DS14 is wanting to go back to public school next year. I'm a little bit nervous about sending him because I'm scared that I didn't do a good job and he will struggle in school now.. For those of you who have sent your children back after homeschooling them, how did they do? Did they struggle for a while or did they pick up and run with the work. I don't feel that we have been rigorous enough in his studies and I'm really worried.
What grade will he be entering? I don't know about where you live, but where I live, the school has sole discretion in testing kids (those who enter from homeschool or some other non-accredited private school) and placing them in the grade they test into. So if they place him in a spot, that's the spot they believe he should be in. Here, for example, he would NOT be allowed to enter ninth grade unless he has passed the 8th grade state test, so the school would give that, and if he passed it, he'd be entered into 9th grade. Otherwise, he'd be placed in 8th because of age, or into 7th if that's where his test results placed him. I had a student that I thought was doing terribly (placed into my 6th grade English), but later she went to public, understanding that she would have to enter as a 9th grader. But when they got done testing her, they gave her credits for 9th grade and put her in 10th...
Garrett went back for a short time last year. I was scared to death, but he did great. He did struggle in math, but it was that new math and all the kids struggled. Here they can test too, but often just take your word for it.
Here a cousin of mine went to PS this year. He should have been in 10th, but bc one of his high school maths was a 'real life' math, they didn't give him credit. So he started in 9th.
My youngest went back half way through her Junior year, which was the beginning of a regular school year. The school didn't test her, they just looked at her transcripts and put her in as a Sophomore. I didn't mind too much, as this way she had plenty of time to catch up on any sciences she wasn't completely sure of and all of her college prep courses. She SOARED!!! Straight A's and graduated salutatorian. She won a full scholarship to a private school out east. I am very proud of her! Honestly, If starting in the middle of High School, I think it is a good idea to start a year behind where they were in homeschool - not because they have missed anything, but just so they don't struggle trying to get in everything the public school requires. They need to be able to enjoy the public school experience in High School - the dances, the sports, music etc. If your ds is starting as a Freshman, then that is a good time to start him. He won't have to worry about missing any of those classes and "catching up" (their verbiage). I'm sure he'll do GREAT!!
My ds went back to public school for 6th adn 7th grade. His biggest struggles were with not being listened to by adults. High school might be a little different since most of the teachers respect the fact that high school kids appreciate more input. However, our jr. high was a "sit down and shut up" atmosphere and my ds was used to discussing things with adults. Culture shock was by far worse than the actual change in academics. He did fine academically, making the honor roll, but he got in so much trouble for talking that he often had to serve detention. :roll:
My dd(14), who had been homeschooling since she was 8, went back to school this past September. She's in 9th grade at the Fame school in NYC - one of the top academically ranked (and the top arts) high schools in the country. She is doing amazingly well and loves it. She picked it right up and ran with it. That said, for just about the whole 6 years at home - we were full unschoolers. Dd spent her days following her interests and doing whatever she felt like, with lots of homeschool group classes and field trips thrown in. So, I don't think you have to worry about how rigorous you feel you should have been . Just show him what 9th or 10th graders study in his new school and see if he'd like you to go over anything with him. And always be supportive and encouraging. Also, the fact that your ds is choosing to go to school (as opposed to you making him go) will make a lot of difference in how he handles everything. He'll be fine.
My son we be entering as a freshman next year. I had him classified as a freshman this year but we have really struggled with some of his classes (him not being motivated) and since he won't have the credits needed for 10th grade I'm going to place him in 9th.. We only have one highschool here but he is eligible to go to another school about 15 miles away that's a k-12 all grades in one SMALL school. That school doesn't require testing. IF we place him in the local highschool he will be required to test for placement. I'm sure he will do fine with his classes. BUT I am a bit worried about math. We are doing Math u see and he is working in Zeta AND Pre-Algebra. He's catching on REALLY quick. But that new math stuff has me stumped and I'm concerned that I won't be able to help him once he's in school and he'll fall behind.. BTW, What grade is Pre-Algebra typically taken in? I didn't take it until I was a freshman but then again it took me 3 years to FINALLY pass it. I never even made it to Algebra
To answer the question above about prealgebra, my son took it as a 7th grader and algebra (that counted as a high school credit ) as an 8th grader. This year he is a freshman and is in geometery. That is not how most of the kids we know have done it. Most of his friends were in pre-algebra in 8th and are taking algebra in 9th. Math comes very easy for him and has always been his favorite.
When I was in school, nobody made a big deal out of it being Prealgebra - it was just 8th grade math, with 9th grade math the next year (algebra I). I think that's still typical around here, although I think in larger schools they may have options to do Alg I in 8th.
Our youngest is returning to public school in the fall. She is finishing Teaching Textbooks 7 soon and will start Pre Algebra right after and work on it during the summer. I just want to be sure she is ready for 8th grade math at the public school. I spoke to a high school math teacher in the school system she will attend and he said she would be ready for what they will be doing in 8th grade math. I just don't want her to feel behind the other kids.
