Preparing a Homeschooled Child for Public High School

You've been homeschooling your child since birth, or perhaps just since 6th grade and now you are thinking of putting them in public high school. Besides dealing with the obvious debate of why and if it is a good idea or not, you've got to prepare the child for the transition from being a homeschooled child to attending public school for high school.

In the best case scenario, you should know in advance (a year or so), that the child will be going to public high school. This way, you can take steps to make sure they have been properly prepared for the transition. Knowing that the public school will likely scrutinize the previously homeschooled child, you will want to make sure they are academically up to par, especially if they are in the younger age range of a typical homeschooler. Otherwise, they may try to place your child in middle school.

To be admitted into a public school after homeschooling your child should have the following academic knowledge:

Math: The previously homeschooled child should be advanced in math. At a minimum, they need to be ready to take Algebra, having mastered pre-algebra. It is preferable, however, that they have also mastered Algebra and test well in the subject, proving that they are advanced well into high school math.

Language Arts: Your child should be well read, having covered many middle school classics, modern literature, and biographies as well. They need to cover authors such a Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Verne Jules, and more. They need to be able to write Write narrative, expository, literary and technical essays. They need to have good research skills. You can use online assessments to test reading comprehension, which should be at least at the 9th grade level. '˜

Science: Your previously homeschooled child needs to have had a good level of exposure to science. If they have participated in lots of hands-on experiments and perhaps spent a lot of time at science museums, they will be more than equipped for a high school science class. However, it wouldn't hurt if they had already tackled a Physical Science or Biology before enrolling into high school.

Social Studies: If your child has been reading and watching historical biographies all along, they will be more than ready for high school history and social studies. In addition to that, in their 8th grade year, the child should learn world geography as this is usually covered in public middle school.