So in the US it is totally legitimate to get homeschooled, right?
In comparison to Germany, homeschooling is illegal here, you are forced by law to go to school until you got a certain education.
So my questions are, does homeschooling in the US (where it seems to be quite common?) favour the child?
Would you say they get better education than in school? Do you have a degree if you’re homeschooled, is it easy to find a job?
And especially in the whole Covid situation where basically everyone was homeschooled: Did that work out or was it a failure? (Imo here it didn’t work at all, no one was prepared and my grades dropped. :()
The homeschool parent has to register with the state as a private school. The requirements to graduate depend on the parent. Most parents look at the requirements of the colleges in the state to base their requirements on. The parent will make a transcript and a diploma for their child. End of year tests are required, but they aren’t like the standardized ones public schools give. They are tested on the same things, just the way they are tested is different (there are some verbal sections). The chances a homeschoolers has on getting into college just depends on the school. They sometimes have to take an extra placement test or two.
There are many ways to be homeschooled, so I will mention the ones I know. There are curriculums a family can purchase, and they are supplied with the textbooks and schedule. There are also online courses homeschoolers can take through a college or high school. Another option is co-op, where homeschoolers meet once or twice a week for class and get assignments for the rest of the week. There are some textbooks written especially for a homeschool student, modified since the student will be learning on their own. Dual-enrollment is a great opportunity for homeschoolers to get the feel of college classes and the workload.
Source: I’m a homeschooled senior in high school, graduating in May. I asked my mom about the diploma and testing.
Homeschooling varies a lot based on jurisdiction (i.e. which state/province or country you’re located in).
In some cases homeschooling is handled by one’s parents, in other cases home-schooled kids come together outside of a conventional school environment and get taught with kids from other families from someone (possibly a parent) who volunteers their time. Some home-schooled kids also take classes online, sometimes with interactive video.
In some jurisdictions, kids who are home-schooled must be taught the exact same curriculum that kids are taught in regular (e.g. public/state) schools, including sometimes using the same textbooks, lesson plans and/or teaching materials. In other cases, there is a lot more freedom with respect to what material can be taught and/or how that material can be taught.
Either way, it’s quite common for home-schooled kids to have to complete one or more standardized exam(s) (under third-party supervision) throughout the school year to ensure that they have knowledge and understanding of the material which children their age are expected to learn in a regular schooling environment.
In some jurisdictions, homeschooling may not be permitted past a certain age (e.g. during high school years) because the local state/provincial or national government may feel that it’s especially important for teens to be exposed to a school environment with other kids their age where it can be guaranteed everyone is being taught (and being tested on) the same curriculum/material.
For jurisdictions where teens can be home-schooled throughout high-school, it should still be possible for them to obtain a high school diploma at the end, assuming they can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the material (e.g. by sitting end-of-term exams that are standardized for the curriculum taught by the local school-board).
It’s also possible for individuals to obtain a GED which basically certifies that they have achieved the equivalent of a high-school education. In most cases, anyone (who doesn’t have a high-school diploma) can obtain a GED at any point in life (even as a grown adult). To obtain a GED, you usually have to pass a series of tests/exams that test various areas of knowledge and understanding in a variety of high-school subject areas.
It may be more difficult to get into certain colleges/universities if you were home-schooled or have a GED (instead of a high-school diploma), but it normally doesn’t prevent you from applying and there are still many colleges/universities that are happy to accept students with GEDs.