transcripts. However, these weren’t always being accepted at colleges or universities as effectively, you are grading your own child and there was no set standard. I chose to join Homeschool Directive, a US ‘Umbrella School’ offering the US HSD in early 2023; we have been with them for nearly three years now. At the time they weren’t accredited (but were on their way to accreditation) but were offering a US transcript and full support. I made an appointment to discuss things with the founder, a fantastic lady called Michele Holmes, and I knew that I had made the correct choice. There are other services which you could use but that worked for us.
So, what is the US High School diploma?
‘It is a certificate awarded upon completion of a four-year secondary education program (grades 9-12) in the United States. To earn it, students must complete a required number of credits in core subjects such as English, maths and science, plus electives, and a diploma signifies that a student has met state-level requirements for graduation. It is the standard qualification for entering higher education, or the workforce, in the US and is often requested for international university applications.’
The US HSD is more of a liberal arts programme, allowing children to follow their interests far more than in the UK. But importantly for us, there were also no exams.
Physically it is a transcript of the learning that your child is doing with grades awarded for each credit, giving an overall average at the end. Each credit has a title for what you have learnt, within that are the contents of what they have learnt.
But how do you get the credits?
The answer is simple; it is up to you (with the service provider). It was a case of looking at what my daughter was learning and how I could make that into a credit! For example, she completed a credit that we titled (with help from Michele) ‘Mixed Media Art’. This was a selection of art lessons that my daughter had attended locally ranging from sewing to clay work, add into that art projects which she had completed at home, and we had enough for a credit in art.
Alternatively, for maths, we have a tutor who very kindly teaches the US maths curriculum for us (as it is quite different to the UK). We note down everything my daughter covers and her marks for her assignments which leads toward her end credit.
For English we have achieved credits for ‘Literary Exploration and Discursive Writing: from Shakespeare to Gothic Literature’ and ‘English Language SCQF level 4/ 5’; You can see the variety of work that can go toward a credit.
It is so empowering being able to look at what we were already doing and enjoying and seeing how we could expand it into a credit, and eventually a physical qualification on paper.
Does it take a lot of time and work?
Yes and no. Your child’s learning can remain as structured or unstructured as you wish. However, there is a structure to achieving the credits (with our chosen provider) and a certain amount of work, at a certain level, is required to achieve a credit. For example, could my child achieve a credit in cooking because my child makes their own lunch every day and the odd meal? No, because it isn’t necessarily showing depth of learning. There does need to be progress and some form of measurement. You put together everything for the credit, what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, what work they complete, how you’re going to expand on it and what grades they get, then the provider works with you on assessing whether it is worth a credit.
So yes, there is work to be done for the US HSD, there is a fair amount of planning, preparation and research for the year ahead. We received a huge amount of support with this and once you’ve completed the first year it’s much easier!
Is it equivalent to GCSEs?
No. It is not directly equivalent to anything in the UK, really. The US HSD covers learning up to the age of 17/18 and equates to higher than GCSE but lower than A level. Although again, it is not directly equivalent and really depends on the credits you do. For example, you can do something called dual enrolment which includes US university level credits, which are obviously of a higher level.
Can I use the US HSD for university in the UK?
A US HSD (by an accredited company) is a formal, and recognised, qualification. It is recognised by UK Universities (under overseas qualifications normally). The service provider can contact any university that you are interested in and speak to them about their road to accepting your child.
Michele had a fantastic chat with Aberdeen University for me. They came back and said how interested they were which was amazing! They advised that Michele could come back to them and they would help to make sure that my daughter’s choices at higher level (dual enrolment) were going to give her the best chance of being accepted on her chosen course at university.
How does it compare cost wise?
I think that really depends on the end result that you want to achieve.
To sit a GCSE exam is anywhere from £150 to £500 so assuming a desire to go to university, going with an average £325, to complete a basic nine GCSEs over two years is £2925. At the end you will need to do A levels or equivalent for university. ‘A’ levels are £108 to £400 per subject. At an average of £254 per subject that’s £762 for three ‘A’ levels. So, a four year course of exams averages £3687 not including travelling costs, tutors, course texts etc.
A US HSD is approximately £2968 depending on the provider. There is also often the option to pay in instalments. Tutors are approximately £30 an hour. Meaning that overall, if you were aiming for university it is entirely possible that the US HSD is cheaper in the long run.
Overall
Home education is and will always be about the parents and child choosing how and what they want to learn. You can decide on content, teaching and whether to be structured or unstructured, schooled or unschooled, the choices are endless, which is what makes home education the beautiful thing that it is.
Is the US HSD going to suit everyone?
I don’t imagine so, but it suits us perfectly, giving my daughter the freedom to explore her interests fully with an accredited qualification at the end. Could I write pages and pages about it? Yes, but I’ve tried to be reasonably brief!
If you are interested in alternative qualifications as well as posting any questions on the Education Otherwise Facebook page I would recommend joining the Facebook group HE Success without UK Exams.
