Find out if your state has specific guidelines for record keeping. For example, in Washington State a homeschool parent is required to keep vaccination records and assessment records as well as homeschool records. In New York homeschool parents are required to keep daily attendance as well as quarterly reports. Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) provides state by state guidelines on their website or contact your state or local homeschool organization.
Choose a method of record keeping. For homeschool parents who are comfortable with high tech methods there is a wide variety of software programs that will easily accommodate your record keeping needs. Two examples are Edu-track and Homeschool Tracker. Parents who prefer a low tech method may use a homeschool record book or download free printable forms from the internet. A portfolio can incorporate information from both of these methods while also containing work samples and photographs of completed projects or service work.
Record the time your student spends working in specific subject areas. A Carnegie Unit, sometimes called credit hours or student hours represents 120 hours of student work time to earn one credit. The Carnegie Unit is a standard measure of time used by colleges and universities. Credit hours are typically counted at the high school level although parents of elementary age students may choose to use this measurement as well. By adding the date to the time recorded information you have successfully recorded attendance as well.
Record the scores of daily work assignments. For example, in math the student correctly answered 18 out of 20 problems resulting in a score of 90 percent on the math page. Another method is to use a rubric. A math rubric could look like four points for solving a math problem and correctly verbally explaining how the answer was reached, three points for an incorrect answer but correctly explaining how to solve the problem, two points for a correct answer but unable to explain how to solve the problem and no points for a correct answer and unable to explain how to solve the problem. Pass or fail would simply be based on a pass for completing the math page or participating in a math game and fail would be for choosing not to complete a math page or choosing not to participate in a math game.
Record the books your student has read. It is helpful to include the title, author, number of pages, and a brief description of the book to give a more detailed picture of what your student has studied.
Add photographs or video of projects or experiments your student has completed. Not only does this provide more detailed information about your student's learning experiences but it also allows you to get rid of projects that may begin to take over your home over time.
Keep your student's school records for the rest of her life. You never know when your student will apply for a job that will require high school records. Some employers have requested high school information even after the individual had completed a masters level course of study in college.