'Social Studies' may be yet another term to learn if you are new to American curriculum lingo; it simply covers what UK educators would mostly call history, geography, politics and the less maths-heavy economics. It’s one of the standard 'core' areas on an American-style high school transcript and universities often expect to see 3–4 years of it across the transcript. 

UK home educators often map Social Studies credits to a mix of history + geography + politics/citizenship - depending on the student’s interests and university plans. There is no single required syllabus or book list and no expectation that home-educated students follow a classroom-style programme. It is good practice to include a Social Studies course in the last year of the HSD. 

The aim of Social Studies is to help students understand how societies work (past and present) by building knowledge of history, government, geography, culture and often economics. We want to nurture informed, thoughtful adults who can evaluate sources, understand current events, recognise bias and ultimately take part responsibly in civic life. 

I recommend UK educators use an umbrella school for at least the last year or two of the HSD route. 

• How many Social Studies credits are required?

• What counts as one Social Studies credit?

• Course content

• Assessment & grading

• How to structure Social Studies courses

• What if Social Studies is a struggle?

What counts as one Social Studies credit?

So, as a credit reflects a year of work, a Social Studies credit reflects a combination of the time spent on learning along with the range and depth of material studied and skills developed.

There is no requirement to rush through large numbers of books or to meet exam-style targets. A small number of texts studied carefully and discussed well can be just as valid as a broader reading list. You can work to an externally set curriculum or create your own.

The level of work should always be age-appropriate and realistic, particularly for younger high school students.

Remember, a typical 1 credit course means:

• Around 120–180 hours of instruction and study over one academic year, for example, this might be:

  • • 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, for 30 weeks  

An hour of a school lesson may be covered in 30-45 minutes at home due to the intensive and uninterrupted nature of learning at home.

• • • A consistent weekly commitment over a year in a home education context 

I included work my children did as part of a local home ed co-op; we did units on A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and Shakepeare and visited the Globe which I included towards my highschoolers' English credits that year. One of my highschoolers has a fascination with Japan so we will building a credit around the topic of Japanese culture and art.

• Half of a two-year GCSE-level textbook

• An externally-led course (like Dreaming Spires Home Learning or Dumb Ox)

• A whole textbook for a course meant for one school year (even if they finish it in less than a year)

• Project-based learning

  • • Young people will often deep-dive into a subject once given the time and space to enjoy delight-led learning; this could be anything from an interest in music, a favourite book series, a period of history or a hobby. I have found that it is straightforward to document these credits if you have given your child the space to truly explore the topic.

Some student-led project credits my children have completed were based around the following topics: Creating YouTube stop-motion Lego shorts (Transcript title: 'Creative Technology'); 3D printing (Transcript title: 'Design and Technology: 3D Printing'); Researching and building a PC (Transcript title: 'Computer Technology').

Assessment & grading

The idea of assessing your child's work and assigning overall grades can be daunting, especially if you are used to exam results being the main benchmark of success. Of course, even though external examinations are not required for the HSD to be valid, you can draw on the College Board SAT and AP exams for standardised assessments. Whether you use them will depend on your end objective.

Thankfully, assessment doesn't have to be stressful or difficult. Parent-assigned grades are normal in the home educating HSD. Grades are typically based on your overall evaluation of a student’s understanding and progress across the course, even the amount of effort can be taken into account. 

You are documenting how well s/he has learnt the material set before them, not predicting performance under exam conditions. You are uniquely well placed to make this judgement: You see the day-to-day work, hear your child explain concepts out loud, read the written responses and observe how independently s/he can applies the knowledge learnt.

I look for progress over the course and that can measured in different ways. In English and History, I found it helpful to compare a piece of written narration from the beginning of the year to that of the end. You could look at essays and written responses, creative projects, oral presentations and reading journals or logs.

Grades

Grades are intended to reflect effort, progress and achievement over time. The transcript uses letter grades. Some parents find it helpful to think in terms of overall mastery, particularly for subjects that involve discussion, writing, or creative work.

Simple grade scale: 

A – Excellent understanding and strong engagement with the material

B – Good understanding with minor gaps or areas for growth

C – Satisfactory understanding; key concepts grasped

D – Limited understanding; significant support required

F – Material not adequately covered or understood

Grading remedial or uneven work

High school learning is rarely neat or perfectly linear, especially for home-educated students who may be catching up in some areas while accelerating in others.

Once a child is officially of high school age, remedial or catch-up work still counts toward credits. Grades should reflect the progress and achievement relative to the material covered that year, not how far behind or ahead s/he may have been at the start.

To take pressure off, you could grade later work once skills have stabilised; describe uneven progress in the course description rather than penalising the grade. Remember, it is legitimate to weigh effort and improvement alongside outcomes.

This approach produces transcripts that are honest and accurately reflect your young person’s learning.

What if Social Studies are a struggle?

Even when your young person struggles with Social Studies, there are many ways to support him/her to make steady progress, earn credit and build confidence. Learning doesn’t have to be textbook-only or heavily writing-based:

• Audiobooks, podcasts and documentaries can count toward credit hours (especially when paired with discussion questions - Sarah Mackenzie of Read Aloud Revival has some excellent prompt questions - short projects or oral summaries). For example, listening to a biography of a historical figure or a podcast and then talking through what was learned can be just as effective as reading a textbook - and often more enjoyable for reluctant readers.

• Oral work from discussions or narrations is particularly valuable and can be used to assess understanding (a method helpful for those who struggle with writing). I recorded some of my son's verbal narrations on my phone at the start of several early courses to enable him to share his growing knowledge without the protracted pain of handwriting. I then had the option to compare them to narrations later in the course to see progress over time.

• Project-based learning with timelines, maps, presentations, posters or small research projects allow students to demonstrate understanding in a variety of ways.

• Integrating interests can link Social Studies content to your child’s passions (for instance, exploring historical engineering projects for a STEM-focused student, or investigating economics through real-life budgeting exercises). My engineering-focused son strongly disliked history but was fascinated by guns and war so modern history, with an emphasis on wars, was the way to make it tolerable for him.

Remember, remedial or catch-up work still counts once your child is of actual high school age (14-18, Grade 9-12, Years 10-13). Progress does not need to be linear to count. Late bloomers need not be left behind!

Young people who find Social Studies challenging can still earn credits, engage meaningfully with the material and develop lasting understanding when learning is interactive and tailored to their interests.

Where to next?

Understanding Credits

Creating a Transcript

Planning High School