The purpose of the high school transcript is to create a legal document detailing courses taken over the last four years of a student’s high school education. It may not be “required” if your student never attends a four year university, but it is the legal documentation proving a successful completion of their education that supports the awarding of his/her diploma.
At any time in the near or far future, your child may be asked for his/her high school transcript for college application, tech school, private school, employment, or even scholarship awards. Better to be prepared and ready!
There are two designs for transcripts: one that details all the courses by school year and one that details all the courses by subject matter. Either is acceptable and recognizable in the college admissions process. Here are two examples:
Items that must be included in the transcript: Full name according to birth certificate, date of birth, name of school, parents’ names if applicable, student contact information (email, cell phone or both), address, completion year of individual courses, letter and number grades, amount of credit for each individual course, grading scale, notations if courses taken as dual credit or with a co-op, grade point average, graduation date (once completed), parent (or admin) signature and date, and notary signature and date. Adding official entrance exam scores like SAT, ACT, or CLT are optional, yet sometimes helpful to the process.
The key to building and creating a thorough transcript is keeping sufficient records. For each year, it is best to keep a list of courses taken, curriculum used, grades acquired, and time spent. These all play a part in determining course names, credits and grade point averages.
In the Building the High School Transcript Workshops, we will work together to plan, organize and create the high school transcript for your student. This workshop is now available ON-DEMAND.
If you are looking for more individualized assistance in producing a professional transcript ready for college applications, feel free to contact me: sharianne@ccctoolbox.com.
CCC Toolbox 