Report cards are issued for two reasons: to let a student know how he's doing, and to let that student's parents know how he's doing. So riddle us this: do homeschoolers need report cards?

In most cases, no.

Well, that was easy.

But if providing a quarterly or semi-annual assessment in the form of a report card feels useful for a particular homeschooling family, then by all means, they can issue report cards and keep them as part of their records. And if not, skip it. That's the beauty of optional things, after all.

Other reasons to move for that option: homeschoolers may also choose to issue report cards in order to take advantage of insurance discounts such as the "Good Student Discount" offered by many providers of auto-insurance. That and other deals can be a good reason indeed.

And then there's the requirement reason. There are a few states (New York is one) that require homeschoolers to submit quarterly reports detailing the number of hours spent in instruction, the courses completed, and the grades received, among other information.

This process, however, is part of the state law regarding home instruction, and the quarterly reports required in these cases are to be submitted to the state—not issued for either the student or the parent's benefit. Thus, they aren't really report cards, but rather legal documents. Legal documents that must be completed in order to remain in compliance with the homeschooling statutes of the state. For more on the legality of homeschooling, check out "Keeping it Legal."

So overall, unless there is a specific need or desire to maintain a record of courses and grades in some form other than an annual transcript, report cards (and progress reports, and parent-teacher conferences) are unnecessary for homeschoolers.

You're welcome.