DO use your child's transcripts as an annual report card. This is especially helpful when applying for good driver discounts on auto insurance and work permits when employers need them, or to accompany resumés or applications for volunteer and paid positions, etc.

DON'T skip physical education credits. Some colleges actually ask students to make up deficiencies in physical education when they enroll. Remember that physical education generally earns half the credit that would be earned for a comparable amount of academic work.

DO include Bible credits if yours is a Christian program. Even if a college tells you that it does not recognize "Bible" or "Religious Studies," your transcript should not be crafted by what the college accepts or denies. The transcript is a report of the work your child has completed.

DON'T be rigid about counting hours when assigning Carnegie Units. There is a great deal of variety in the computation of hours required to earn a Carnegie Unit of credit-- requirements as low as 120 all the way to 250 hours! Since home education involves a tutorial process of teaching and learning, you will find many occasions when your child's academic achievement is difficult to document in terms of a specific number of hours. Some situations work best with documentation by textbook equivalency, while others should have a diary of work experiences coupled with a bibliography for training. The important thing is that you know why you assigned a specific amount of credit to a course and that any variation from course to course reflects your stated objectives (and yes, for this you do need to do some planning!).

DO be consistent in your assignment of credits and grades--this is no place for emotional entanglement! Teachers do not give students grades. Students earn grades, and teachers simply record them accurately and honestly. Remember that consistency and equality are not synonyms--an A in math will be documented with different criteria than an A in Public Speaking, Home Economics, Orchestra, or World History. Planning your objectives for learning will help you make strategic assignments and identify the levels of achievement that deserve an A, B, C, and so on.

DON'T "weight" grades with extra GPA points unless you have the proper documentation for doing so. "Weighting" refers to a process of adding an extra grade point to a grade when the coursework is advanced (i.e., Advanced Placement or AP, college courses completed during the high school years, and Honors courses where you have a detailed syllabus that outlines the extra work requirements).

DO include the necessary statistical summaries: Grade Point Average (GPA) and a tally of the number of credits per subject area (e.g., Math, Foreign Language, English, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Physical Education, etc.). While the most common GPA system involves a 4-point scale, there are at least four other possibilities for making this crucial college admissions calculation. Do a little research about what is common in your state, and then use the same system for the entire transcript. Remember that "class rank" should not be included--after all, your child is number one in a class of one!