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Accredited Ways to Earn Your High School Diploma
For some students, earning your high school diploma opens the door to higher education, better job opportunities, and personal satisfaction. Students have several program options for study and earning credit.
Notably, there are a number of options to finish high school available to individuals who want to earn a high school diploma. These alternatives include traditional classwork and distance learning, concurrent high school, college enrollment, and high school equivalency programs. It is worth noting that every state offers either adult education or adult high school programs. Locations, hours, course offerings, and costs will vary from one state to another. Here are some popular options for earning your High School Diploma.
Distance Learning
Distance education programs can be a viable alternative for students whose home state doesn’t offer an adult high school diploma program. Typically, distance programs come in an online or a correspondence plan. Online programs usually have courses or materials for students to use on their website. Some programs require that classes be completed online. Students taking correspondence courses send their study materials by postal or courier service. The student finishes their lessons and returns the material to the teacher for grading.
It is prudent to note that distance learning programs accept credits previously earned or grant credit for life experiences. Proper accreditation offered through the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) can be a very crucial part of deciding on a distance learning school.
High School Completion Programs
Many states have colleges that permit adult students to complete their high school diploma with or without the option of earning college credits. Colleges with high school completion programs generally have their requirements set in accordance with state or municipalities’ education requirements. These programs include Concurrent Enrollment, High School Completion Plus, or Dual Enrollment.
National External Diploma Program
The National External Diploma Program allows adult students to obtain high school diplomas by proving high school level skills through life experiences. The program has two phases that students are required to go through. The first phase is a review of the student’s knowledge of reading, writing, and math, including the student’s life experiences.
The second phase comprises the student demonstrating what they know through a series of exercises or real-life situations. These exercises are supposed to assess 70 individual competencies, and the student should pass all with 100% accuracy.
In summary, there are some options for non-traditional students to obtain a high school diploma, including completing an online, correspondence, or high school completion program, or participating in the National External Diploma Program.
