Unsurprisingly, Maths is one of the High School Diploma's core subjects. Most American high-school programmes expect students to take a year of maths for each year of high school (Grades 9-12), usually earning one credit per year.

• How many Maths credits are required?

• What counts as one Maths credit?

• Course content

• Assessment & grading

• How to structure Maths education

• What if Maths is a struggle?

What counts as one Maths credit?

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

You can work to an externally set curriculum or create your own combinations. 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. One of my highschoolers did a SAT Math prep course with Dumb Ox and I included that as part of that year's credit.

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

I included relevant work my children did as part of a local home ed co-op. 

• 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.

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.

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 Maths is a struggle?

Maths is an essential subject but not all students find it straightforward. Thankfully, there are many ways to help if your child finds maths challenging.

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!

Things to consider for children who lack confidence or struggle with maths include:

• Review foundational concepts at a gentle pace before progressing

• Read and scribe (Like in other subjects, I would read aloud the maths questions and scribe for my son so that his reading and writing challenges during the first year or two of the HSD would not slow his ability to access the maths material.)

• Use real-life contexts (money, measurements, patterns) to make ideas concrete

• Include applied courses that build numeracy without unnecessary pressure 

• Titles for SEN young people can include: Modified Basic Math, Modified Pre-algebra, Modified Algebra I

Maths credits are about documenting real learning, not about meeting a narrow or idealised standard.

Where to next?

Understanding Credits

Creating a Transcript

Planning High School