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Grouped them into full curriculum & ones that just offer classes. Some of the schools do offer a class-by-class option as well as an entire curriculum. Some are aimed specifically at homeschoolers. Prices vary from free & up. Several of them need special software to access the classes. My son took a class on-line over the summer & it was great! The General Education Development (GED) diploma is a high school equivalency diploma. The GED diploma documents that you have high school level skills in reading, writing, social studies, science and math. The GED can also improve your employment prospects or help you to step up to a better-paying job.
Five-Part Test The GED Testing Center at Abram Friedman Occupational Center offers tests every Thursday. The initial visit to the GED Test Center is by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, call (213) 202-5400 between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. A photo ID is required at both the time of registration and when you arrive to take the GED tests. An average testing center will charge between $40 and $75 to take the entire test, though some centers will charge a higher or lower amount. The cost of the GED test at the Los Angeles Testing Center is $46 for the initial test battery, $20 for each partial re-test and $40 to re-test the entire battery. To be eligible to take the GED tests in California you have to be a California resident and be 18 years of age or older. Current California identification is required both at the time of registration and at the time of testing. Acceptable photo identification includes California driver's license, DMV ID card, passports and military ID.
Preparation is Essential Some public television stations offer home study programs for the GED. To find a GED broadcast series near you, call your local public television station. Kentucky Educational Television sells a GED workbook for $30. Send a check or money order to KET, 560 Cooper Drive, Lexington, KY. 40502. Official GED practice tests can be obtained in both Spanish and English by calling Steck-Vaughn at (800) 531-5015. Several GED web sites offer sample questions to help you decide how much preparation you will need to take the GED tests. Visit the Center for Adult Learning at www.acenet.edu or the PBS GED site at www.pbs.org/literacy/ged/gedhome.html or the California GED site at www.cde.ca.gov/ged. To prepare for the GED tests, you may find you need assistance beyond self study. Many programs are offered by local school districts at adult schools, occupational centers and community colleges. Staff members at these resource centers can help you decide whether you will need to study for all the tests, or whether you should spend time brushing up in just a few areas. If you have questions about the GED, call APLA's Work Services Program at (323) 993-1659 or (323) 993-1616. Rice Russell is a specialist in AIDS Project Los Angeles' Work Services Program. He can be reached by e-mail at rrussell@APLA.org.
This article has been reprinted at The Body with the permission of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA).
If you can't find what your looking for here, try the Independent Study High School Programs. Schools on the Internet | Specific Classes on the Internet Schools on the Internet Alpha-Omega (formerly Bridgestone) Academy is the online version of Alpha-Omega. It is a Christian school & uses the Switched-On Schoolhouse CD-Based Curriculum for its core & students have contact with teachers through e-mail. You can either use the entire curriculum or sign up for individual classes & is aimed at grade from K4 - 12. ArabesQ Islamic Academy offers online & offline options for grades Pre-K - 12. Babbage Net School is an on-line high school program. CCS Web Academy is an online high school in North Carolina. I am not sure if people out side of the state, or the county for that matter, can participaite or if there are any fees involved. It looks like they offer some interesting classes though! Christa McAuliffe Academy is a K-12 school on the internet. You can check out their curriculum (NovaNet) for free if you have a pc. Chrysalis School offers a complete 6 - 12 grade program. You can also take individual classes. Most of the teacher contact is through e-mail. They also are willing to offer credit for things going on outside the school. Class.com is fully accredited independent study high school founded in 1929 and now offering students to earn high school diploma over the Internet. Class.com offers more than 150 courses both online & offline and you can take individual courses rather than enrolling full time. Clonlara Compuhigh is an online school for grades 9 - 12. CNU (California National University) offers bachelor degree programs online. Compass Learning Odyssey (formerly Child U) offers online classes for K - 6. You can get the option of using it with or without an assigned teacher (the classes seem very user friendly) & the costs is reasonable. They offer a free placement test that your child can take whether or not you sign up for a class. COOLSchool (formerly CyberSchool) offers classes for 6 -12 graders & has several many AP courses. Delta Cyber School is open to residents of Alaska who are in grades 6 - 12. Dennison Academy offers a complete curriculum for grades 7 - 12. Eagle Christian High School offers an entire high school curriculum via the internet. You can take one course or all your courses through them. Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) is the online version of of the gifted program of Stanford University. Although it is not a complete curriculum, there are a lot of classes offered here. You access the classes through a CD rom, but you can get online help from Stanford instructors. Florida Virtual School is a free high school for residents of associated counties in Florida. Homeschoolers remain homeschoolers even if they take courses through them. I *think* you can take individual courses as well as a full curriculum there, too! Garden Schools is a Christian online school with a DBE curriculum aimed at K -12. They also have a camp & a residentail campus. Great Books Academy is an online school based the Classical & Socratic methods. Enrollment is available from nursery schol age up to a B.A. degree from college. Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division Home Page is a Catholic high school which currently offers grade 10 classes online. They are currently working on expanding this to grades 9 - 12. Gridlink Online Education System is located in the UK. It offers classes & curriculum for ages 6 & up. Holyoke Community College offers a variety of college level classes on the net. Indiana University School of Continuing Studies offers classes & a diploma program for high schoolers & adults. While some of the classes are offered in a traditional correspondence school format, others are offered on the web. You can also earn your high school diploma & college credit simultaneously! The Institute for Study of the Liberal Arts is composed of 3 branches: Scholars' Online Academy aimed at high school students, Regina Coeli Academy aimed at Roman Catholic high schoolers, & Junior Classical League aimed at elementary students. Laurel Springs School offers on-line classes through e-mail for grades 5 - 12. Mindquest offers a high school diploma program. Monte Vista's On-Line Academy offers classes from 7th grade through 12th including a high school diploma program. The program is free to Colorado residents. Montessori Distance Learning Programs With Montessori For The Earth has various programs aimed at 2 age groups (3-6) & (6-9) at very reasonable prices. North Dakota Division of Independent Study Online Classes offers a diploma program for high schoolers or you can take individual classes for the elementary grades on up. NorthStar Academy is a private Christian school online offering classes for grades 7 - 12. Oak Meadow is opening up a virtual classroom for enrolled students in September. The Potter's School is a Christian school which offers a full range of courses for jr. high & up over the internet. They do not seem to have a diploma program at this point, but do offer almost all of the current high school standards, with the exception of English Lit courses. Trent School is a non-sectarian school founded by the Quakers. It covers K - 12 plus has some college level courses. Texas Tech University Distance Learning offers K - 8th grade programs, high school courses (either a diploma program or just take the courses you want to) & college courses. Some of the high school & college courses are available on the internet. University of Colorado - CU Online offers many college degrees & courses. They state that you can do everything online: from registering to final exams. University of Missouri Center for Distance and Independent Study offers online & offline courses for grades 3 through college. Washington State University Extended Degree Program offers a lot of options for getting your degree at a distance! Willoway School describes itself as "a private online cyberschool for grades 7-12." You can either attend full time or part time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Specific Classes on the Internet Apex offers AP classes for high school students. Bakersfield College Distance Learning has a wide selection of classes to choose from. Barnes and Noble University offers some free classes ranging from personal interest to Shakespeare. The only requirement is that you may need to purchase the textbook for the course. Current offerings include various programming classes, astronomy for beginners, Shakespeare's comedies, introduction to jazz, introduction to classical music, introduction to film noir, online health research, how to start a home based business, how to invest online, and more. More classes will be added soon! The Big Red House offers various classes aimed at 2nd grade up thru high school. CHEMystery is an interactive chemistry textbook aimed at high schoolers. Computer Programming for Homeschoolers offers an introductory course in BASIC programming using QBASIC. Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University offers online classes in math (k - 12) & a correspondence program 6 - 12). Just choose CTD Programs link & then go to the Letterlinks link for more info. Chesswise offers online classes & chess matches. There are several free courses & practice available for beginners - advanced players as well as courses for a fee. Creative Writing Online Do you, or your students panic whenever you are asked to WRITE something? Do you find yourself at a loss for words when trying to get your point across through the written word? Or do you love to write and wish you had more opportunities? I am a former home-schooler, and have created "Creative Writing Online" with these situations in mind. If you are interested in enrolling in an online writing class, please e-mail me for more information! Eloquence currently offers French classes on-line. Escondido Tutorial Service is dedicated to bringing classical Christian education to homeschoolers & offers a wide range of classes. CUSEEME & RealAudio software is needed to take these classes online. E-Tutor offers lessons in Language Arts, Math, Science, & Social Studies for grades k - 12. There is a monthly charge for this service. Free-Ed.Net has lots of info on free classes, curriculum guides (including AP classes), etc. Funschool.com is a site with interactive educational games. It is free & there is nothing to download. Although it is not full of your typical classes, I thought it deserved to be on this page as a supplement for the younger kids. It covers concepts from pre-k through 6th grade. HighScore Math Academy is aimed at 8th - 11th graders & covers Algebra, General Math, Geometry, Co-ordinate Geometry, Probability, Statistics & is offering a 15 day free trail to homeschoolers(as of 4/29/03). Current rates are $145 for 6 months to $195 for 1 year of access. Homework Helper has "classes" in English, Math, & Science for grades 7 & up. You can either sign up & pay monthly or check out their