Your child/student may already have aspirations for what they plan to do after high school. Maybe they are planning for college in pursuit of their dream of starting a personal business some day. Or, perhaps their goal is climbing the corporate ladder of a major corporation. Whatever future your child/student dreams about, there are important decisions at every turn that need to be made as soon as possible.

As parent/teacher, you will need to invest your time and energy carefully researching your options. For example, how far in advance should you plan for college? This next section is designed to help you become familiar with college-preparatory programs and recommended resources when planning advance research for elementary, middle, and high school.

INDEPENDENT COLLEGE PREPARATORY PROGRAMS

Educators, including home schoolers (independent educators), who do not have access to government funded programs such as AVID and GEAR UP will need to rely on quality programs offered through independent organizations such as ACT and the College Board.

• ACT’s DISCOVER (American College Testing): As the nation's view of education evolved to embrace lifelong learning, ACT's programs and services have similarly grown and evolved—helping people plan for, and assess, learning and training throughout their lives, while in school or the workplace.

http://www.act.org/discover/index.html

• CollegeEd (College Board): CollegeEd is an awakening for students and their families. Through a series of engaging lessons, they begin to understand that a college education is possible. By using CollegeEd, your institution sends out a powerful message: that you believe all youngsters are capable of going to the college of their choice and being successful in college.

http://www.collegeboard.com/collegeed/collegeed/index.html

PARENT/TEACHER: PLANNING ADVANCED RESEARCH

Elementary School: The best plan of action is starting the college-preparatory process as soon as possible. You begin by building a good foundation in elementary school with reading, writing and arithmetic. You build on these classes in middle school.

• Selecting Curriculum: An alternative to the South Carolina Public High School Curriculum Standards would be following the scope and sequence issued by your curriculum provider. You might compare your curriculum provider’s scope and sequence against the states curriculum standards to see how they compare. You could compare scope and sequences from a variety of curriculum providers as well. Provided is a list of resources to assist you with selecting curriculum.
  • Member Handbook: Selecting Curriculum
  • 100 Top Picks for Home School Curriculum
  • South Carolina Education Oversight Committee: Family Friendly Standards
  • South Carolina Family-Friendly Standards
• Testing With PIE: PIE administers the Stanford Achievement Test on an annual basis for members interested in testing their children in a classroom setting. The office of PIE recommends testing each year beginning with the third grade. An overview of the test is provided. Open now...

Middle School: The best plan of action is starting the college-preparatory process as soon as possible. You begin by building a good foundation in elementary school with reading, writing and arithmetic. You build on these classes in middle school.

• Selecting Curriculum: An alternative to the South Carolina Public High School Curriculum Standards would be following the scope and sequence issued by your curriculum provider. You might compare your curriculum provider’s scope and sequence against the states curriculum standards to see how they compare. You could compare scope and sequences from a variety of curriculum providers as well. Provided is a list of resources to assist you with selecting curriculum.
  • Member Handbook: Selecting Curriculum
  • 100 Top Picks for Home School Curriculum
  • South Carolina Education Oversight Committee: Family Friendly Standards
  • South Carolina Family-Friendly Standards
• Testing With PIE: PIE administers the Stanford Achievement Test on an annual basis for members interested in testing their children in a classroom setting. The office of PIE recommends testing each year beginning with the third grade. An overview of the test is provided. Open now...
• High School Courses: Some students begin taking high school courses as early as the 7th or 8th grade. For example, if they take algebra I by the 7th grade and geometry and biology by the 8th, they will be in algebra II and Chemistry by the 9th grade, which is well ahead of the curve.

All high school courses taken during the 7th and 8th grades should be listed on the high school transcript. A sample high school course table is provided here. Open now...

• College-preparatory (Middle School Material): The office of PIE recommends parents begin researching the middle school material as early as the 6th grade. Middle school material is available for 7th grade students and parents will need the extra time for preparation.

Decisions made during the middle school years have an impact on a child's future. Younger children are often unaware of the importance of college—and of the things they may need to do to get there. The middle school edition of CollegeEd was developed to inspire every single student to aspire to higher education and to begin to prepare for their future. Students learn that they hold the key to their successes by getting involved in the academic process early.

http://www.collegeboard.com/collegeed/schools/middle-school-materials.html

High School: Your student may soon be heading to high school, if so, curriculum content will become more complex, and record keeping will intensify. Student’s will become involved with more activities, advanced studies, mission trips, testing, volunteer programs, work, and preparing for college. Your involvement will help them maintain focus and a clear perspective of the student's/teacher's goals. Your student should be participating in all aspects of record keeping. They should be prepared to keep track of their own activities. Depending on your student, he/she could be assigned a portion of their records to maintain, and be graded on that as well.

