Making the Most of High School and Preparing for College with Unbound — Part 8

Making the most of High School

If you are homeschooling high school in America, undoubtedly, your student will be studying American History.

We’ve studied a lot of history in our house — ancient history, world history, the Renaissance and Reformation….

However, at the start of the 2016 school year, we had yet to complete a systematic study of all periods of American history. So, when selecting courses for dual enrollment, American History 1 and 2 were natural choices.

(If you’re just joining us now, you might not know that dual enrollment enables high school students to earn college credit for the courses they study.)

College Credit for High School History

CollegePlus / Lumerit Scholar outlines a variety of cost-saving ways for high school students to earn college credit for American history. Students can attend a traditional college class, take a CLEP or DSST exam, or enroll in an online course.

After reviewing our options, we decided to enroll Roger and Ryan in Lumerit courses. The courses are a bit more expensive than CLEP tests, but they offer some benefits that we found “merit” (pun intended) the additional cost:

  • There is structure and a set timeline built into the courses.
  • They are self-contained (with everything  students need to complete the course).
  • They still offer substantial savings compared to traditional college courses.

Roger and Ryan particularly liked the open-book tests. The format still require them to comprehend the material but didn’t require them to memorize minutia.

Upon successful completion of Lumerit’s American History 1 and American History 2, Roger and Ryan earned 3 college credit hours per course.

TIME TO APPLY THOSE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

SPECIAL NOTE: As you probably know by now, we place a high value on critical thinking. Because Lumerit’s American history courses are not written from a biblical worldview, it’s not surprising that Roger and Ryan encountered perspectives that caused them to evaluate and challenge the author’s opinion regarding the facts presented.

That can be a great opportunity to exercise those critical thinking skills.

However, it does require discernment.

If you’re not concerned about earning college credit but simply want a solid homeschool curriculum that approaches American history from a biblical worldview, we strongly recommend this resource.

* * *

Scroll to Top