40 Editable Homeschool Report Card Templates

Many homeschoolers don’t give report cards to measure the performance of students. Instead, they use other documentation methods to meet the homeschool rules and law requirements. But this doesn’t mean that homeschool progress report templates have no value. You can use this template if you need to provide an overview of your child’s progress. You can either create the template on your own or use a template that you can download online. What the report card will contain depends on your child’s curriculum. You can print the report card straight from the school’s program or curriculum provider.

Homeschool Report Card Templates

How do homeschoolers record grades?

There might be times when you need to discuss your child’s progress with another person for them to know about your child’s accomplishments and capabilities. For instance, if you will enroll your child back in a traditional school or if you want your child to participate in certain extracurricular activities, you may have to record grades on printable report cards.

Calculating your child’s grades isn’t too complicated. First, you need to take all of their tests and assignments, add the scores together, then calculate the average score. You can make some modifications to this simple computation if you put more weight on assignments compared to tests. Here are the factors to keep in mind when you’re calculating and recording grades:

Mastery

It’s very rare for a student to get perfect scores on all of their subjects. For homeschoolers, teachers offer their students more challenges so they won’t perfect all of their tests. One of the objectives of learning is to master a certain subject, but your child might not achieve this. The good news is homeschooling allows for individualized learning according to your child’s pace. Use this as one of your bases when calculating grades.

Rubric

You must set objectives and goals for the grades that will cover skills or subjects that your child should master. You can also assign specific details to include in this rubric. Include any expectations you wish to evaluate, like how quickly your child completes assignments, how neat they work, or even their accuracy.

Educational resume

For older students, you can say check their proficiency in certain fields. Just make sure you have evidence to support this. Students can earn credits and courses from real-life learning, but giving projects and tests will allow you to come up with grades to record in their report cards.

Homeschool Progress Report Templates

What is a homeschool report card?

The best way to keep track of your child’s homeschooling progress is through a report card template. You can download a template online for free. Choose a template that suits your child’s school and curriculum best. Just like traditional record-keeping, you can follow the same process for different levels.

Aside from using the homeschool report card to keep track of the subjects or courses your child has already taken, it will also record the grade they got in all of their subjects. You have many choices of report cards templates that fit any subject, age, and grading scale needed. Templates for younger children can be as simple as having a pass or fail system. For older children, you need to keep track of their GPA.

Why do you need this template?

As a parent, you may have to create or download your homeschool grades template to serve as a progress report of your child during their homeschooling. This report isn’t as elaborate as a traditional report card, but it will show what your child has learned. You can use this template in the following situations:

• If your child will return to traditional school. It will provide your child’s next teacher with what lessons they have already learned.
• If your child has a tutor, the report card will document what they have accomplished.
• Keeping track of your child’s progress regularly will make it easier for you to compile more comprehensive reports in the future.
• If you want to sign your child up for an activity or program that will require proof of their grades.
• To provide your child with a visual representation of their learning at home.
• To provide updates to other educators on where your child is in terms of their lessons and overall progress.

Printable Report Cards

Benefits of having a homeschool report card template

The main purpose why schools send report cards home is to let the parents know how their child has progressed in their studies. Depending on the homeschooling method you choose, you might not want to make grades the focus of your child’s education. But you should consider this as having a homeschool report card template offers the following benefits:

To ensure accountability

As a parent, you have the responsibility to keep track of your child’s progress and you’re more likely to succeed if you have a sense of accountability. Many states don’t require parents of homeschooled children to turn in grades but you might need this document when your child enters high school. The best way to keep track of all the required information is through a report card.

To gain incentives

There are many companies and businesses that offer incentives and rewards for good grades. For instance, children who perform well in school can get free treats, gifts, meals, and more, while parents can get discounts and other good deals. These should be reasons enough to encourage your child to improve in school. Research more about these rewards and how you can take advantage of them.

For your child to join extracurricular activities in the future

There are states that give homeschooling students a chance to play sports in public schools. These student-athletes must meet a minimum GPA. If this is something that your child feels interested in, having a report card is essential. If you’re not familiar with these programs, do your research or even ask other homeschooling parents if their children have also joined similar extracurricular activities.

