Choosing our High School/Secondary School Curriculum

Sharing is caring, please pass this along!

Sometime in 2011, I wrote What’s after PSLE?

But much has changed since then. I just didn’t have the time to write it all down to share with anyone. However, I was asked to share at an impromptu gathering last week for those seeking to know the options available to them after PSLE. But sadly, I was unable to go as Henson had to attend a conference our Church organised and it was right smack at the naptimes of the two younger ones.

Instead, I wrote an explanation of our switch from a DIY-piece-it-together-yourself secondary school curriculum to ABEKA and passed it to Sook Neo who was helping to organise the talk.

I reproduce that explanation here (plus some extra information) in the hopes that as I share, it may help you decide what to do after PSLE if you should choose to continue to homeschool.

Be warned – it is long! 🙂

Homeschooling post PSLE

After clearing our very first PSLE (2010) we (my son and I, more me I think!) were so relieved that we took the rest of the year off with no concrete plan in sight for the year ahead. That was a bad decision. Do not follow my example.

However, at that time I was just so glad to be freed from the constraints of government rules and regulations, that school was very laid back school and I used what is called an eclectic curriculum.

Curriculum used

These were some of the things we used and loved :

• Maths – Life of Fred, Saxon
• English – Wordly Wise, Progeny Press
• History – Mystery of History, Notgrass World History Volume 1
• Science – Apologia Science (Exploring Creation with General Science and Physical Science)
• Chinese – local syllabus

Not the O and A-Levels Route

But through it all, it was clear that going the O and A-level route would not be our choice. Why? From what I found out, the ability to score well is again, dependent on HOW you answer the questions – a repeat of PSLE all over again. It implied that I would need tuition to get the child to do well in this system.

PLUS (more importantly to me), there is no Teacher’s Manual for O and A-Levels textbooks. At the beginning of our homeschool journey, I read one piece of advice from Lee Binz of The Home Scholar which has stuck with me until today: you need to choose a homeschool curriculum because a homeschool curriculum assumes that mom doesn’t know everything, unlike a public school curriculum. Als,o A-Levels has a Project Work component which as homeschoolers, we are unable to do on our own.

Update 2016: I have heard from a homeschool mother that it is now possible for us to take A-Levels by disregarding Project Work (20% weightage). But I cannot confirm it.

Then there was the option of iGCSE (the international version of O and A-Levels). But, not being familiar with this route, we were not keen on it. Also, it had no Teacher’s Manual.

The Advanced Placement (AP) way

On meeting up with more experienced moms like Regina and Hyu Har, I learnt about the AP route. It sounded really great and we started to steer in that direction. But we could only take the AP Tests after we have finished up certain grades. Meaning, you can’t just jump from PSLE to AP. There is an interim period where the child still has to do something!

TPS

So the grand plan then was to plod along with the curriculum I had chosen and then “upgrade” to take AP classes when the time came. But after a while, I felt that what we were doing was not enough and started asking around again. That was when I learnt about  TPS (previously known as The Potter’s School, from a few homeschool moms and started exploring it. It is an online school where classes are conducted live and all work is assigned AND graded by the teacher! And the subjects offered were very interesting. Cool, right?

The downsides?

Well, being a live class meant that the child had to be in class at fixed times, just like he would be when attending a public school. You can’t move at the pace you prefer or take off when you need to. And tuition fees alone cost on average US$500 per subject, per year, excluding all other materials. Woah!

Sonlight

Then I checked out Sonlight all over again. It is a curriculum that I love in theory but never could use it in the younger grades because it just required too much mommy involvement. Since almost all of the courses required some prep classes before being accepted into the AP classes, I ordered Sonlight Core 200 to use as a bridge from now to AP classes. Sonlight for the older grades do not involve as much mommy involvement.

Then I decided to tabulate the cost of going this path and I gasped in horror! Lol!

Abeka Academy

By divine appointment, a fellow homeschool mom, Connie, introduced me to Jenny (loyal Abeka user) and a mother of 8. She shared her experience with Abeka and showed me the DVDs*. My main concern when I researched the curriculum is that the child had to sit through 5-6 hours of DVD teaching! It was literally school at home. Yes, I know that would make some of you hyperventilate 🙂 I was also very reluctant to give up Saxon Math and Apologia Science which were both great homeschool curricula.

Update : Abeka has slowly replaced the use of DVDs with what they call Video Streaming. It is NOT a live class but you will need an internet connection to watch the classes. 

Pros of using Abeka

(a) It is Accreditated

The main pro to me is that ABEKA is accredited and will issue a transcript at the end of Grade 12. Abeka is also, by now, a recognised name in Singapore, thanks to those who have walked before us. There have been many homeschoolers who have used ABEKA and have gone into polytechnics and university using their American High School Diploma plus SAT scores.

(b) No Teaching Required!

Teaching is done via the video teacher which means I will not need to know a subject well enough before I can teach it. I will, however, have to make sure that he does his work and then administer the quizzes/tests, grade them, record the scores and send it off to ABEKA at the end of the year.

UPDATE : Abeka now offers digital assessments. This means, I no longer do the bulk of grading. The child takes the tests and exams online and they are graded by the system and doubled checked by the relevant teacher. The quiz and test scores recorded and kept online by Abeka. I just administer some tests and essays. Also, with the switch to digital assessments, I just need to scan essays and certain tests, and send them across digitally. So, not only is the burden of grading lessened, I am also saving on postage costs. 

