The Homeschool Resource

• Many states require homeschooling families to keep records of their child’s education.

• Proof of education, hours of instruction, test scores, medical records, IEP information, high school transcripts, and extracurriculars are the main records that need to be kept.

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What is Homeschool Record Keeping?

While homeschooling offers a lot of academic freedom, there are certain guidelines that you should follow. One of those guidelines is record keeping. Each state has different legal requirements for what type of records you will need to keep. If you are unsure of the requirements you need, check out the homeschool section in your state here on our state standards page.

Most states require some sort of homeschool record keeping such as proof of education, hours of instruction, test scores, medical records, IEP information, high school transcripts, correspondence with any school officials, and/or an intent to homeschool. Additionally, it is good practice to document any award or achievement that your child receives as well as a list of extracurricular activities. Photos of fieldtrips, a list of books read for academic purposes, proof of community service projects, and samples of artwork are also recommended items worth saving for each school year.

It is important to keep certain records even if your state does not legally require them. Acceptance into universities, colleges, trade schools, and the military all rely on good record keeping, especially for the high school years. Future employers, scholarship organizations, apprenticeship and internship programs will all ask for high school transcripts. Certain applications like driver’s license also request proof of education.

Because record keeping is so important to your child’s future, I would highly recommend keeping a backup copy. If your paper copy is lost due to a natural disaster or a fire, you will want to have a digital copy available to avoid issues.

Proof of Education

Proof of education is a requirement of homeschooling families for many states. More importantly, it is needed for enrollment in postsecondary educational institutions, the military, driver license applications, and many future empolyers. To meet these requirements, there are a few things that are recommended to keep throughout the school year.

First, keep a list of all the textbooks and curriculum books that you use throughout the year. I even recommend keeping the receipts to show proof of purchase, and if you are using online curriculums, a list of those resources, too. Keep in mind, each of your children will need their own list.

Second, keep samples of your child’s schoolwork. This could be artwork, writing assignments, math worksheets, diorama pictures, posters, science experiments, or anything else easy to file that showcases your child’s academic activities. I recommend having a separate folder or binder for each child where you keep all samples, as well as the list of their textbooks and curriculums. This folder can also be used as a part of your child’s portfolio, which I will go into greater detail about later.

Basic Academic Records

Grades, report cards, and attendance are what I consider basic records. These records need to be kept yearly for each child. For grades, you can use a grading sheet such as this one of ours to write down every grade received. Also include a grading rubric to show what percentage each area, like daily grades and assessments, weigh towards the final grade. Report cards can be made strictly at the end of the year as final grades for each subject, or can be broken down into semesters or quarters to show yearly progress. A simple attendance sheet like this one for each child is sufficient to show proof of hours of instruction.

Medical Records

Medical records, especially immunization records, I also encourage you to keep as they will be needed to enter universities, colleges, the military, or other post high school employment. If you have a child with a disability, include any relevent IEP records and information. Also make sure to keep record of any academic time missed due to a medical issue. This could be due to the health of your child, you, or any other close family member.

Other Academic Studies

There are many outside sources that you may end up using for the education of your child. Tutors, homeschool group studies, AP high school courses through a local high school, dual enrollment classes, and religious study groups are some of the resources that you may use where you will receive academic records that you yourself did not create. These records need to be kept, especially final grades if applicable.

Extracurriculars

Extracurriculars are anything outside of the common curriculum that your child participates in. Many extracurriculars are yearly commitments and some are one-time competitions. No matter how long or short of a time that your child participates in these, make sure that you are keeping a record to show their participation.

Does your child play sports? If so, keep a log of which years they participated, what position they played, their team’s statistics or number of wins, their particular successes, and any awards received (for the award you can take a photo). If your child is interested in playing college sports, you can request scouts from institutions to watch your child play. Also keep in mind esports, competitive online gaming, which is the up-an-coming sport in many secondary education institutes.

Has your child participated in creative art competitions such as local poetry contests, art contests, or musical concerts? List the year(s) that they participated in these events. Also note whether they won or placed if it was a contest, and take a photo of any award given.

Does your child volunteer, provide charity work, or participate in community service regularly? If it is a consistent commitment, like daily, weekly, monthly, etc, then they count as extracurriculars. However, only completing volunteer work once does not count.

