Michael P. Farris, Esq.
Chairman &
General Counsel

Cutting through the confusion of high school transcripts

Volume 59, Program 12 Airdate: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Originally Aired: 8/26/2003

To many parents, high school record keeping seems extremely complicated. Today on Home School Heartbeat, Inge Cannon joins Mike Smith to tell you how to cut through the confusion.

Mike Smith:
Inge, preparing a high school transcript can seem like a daunting task for a parent. Can you give us the basics? How do parents get it right?


Inge Cannon:
The key, Michael, is that a transcript is simply an academic resume. It has to be concise; all the data needs to fit on the front and back of one sheet of paper. There are some people out there that say you can do a whole 20-page deal, but you still have to have a snapshot, a summary, for people to get the whole picture in a hurry, and then you can add a portfolio and other addendum sheets that explain what you want to do.


What do you have to have on that transcript? The name of the student, the name of the school (that's optional in homeschooling, of course), the history of all the subjects studied with grades and credits, extracurricular activity lists, standardized test scores, a grade point average, and the signature of the school official with a date of graduation.


Mike:
Inge, that's very helpful information, and next time I'd love for our listeners to join us when you'll tell us how we can prepare these transcripts and keep on homeschooling with our homeschool philosophy. So until next time, I'm Mike Smith.

You can contact us for your free information sheet on preparing high school transcripts, and when you do, check out our daily email transcript of this program. Just visit us online at homeschoolheartbeat.com. Or you can call us toll-free at 866-338-8614.