Not many of us can forget the report cards from our early school days. Written on official-looking, folded cardstock of various muted colors, they were often presented to our parents during quarterly marking periods.  

They were consequential, determining whether we got to have dessert that night or if we were sentenced to extra time at the kitchen table due to comments that stated something along the lines of, “Susie is having a difficult time with math, going over multiplication tables at home would help considerably”, or simply, “Johnny needs improvement”. 

Even though report cards can carry considerable emotional weight, they are simply a tool teachers use to let parents know how their children are progressing in their studies. But, as a homeschool teacher, you probably already know how your student is doing, so are report cards even necessary? The answer is: it depends!  

First, check your state homeschool law to verify the homeschool recordkeeping requirements in your state. If you’re an HSLDA member, you can contact us with any questions you have about recordkeeping. We would be happy to help you!  

If your state doesn’t require you to use report cards, you certainly don’t have to use them in your homeschool. However, they are a tool that you may want to use for several reasons! 

Some reasons to use report cards 

  • If you’ve adopted a more traditional (or “complete package”) approach in your homeschool, all records—including report cards—can help you collect and organize information such as subjects taught, curriculum used, and grades earned. 
  • They can be useful for planning purposes, and for demonstrating to outside sources such as sports programs that your student is meeting your academic expectations and grade milestones.  
  • Report cards might also be used to positively reinforce good study habits and to reward your student’s hard work. 
  • If you have recently begun to homeschool, keeping report cards might ease the transition, giving you and your student a familiar marker of scholastic achievement. 
  • If you know that you will be homeschooling temporarily or will be moving to another state or school district, keeping a report card might be required of the next school your child attends. It’s a good idea to check with the next school ahead of time to find out what records they will require for enrollment. 

Or, you might embrace the freedom you have in homeschooling to use other measures to keep track of your student’s progress. See our Year-End Assessment Series for some other options. 

FAQs

Where can I find sample report cards? 

HSLDA members can download sample report cards attached to the bottom of this article. 

What about report cards in high school? 

Once your student is in high school, you will move from using a report card to documenting your teen’s work on a transcript. Read this article for an overview of the types of high school records you will create and maintain for your teen.  

However, if you decide, “I still want to keep a report card for my student!”, you can use one of the samples attached to the bottom of this article.  

Select the report card template that matches your homeschool’s grading periods (i.e., whether you assign grades each quarter or each semester).

How do I fill in my child's report card? 

Use the following guidelines to fill in your chosen template.

IN THE FALL: 
  • Add your homeschool name to the document header, and print out the report card.
  • Enter pertinent homeschool information.   
  • The Report Card Date should be the close of your fall semester. 
  • You can modify the grading scale and descriptions of achievement to better reflect your grading philosophy. 
  • Enter the subject title for each course. We’ve listed common subjects taken in elementary school, but you can change these or add new ones.  This is where you show the type of work your child is working on. 
  • Enter a fall semester grade (e.g., A, B, C) but leave the spring semester grade empty.  You can fill this in at the close of the spring semester. 
  • Add your name as teacher (or any outside teacher like a co-op, art, music, etc.) and any comments you’d like to make. 
  • Sign the report card and date it the day you sign it like you would for any medical or financial document. 
IN THE SPRING: 
  • Follow the same process as above, filling in any missing information, changing any relevant dates, and adding the Yearly GPA, if applicable.