Many homeschooling parents have never shared the role of “grader” with anyone before. If this is the first time your teen will be graded by someone else, here is a primer of what to expect as you think about the differences between high school and college.
| High School | College |
|---|---|
| Required by law / free to everyone. | Optional / expensive. |
| Participation/attendance grades given for showing up or effort. | Participation/attendance grades are uncommon. Showing up is never enough. |
| Homework is consistently graded or checked by the parent/teacher and counts toward the course grade. | Homework is assigned, but it may or may not be graded or count as part of the course grade. A course rubric will explain which assignments generate points. |
| Many assignments, activities, quizzes, or tests will make up a course grade. | As few as 1-2 assignments may make up an entire course grade. There are college courses where the entire grade is 1 exam! |
| Homework is regularly collected. | Homework may be assigned and expected to be completed, but not collected or recorded for a grade. |
| Teachers inform students when they are doing poorly/discuss grades. | The syllabus and rubric are given on the first day of class and the student is expected to track their own progress. |
| Teachers help you before, during, and after class with difficult material. | Professors expect you to learn independently or contact them during office hours outside of class. |
| Teachers know you personally or by name. | Professors may have hundreds of students and never interact with you directly. |
| Due dates are discussed regularly, especially for big papers or projects. | The syllabus will include due dates for all assignments in the semester and may never be discussed. The Student is expected to turn in assignments anyway. |
| Homeschool parents are aware of every grade and the student’s progress. Schools send home grades. | FERPA prevents colleges from sharing grades with parents. Grade sharing must be done by the student. |
| Teachers will help the student when struggling. | Student is expected to seek out learning resources on their own when they do not understand a concept or are struggling. |
| Poor grades do not prevent the student from taking future courses. | Poor grades will prevent the student from future course registration and accessing financial aid. |
| Make up tests are arranged and encouraged. | Make up tests are rarely available. |
| Late work may be accepted for full or partial credit. | Late work is rarely accepted. |
| Help you work ahead when you’re going to be gone, or get the work you missed while you were gone. | You are responsible for all work that is due during your absence. |
| Students are often expected to reproduce what they were taught in the same way it was presented to them. | Students are often expected to apply what they have learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems when taking a test. |
| Carefully follows a textbook. | May use dozens of resources in part or whole to teach a topic. |
| Follows a state or standard scope and sequence with little variation. | May loosely follow a course model but has academic freedom to teach the material without interference from the college administration. |
| Teachers are approachable and accessible to students. | Professors may have very little contact with a student. |
| High school teachers have bachelor’s degrees in teaching or education. | College professors have master’s degrees or higher in the subject they are teaching. |
| Effort will earn good grades. | Results determine good grades. |
