Receiving Graduation Diplomas from Home School

The wearing of the academic regalia including the robes and the mortar board caps with the graduation tassels in the colors of the school you attended is one of the rites of passage that every student looks forward to. Leaving the learned halls of the high school they have attended for the last four years and entering into the world of adults with a ceremony that shows everyone that yes indeed they have fulfilled all of the states requirements to be considered educated. 

There are however a large number of children who are educated from home and they do not get to participate in their communities festivities to honor the ones among them that achieved that degree of education. These young scholars worked as hard and as diligently for the last thirteen years to become worthy of the pomp and splendor that is awarded to their peers but alas the state says if you did not attend the public school or if your parents did not send you to a private institution that had accredited teachers then you are not allowed to participate in the procession and display. A lot of home schools have decided that they will also hold ceremonies to show their children that they did accomplish all they were supposed to and that their parents are equally proud of the accomplishments and would like to share the news publicly.

It does not matter if you are educated at home or in the public school system you have to learn the same materials so that you can pass the test the state gives to prove that you received an education. These state mandated tests are what we use to judge the level of learning a person has and whether they can say they are finished with their first leg of academic studies. In order to prove that the person did indeed meet all of the requirements that was necessary everyone receives graduation diplomas. Even the ones that were schooled from their homes receive a certificate stating they have a good enough education to be considered equal to all of those people who attended the public system for the mandatory twelve years. Well, thirteen years if you count the kindergarten year and fourteen years if you count the new pre-k year that some children attend.

For a child to not attend the public institutions they must report their test scores to a government agency and periodically they have to attend a session where an official administers a test and looks over their work they have been doing. This provides a check and balances system for the people who want to self educate their young. A lot of parents join together as a group so they can share instructional materials and they can plan outings as a group. These groups of parents are generally the ones that put on the program to celebrate their children’s completion of the required studies. There are even some places that help people to study for their GED that hold these programs.