A wide variety of online learning opportunities are available that resembles the growing trend in online college coursework. As secondary education coursework grows more complex and often too challenging for many parents to monitor, online programs produce the closest thing to a classroom environment, with many providing live tutorials and testing and an online community of peer support. Parents have the opportunity to search for online coursework that satisfies their individual principles and adheres to their homeschooled student's individual needs and interests.
The traditional method of home schooling high school-aged students is through mail-in coursework and testing materials. Correspondence programs can be simplified into a simple series of tests. Today, the correspondence method can also be accompanied by online tutorials and support for parents and students. Mail-in correspondence classes provide parents with a greater opportunity and responsibility to monitor the work of their child than with many online programs.
Home schooling provides parents with the opportunity to use curricula from a disparate collection of sources. Parents have the option to emphasize areas of interest and target their child's needs through a variety of textual resources and testing materials. Parents choosing this "hands on" approach have the chance to continually research and adjust their child's education, bringing in appropriate materials from many sources to round out their child's high school academic experience. For example, parents with special expertise in mathematics may choose to create their own algebra lessons, while simultaneously using a mail-in language arts class and an online chemistry course.
Many states provide state-specific guidelines and standardized tests for home-schooled students that are recorded by the state's board of education annually. Generally, states require the completion of annual testing to show a student's competency within a predetermined range. If a home-schooled student struggles with testing, the state may impose penalties, such as retesting, a return to school or a probationary period that involves added scrutiny and record keeping. Maintaining an ongoing portfolio of work is a recommended step for homeschoolers.