(c) Science Experiments Not Done by Me

Another pro for me is that Science experiments will be performed by the video teacher, not me. With Apologia Science, we had to do our own experiments and a lot of times, they just didn’t work out the way they should. 🙁 And let’s face it – in school, how many of us actually get to do all the lab experiments? We usually end up watching the teacher do it and we would be told what to write down.

But if your child is really keen on Science or wants to go into medicine or pharmacy, you will have to explore other options.

(d) Money, Money, Money!

There is also the cost factor. Again, by divine appointment, I was chatting with fellow homeschooling mother, Connie, about the various paths ahead when we started discussing costs. That spurred me to actually tabulate the cost of the various paths we could take.

ABEKA costs US$995* (excluding shipping) per year for 6 subjects (includes tuition fees and books). And I get an accredited American High School Diploma at the end of Grade 12 – provided the student meets all the requirements. If I wish to, I can pass down the textbooks to the next child and only order the consumables. I tabled the options and the costs attached to each option and then shared it with Henson. It was a no-brainer decision for us. The other options just didn’t make financial sense for our family. Remember, any choice we make needs to be repeated 6 more times.

*Update 2017: The price has increased to US$1108. 

Cons of using Abeka

Does that mean there are no cons to Abeka? Of course not. No curriculum is perfect and sometimes, a curriculum is suitable only for a particular season or child. But for us, it has more pros than cons and so we have stuck to it.

(a) Too Rigid

Yes, we do lose some flexibility with a packaged curriculum but in our case, we were willing to look at it as a positive thing. The child will work on being disciplined enough to sit through the classes and then handing up work on time. Mom also needs to be disciplined enough to check on the child and report back to ABEKA.

(b) Long Periods Spent at the Computer

The student does have to spend at least 4 – 5 hours per day on the computer. He can, however, choose to take breaks between classes. For example, watch a lesson on Biology, take a break from the computer by working on the assigned homework or do a quiz, or walk around. Then proceed to do the next subject. My children, however, prefer to watch all the lessons at one go and then go off to do their assigned work.

(c) Boring

Yes, it can get boring, depending on which teacher is on – just like in school! But some teachers are better than others.

It doesn’t matter

There is also the spiritual side which I did not get to share at the gathering. I had been praying and angsting about it and laying all the options before the Lord as I didn’t know which way to go. Deep down, I know God will provide if He directed us to the AP way. So I did not need to choose the cheapest option just because it was the cheapest. But I needed to choose the one that He wanted me to take.

But which one?!

As I was praying, I distinctly heard Him say to my spirit –

“It doesn’t matter.”
What?!
“It doesn’t matter.”

Obedience is better than sacrifice

And then almost immediately, I understood – it didn’t matter which curriculum/path we used/took. Obedience is better than sacrifice. 1 Kings 15:22.

He called us to homeschool way back in 2003 and He hasn’t told us to stop yet. So we need to press on and He will take care of everything. As for the curriculum, it is only a means to an end. It doesn’t matter. With that, I told Henson, “If that is the case, then I am taking the easier path!” And he agreed with me.

The easier path

How is Abeka easier?

As mentioned, I don’t have to teach. Also, with Abeka, I do not have to go and reinvent the wheel and think of how I should put together my curriculum. We would just go with ABEKA’s plan and choose our electives as and when needed.

SAT

So the grand plan changed. We would go with Abeka and at the end of Grade 12, we would put him through SAT 1 and SAT 2 if necessary. I have looked into the entry requirements of all the universities here and they all accept an American High School Diploma (no particular school stated) and SAT – for now.

It is as Irene, a seasoned homeschooler, said, “a safer route”. There is a slight rush now for us because we need him to finish Grade 12 before he turns 18 in time for NS enlistment.

UPDATE: SAT 1 and SAT 2 is now SAT and SAT Subject Tests. The format has changed slightly. 

Less stress

This decision has lessened my stress level a lot. I no longer have to spend huge amounts of time researching and analysing curriculum to use for him. I can now concentrate more on the child who needs to clear PSLE in September and the pre-schoolers who often have their school cancelled as mama has no time for them.

Plan ahead

This is my advice: Whichever route and curriculum you choose to take, please do not be like me and waste one whole year recovering from PSLE even though you may think that you need it.

And please plan ahead (timelines and all) if you are going to homeschool post-PSLE especially if you have boys. Girls can take their time to complete their schooling. With boys, from what I gather, NS grouping is by education level*. Without a high school diploma/O level/A level certification, they may very well end up being grouped with school dropouts which isn’t fair. But without any acceptable official documentation, it can’t be helped.

*UPDATE: This may not be true anymore. But I cannot confirm it.

One last word

There are many curricula out there which are very good (Sonlight, BJUP, etc). But most of them do not offer accreditation. In the US, mom-issued High School Diplomas and transcripts are widely recognised as official documents and can be used for admission into colleges/universities.

It is not so here in Singapore. Can you imagine SMU or NUS accepting our homeschool issued transcript?! They are already stricter with us with regards to the higher PSLE benchmark homeschoolers have to clear.

So be aware of that. You can, however, get an organisation like NARHS to give you an accredited diploma by paying them about US$500/year. Remember to factor that into your cost and also to check deadlines with them. You cannot just dump all your paperwork and grades on them at the end of Grade 12. I believe you have to use them for a period before Grade 12.

May what I have shared helped you in your own plans for your child.

Related Posts

Post PSLE Homeschooling FAQs
Homeschool FAQs
Homeschooling After PSLE

Sharing is caring, please pass this along!