High School Success: Online Credit Recovery

There are many reasons a child does not pass a high school course. An illness may have prevented them from attending or a family emergency may have interrupted their schooling. Perhaps the teacher of the class was unable to meet this particular student's needs. Repeating a high school course the following year may delay graduation. If your child is in a situation where they need to repeat a class, you may want to consider taking a credit recovery class online.

The Basics

If your child is enrolled in a traditional school, you should talk to their guidance counselor and the school administrators before deciding on taking classes online. Some schools will not accept credits from online sources as long as your child is enrolled in their school.

Your child's school may have online credit recovery courses in place. If they do, this will save you a lot of money. Most public schools that offer online credit recovery do not charge for the classes. I have this situation with one of my kids. They did not pass Algebra I last year. This year they are taking a credit recovery version online through the public school. The program is called Odyssey and many public school systems use it.

Choosing an Online School

There are many online schools to choose from. Check with your local school to see if they have an approved list of online schools for credit recovery. You may be required to take the courses at a local community college.

Before deciding on an online school, see if they are accredited. There are many types of accreditation. Local accreditation is easier to get than national accreditation. Look for schools that have both. Accredited schools undergo a series of steps to become accredited. This includes having certified teachers, an acceptable curriculum, and approved methods of communicating with students and parents.

Inquire about how tests and work are graded and submitted. Do the assignments need to be mailed in or can they be submitted electronically? Are tests taken online and graded by a computer, are tests printed out and mailed in, or are they printed out and the completed test is scanned in to be electronically submitted?

Find out about teacher access and course hours. Can your child access the class 24/7 or is there an assigned time during the day or evening where they must attend a webinar? Will there be email access or a chat room where your child can ask the teacher questions or is the course completely electronic with no human contact?

Once you have all of your questions answered and you are confident that the online school is reputable, request a syllabus of the course and review it with your child's current school. Find out if there are forms that you must fill out in order to get credit. Check to see if a minimum grade is required to receive credit. Finally, enroll your child in the online course and pay the tuition.

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