To keep track of your child’s progress

If you have a goal-driven child, maintaining a report card is a great way to keep track of your child’s progress. It is also a document that your child can show off to their relatives and friends. Even siblings look forward to getting their report cards to see how they have performed and how they measure up to each other. This kind of healthy competition could push your child to strive harder.

To help your child learn how to accept constructive criticism

Remember that not everything your child sees in their report card will be good or positive. They might even argue with you at some point. You can find the bright side of such situations by helping your child learn how to accept constructive criticism so they can make the necessary improvements. You can talk about the subjects they could improve and how they will do it.

To help your child realize what they’re good at

Your child needs to learn that there are specific objectives that need to achieve. If your child can’t achieve these, they have to work harder or try different strategies. If your child fails, it might mean they need more practice in that subject. But this should not discourage them. Through the report card, you can show your child the subjects they’re best at to make them feel motivated to try harder.

Report cards are the norm

While many people prefer to deviate from the norm, there are some things we should follow because everyone else does them too. For instance, most children ride the bus to school, bring their own lunches, and have had to deal with frustrating teachers. Report cards are part of what children remember from their school days. As a homeschooling parent, having report cards will make your child’s learning experience more traditional and official.

How do I make a report card?

If you have never tried writing a progress report, you might not know what to include. To some degree, the homeschool laws of your state may dictate the elements of this document. Aside from this, your progress report can be as simple or detailed as you want it. Just try to include the following:

Basic information

The report must include basic and factual details about your child. In the future, teachers will look back over this report as your child gets older. Make sure to include details like your child’s grade level, age, and even a photo.

List of resources

Include the whole resource list for the current school year. This may include:

• The titles of the books included in the homeschool curriculum along with the names of the authors, online classes your child attended, and websites they visited.
• A description of the course for each class your child has completed.
• A list of all the titles of books your child has read.
• Any outside classes your has attended like driver education, music, co-op, and more.
• Any standardized tests your child has completed along with their scores.

Activities

Include all of the extracurricular activities your child has participated in, like clubs, sports, volunteer activities, scouting, community service, field trips, and so on. If your child has received any recognition or awards, include these too.

Samples of your child’s work

Include any work samples your child has done to show their abilities and skills. These may include projects, essays, artwork, and more. If you have photos of your child’s completed projects, include those too.

You may also include completed tests, although you shouldn’t use these exclusively since tests don’t show the complete range of your child’s education. There might also be areas where your child struggled and keeping samples of these areas could them can help them see the progress they have made over time.

Attendance and grades

Some states require that you record a specific number of school hours or days of attendance. If you live in such a state, include this information in your child’s report card. If you need to give “formal grades,” add these to the report card too.

Homeschool Grades Templates

How do I create a homeschool progress report?

Many homeschool parents have the responsibility of writing yearly progress reports or compiling portfolios before the school year ends. This job doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or stressful. You can even see it as a great opportunity to write about your child and the school year they had just completed.

For homeschooled children, a progress report might seem unnecessary. But the main purpose of a progress report is to let parents know how their children perform in school. So making one for your child will serve the same purpose. Here are some steps for creating this document:

Meet the laws and requirements of your state

Many states require parents to write a yearly progress report or compile a portfolio for their homeschooled child. You should submit this portfolio or report to an educational liaison or governing body. But in other states, they only require you to keep such documents in your child’s file.

Assess your child’s progress

The main purpose of writing a progress report is for it to be a means to objectively assess how much your child has experienced, accomplished, and learned over the course of the year. Comparing your child’s report cards year after year could be your basis in finding your child’s weaknesses and strengths. This will then help you document your child’s overall academic development.

Explain your child’s progress to the non-teaching parent

For your partner or the non-teaching parent, the progress report will provide them with an interesting snapshot of your child’s academic year. As the teaching parent who is with your child every day, you can explain things to the non-teaching parent using the report card.

Show your child how they have progressed

The homeschool progress report can include valuable feedback for your child, which could help them identify the areas where they need improvement. You can also use it to emphasize their patterns of strength. It’s recommended to have your child complete a self-evaluation too.

Make it interesting so it can serve as a keepsake of your child’s homeschooling journey

A detailed report can become a cherished memento over time. Although this report card might seem like an unnecessary task, in the years to come, when your child is to graduate high school, it can be a source of nostalgia if you make it well.