• Selecting Curriculum: An alternative to the South Carolina Public High School Curriculum Standards would be following the scope and sequence issued by your curriculum provider. You might compare your curriculum provider’s scope and sequence against the states curriculum standards to see how they compare. You could compare scope and sequences from a variety of curriculum providers as well. Provided is a list of resources to assist you with selecting curriculum.
  • Member Handbook: Selecting Curriculum
  • 100 Top Picks for Home School Curriculum
  • South Carolina Education Oversight Committee: Family Friendly Standards
  • South Carolina Family-Friendly Standards
• Testing With PIE: PIE administers the Stanford Achievement Test on an annual basis for members interested in testing their children in a classroom setting. The office of PIE recommends testing each year beginning with the third grade. An overview of the test is provided. Open now... 
• High School Courses: The following link provides a table list of subjects usually covered in high school, the number of years a subject is usually covered, and the types of courses usually covered under each subject. Research the college of your choice to find which types of courses are required by them. A sample high school course table is provided here. Open now...

• Advanced Courses: South Carolina public schools provide both general academic courses and advanced (career and technology) courses through a partnership program involving sixteen Technical Colleges in South Carolina. Even though home school students do not have access to the public schools tech prep program, some home school parents have independently arranged for students to take advanced courses through a technical college for dual enrollment courses.

Help your student coordinate with an admissions administrator to see what courses and programs are available during and after high school that will help them further their education. Visit the following Web page for links to Tech Schools.

http://www.sctechsystem.com/

• Financial Peace for the Next Generation: Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace for the Next Generation is the premier curriculum for teaching money management to high school and college students. Our goal is to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to make sound financial decisions for life. Parents should consider presenting this material to students in the 9th grade and repeating the course again in the 11th grade for a solid foundation.

http://www.daveramsey.com/hope/youth/

• College-preparatory (High School Material): CollegeEd is an innovative college-preparation course designed to motivate and prepare all students for a college education. The high school edition of CollegeEd provides materials for each grade 9-12, empowering students through grade-appropriate knowledge and information, as well as through self-exploration and skill-building.

http://www.collegeboard.com/collegeed/schools/high-school-materials.html

• MyRoad (college-preparatory continued): Purchase of high school materials includes access to MyRoad, the College Board's easy-to-use, interactive website designed to help students explore majors, colleges, and careers. With this unique, personalized tool, students can plan for their futures in a productive and engaging way.

Through the utilization of MyRoad tools, students learn to identify their interests, explore majors, research careers, plan for the future, and gain insite from a collection of resources.

http://www.collegeboard.com/collegeed/myroad-collegeEd.html

• PSAT/NMSQT testing with the College Board: The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a standardized test that measures the critical reading, math problem-solving, and writing skills your child has developed over the years.

The office of PIE recommends testing with the PSAT/NMSQT during the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in place of the Stanford 10.

http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/tests/meet-tests/21303.html

• SAT Reasoning Test: The SAT Reasoning Test is a measure of the critical thinking skills you'll need for academic success in college. The SAT assesses how well you analyze and solve problems—skills you learned in school that you'll need in college. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors.\

The office of PIE recommends testing with the SAT 2-3 times each year during the 11th and 12th grades in place of the Stanford 10.

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about/SATI.html

• Graduation Ceremony: This is a basic package containing the Graduation ceremony with all the bells and whistles. This cost of the program is estimated based on the number of graduates. Visit the following Web page for details.

http://www.homeschoolingwithpie.org/OfficeofPIE/GraduationCeremony/tabid/171/Default.aspx 

We put together a list of resources to help you with your advance planning.  Go to the College Boards online store and type the following book titles into their search tool. Don't forget to compare prices and product reviews with Barnes&Noble.com and Amazon.com.

http://store.collegeboard.com/enter.do

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

• The Official SAT Study Guide
• Scholarship Handbook 2007
• CLEP Official Study Guide