# home schooling **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336 "2019-02-28T15:00:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/21 "2019-03-04T18:14:21Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > GED is the high school equivalency exam. Not in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/22 "2019-03-04T20:35:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Not in the US. > **[General Educational Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Educational_Development)** > > The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four academic subject tests in the United States and Canada certifying academic knowledge equivalent for a high school diploma. This certification is an alternative to the U.S. high school diploma, as is HiSET. Passing the GED test gives those who do not complete high school, or who do not meet requirements for high school diploma, the opportunity to earn a Certificate of High School Equivalency or similarly titled credential. > GED Te... Generally, it is. Did you mean something else? ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/23 "2019-03-04T20:38:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > - Originally Posted by Melbourne View Post > GED is the high school equivalency exam.\* > > Not in the US. Umm… could you explain what you mean by, “Not in the US.”? Are you saying there is an exam which you would call “the high school equivalency exam” in the US but the GED is not it? Or are you saying no such exam exists in the US? Perhaps there is some third interpretation of your sentence which I have not thought of. As near as I can tell, the letters G.E.D. can refer either to the test itself (actually four of them known collectively as the General Education Development tests) or the certificate received after completing said test or a similar one (colloquially known as a General Equivalency Degree, but often officially known as a Certificate of High School Equivalency). Both the test(s) and the certificates definitely exist in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/24 "2019-03-04T21:13:22Z")
I stand properly corrected. I didn’t know the initials GED referred to the test itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/25 "2019-03-04T21:46:15Z")
Well I think officially they don’t stand for anything any more. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/26 "2019-03-04T22:14:30Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I only recently learned that it is possible to take AP tests without being enrolled in an AP class. They are usually good for college credit, as are CLEP and DSST tests and a few others. That’s how it was way back in the dark ages when I was in high school. There _weren’t_ any AP classes. You just took the tests when they were scheduled. They saved me a few credits in college (saving on credits = saving money), but I missed the test for my best subject (English). Damn. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/27 "2019-03-04T23:05:07Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Not necessarily. My niece has a B.S. in math from UC San Diego and is now a grad student at USC. She was home schooled all through elementary and high school and never took the SAT. Here’s how she did it: > > When she was 18 she applied to the local community college, majoring in math. The community college didn’t require the SAT, just some placement tests which she passed with flying colors. > > After two years she applied to transfer to the University of California. Transfer students need to provide transcripts and letters of recommendation, but not SATs. She got accepted. Why did she want to avoid taking the SAT or ACT? Stress? I ask because the scores aren’t just a factor in admissions but often figure into merit scholarship awards. But if she was really stressed about taking it and didn’t need scholarship money, I guess I can see why she wouldn’t want to bother. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/28 "2019-03-04T23:47:52Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Why did she want to avoid taking the SAT or ACT? Stress? I ask because the scores aren’t just a factor in admissions but often figure into merit scholarship awards. But if she was really stressed about taking it and didn’t need scholarship money, I guess I can see why she wouldn’t want to bother. I don’t know the details, but as an undergraduate she didn’t need scholarship money. Now that she’s a graduate student, she is a TA. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/29 "2019-03-04T23:53:50Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Who gives them the grades? Is there some independent third party? Or is it just their mom and dad? If the latter, does the university consider them credible? Generally, for a highly selective school you expect congruence with SAT/ACT and AP. And for a less selective school, the teat scores alone can demonstrate you can do the work. ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Scully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Dana\_Scully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dana_Scully)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/30 "2019-03-15T00:35:30Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Generally, for a highly selective school you expect congruence with SAT/ACT and AP. > > And for a less selective school, the **teat** scores alone can demonstrate you can do the work. 😃 Are you _sure_ about that? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/31 "2019-03-15T14:32:20Z")
If you can afford to have your kid’s photograph taken on a rowing machine and pay a significant bribe to the crew coach, you can probably get your kid into college anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336/32 "2019-03-15T14:45:44Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > What exactly is a “portfolio of completed work”? Is it a bunch of essays the students have written? An inventory of books and workbooks that were used? Or something else? Often, but it depends on the student. If, at seventeen, I had been applying to a college that wanted a portfolio of completed work, I could have submitted, among other things, a video of plays I had written, directed, and/or performed in, scripts of plays I had written, published\* works of poetry and short fiction (which would have neatly provided evidence of not only my work as a writer, but as an editor and even a typist!), probably all padded out a little with certificates and awards I had received for things like math and science to prove I was what we used to call “well-rounded.” N.B.: I was not home-schooled. - to the extent that my high school literary magazine counts as “published.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-schooling/830336.md?page=1)