Other extracurricular activities may include studying a second language, traveling abroad for cultural studies, or starting a community garden. Anything outside of the needed curriculum that is participated in outside of normal school hours can be considered an extracurricular activity and needs to be recorded appropriately.

High School Transcripts

A high school transcript is generally a 1-page document that lists all the courses the student has taken during their time in high school, a small description of each course, how many credits each class was worth, and the corresponding grade that they earned. This also includes dual-enrollment classes and AP courses. List on the transcript any college credit that can be awarded for these courses as well. Most states have a specific number of credit hours that need to be completed in each subject in order to earn a diploma.

Universities, colleges, trade schools, scholarship organizations, military enrollment, apprenticeship programs, and employers will ask for a transcript as part of their application process. Therefore, the transcript is one of the most important documents that you need to keep. A missing or poorly recorded transcript can harm your child’s chances of attending a secondary education institution or getting a post-graduation job.  

I recommend keeping all of your child’s high school records for the entirety of their high school career and for several years after. Make sure your child is well into their post-high-school lives, whether continuing their education or joining the job market, before considering getting rid of these documents.  

Portfolio

Your state may ask you to present, or at least keep a portfolio, for each child every year. Some states require this portfolio to be checked by a certified teacher or other Department of Education personnel. This is to ensure that the education that you are providing your child is up to the state’s standards. While the contents of the portfolio are defined differently state-to-state, there are some items that are common to all.

• A curriculum list. This includes any textbooks or curriculum books used and any online curriculums or resources. This would just be a printed out or written list kept in the portfolio.
• A grading rubric. You need to explain how you assign grades to tasks such as writing assignments, science experiments, and other hands-on activities. The weight of each type of grade, such as assessments and daily work, needs to be kept as well. These can be a typed out or written page kept in the portfolio.
• Attendance. Most states have a minimum number of days that must be obtained to count as a full year of school. Also, each day will need to have a minimum number of hours of instruction. Keeping an attendance sheet for each child is sufficient to meet this requirement.
• Course Descriptions. This is aimed mainly at middle and high school students, but can be applied to elementary level classes as well. Standards covered in each class need to be on this list. Bought curriculums should have a description already written. If you are making the curriculum yourself, you can write down the standards covered in each class .
• Samples of schoolwork. Again, this could be artwork, writing assignments, math worksheets, diorama pictures, posters, science experiments, or anything else easy to file that showcases your child’s academic progress.
• Test Results. This should include your child’s test scores from homeschool, as well as any mandated state testing results.
• Grades/Progress from Tutors and/or Group Studies. If your child uses outside learning resources, especially tutors, AP classes, or dual enrollment, keeping both correspondence and final grades are important for not only homeschooling records but are necessary for enrollment in secondary education institutions.
• Extracurriculars. Keep a list of extracurricular activities, including years participated and pictures of trophies, awards, games, and/or recitals. Sports, the arts, volunteering, and community services are some of the most common extracurriculars. They give your child an advantage when applying to secondary education institutes and even boost their resumes.
• Field Trips. List all field trips taken, whether education based or not, and take photos.
• Community Service Events. Keep a record of any community service your child completes. This could be correspondence with an establishment, a photo, or just a written record of the day and time spent. Many states require a minimum amount of community service hours to be completed for graduation requirements.
• Correspondence with schools or BOE/DOE. Any correspondence with schools, including student withdrawal forms, AP testing correspondence and results, or dual enrollment documentation should be kept as records. This also includes if you had to sign an intent to homeschool through your state’s Board of Education/Department of Education.

How to Store Records

There is no right way to store your child’s homeschool records. I placed all of my students’ records and samples in a box at the end of every school year. I labeled each with their name and the school year. Then again, I kept basically everything from workbooks to artwork to science journals. If you plan to only keep the necessary items, using manilla folders labeled by name and school year and placed in a filing box or filing cabinet will keep your records organized and easy to locate.

Again, I recommend keeping a backup of all files. This can either be on a USB drive, on your personal computer, or on a cloud storage. Having 2 copies on different types of files cuts down the possibility of losing your child’s important information. Keeping homeschool records may seem tedious and a bit overwhelming at first, but eventually it will become like second nature. Just remember, keeping records and the record keeping tools easily available will lower stress and make your homeschooling journey that much easier.

Have a tip for record keeping? Leave a comment below to share with the community.