free, non-interactive tutorials (these are really more like short explanations). Internet Academy offers classes in science, math, & careers for ages 9 & up. Iowa State University offers online classes in Biology & Economics. LearnPlus offers online lessons in Spanish & German for a fee. Literature and Writing Students grades 5 and up study literature and writing through this proven email system. Private replies to assignments. Writing program is tailored to meet the needs of the student: Essays, short stories, research papers. Taught by published writers. There is a free writing evaluation prior to course sign up. Contact: buckman@loclnet.com. Lyceum Tutorial Services offers online tutoring services in the core subject areas for K - 12, test prep help, & more! Margie Davis's Writing Courses - Exclusive to AOL has writing classes for adults, high school & middle school children. She currently has two classes starting up: Math Courses Online offers classes from GED test preparation to geometry. Class costs range from $29.95 to $99.95. Merlin's Academy of Alchemy offers online courses in chemistry. Each course comes with a hyper textbook & an on-line teacher. Definitely worth a look! New Jersey Virtual University lists over 1000 distance learning opportunities, both online & offline, available from various colleges around the state. novaNET Campus is an interactive, internet-based set of tutorials for grades 3 thru high school. Online Classes offers several different unit study type classes on-line for a small fee of $40 to $80. Current & upcoming classes include Rivers of Life (science, social studies, language arts Grades 4 - 10), DoodleOpolis: Adventures in Urban Architecture (art, architecture, and social studies Grades 3-8), Ferrous Wheel: An Educational Adventure (physics and math Grades 5-9 and 10-12), Ocean Explorers: An Educational Journey (social studies, science, language arts Grades 3 - 8), Dinosaurs Alive! (social studies, science, language arts Grades K - 6), Blue Ice: Focus On Antarctica Food Webs Unit or Weather, Climate Unit (science, social studies, language arts Grades 4-9), Mythos: Zeus Speaks! (history, language arts, drama Grades 3-8), The North American Quilt: A Living Geography Project (geography, social studies Grades 4 - 10) and Self*Expressing*Earth (science and expressive arts Grades 2-8). Online English gives personalized English instruction on-line to students of all ages using the parents' curriculum of choice. A full English program (reading, literature, composition, language and research, and communications) is taught via e-mail and fax. Students begin exactly at their ability level and helped towards excellence in the above areas. Optimnem offers online courses in French, Spanish, German, English, & Math at very affordable rates! PA Homeschoolers Online AP Courses currently offers 12 courses. Fees range from $200 for some semester programs to $350 for year long ones. You can also purchase the textbook to go with these courses at this site. Piano Lessons Online offers a free introductory lesson. If you like it, there is a nominal fee to continue on. There is even a "CyberRecital" offered! Pre-Algebra is a complete, free course on the net. Escondido Tutorial Services is a classical Christian tutorial service is currently offering junior high & high school level classes in Algebra 2 (Saxon), Advanced Math (pre-calculus - Saxon), Directed Studies for junior high or high school, Global Science, Geology, & Physical Geography with more subjects to come in the future. CUSEEME & RealAudio software are needed to participate. eCollege (formerly Real Education) has a quiz to see if online education is right for you & can help you find online classes. Shakespeare's Plays an on-going class, is being offered for homeschoolers only. Each play is studied for a three month period, alternating between the histories, comedies and tragedies. Directed discussion takes place for an hour each week via IRC. Outside assignments are given on an individual basis, via e-mail. Contact medsmsm@ttuhsc.edu for more information. SkillsTutor.com offers the Skillsbank & Cornerstone CD rom curriculums online for grades 6 through adults. Texas Tech University offers online high school & college level courses over the internet. Thomas Edison State College is a college in NJ that is set up for getting your degree in an alternative method. You can take online classes, get credit for life experiences, do independent studies, etc. Total Math is an online tutoring program. The first half hour is free & thern there is a charge of $25 an hour after that. Tutor.com allows you to find a tutor either online or offline. There is no fee for finding a tutor but there is a fee for the tutoring. University of Colorado Online is offering college classes for credit on the Internet. For more info on this program, send e-mail to Rob Helmick at rhelmick@cuonline.edu University of Minnesota: GenEdOnline offers accredited introductory college courses online. Vatterott Global Online offers courses & an associates degree in computer programming. Virtual University offers a variety of classes for a fee of $15 for up to 3 courses per term with a refund policy if you are not satisfied with your classes. Current and past offerings include internet programming courses, The ABC's of Grammar and Style, Writing As A Healing Art, Writing Argumentative Essays, Climate, Ecology and Human Health (Health 682), This Dynamic Planet (Geology 830), Introduction to Linguistics, Spanish for Beginners, and Inside the Cell (Biology 102). World Wide School is aimed at the high school level. Currently, there are only a few classes, but they are supposed to be growing. They also have an online library of classics & a discussion area. This service is free! Write Guide offers individualized writing classes for ages 7 - 18. They offer the option of either taking individual classes such as short story, research papers, essays, etc. or signing up for them all. They also offer a section of free resources! Writing Assessment Services offers online courses, writing evaluations, & tutorials. |