High school credit calculator
Count hours, or the share of a course finished, as high school credits, and keep a sentence that says how each credit was reached. Free, no sign-in.
How you count a credit
Your courses
| Course | Method | What was done | Credit | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 more hours to reach 1.25 | 1 | |||
| Total credits | 1 | |||
Estimate hours from a weekly schedule
Count the time the student actually worked, including reading, labs and practice, not only the lesson.
How credit is usually counted, and where that comes from
These are conventions, not law. A state, an umbrella program, a college or a sports body may have its own rule, so check the one that will read your record. Sources were read on October 28, 2026.
- Carnegie Foundation, “What is the Carnegie Unit?”. In high school one Carnegie Unit typically represents 120 hours of study: classes that meet four to five times a week for 40 to 60 minutes over a school year. The Foundation also says time spent is not a full measure of learning.
- Home Educators Association of Virginia, awarding high school credit. States that a Carnegie Unit equals 120 hours of class work, and describes two other ways to award credit: by work accomplished (for example, a text divided into 160 units of work) and by mastery of the subject, not the time it took.
- Great Homeschool Conventions, collecting high school credits. Gives 120 to 180 hours for a full credit and 60 to 90 for a half credit, suggests a lab science closer to 180 hours and history or literature closer to 150, and describes finishing a full-year curriculum, mastery and outside exams as other routes.
- Homeschool Picks, high school credits explained. Also gives 120 to 180 hours of work for a credit. It reports HSLDA's suggestions of about 150 hours for a core course and 120 for an elective, and 75 to 80 percent of a full-year text for a full credit; we could not confirm those on HSLDA's own site, so treat them as one family's guide, not a rule.
Whichever method you use, write it down. The sentence under “Print the credit record” says how each credit was reached, and it belongs with the course description.
How to use it
- Choose how many hours make one full credit. The Carnegie Unit is typically 120; many homeschool guides use 120 to 180.
- Add each course. Pick a method: hours worked, the share of a full-year course finished, or mastery, where you decide the credit.
- Read the credit beside each course and the total underneath. Round it the way you like, down to the quarter credit or to the nearest half.
- Print the credit record. Its sentence on each course says how the credit was reached; keep it with the course description.
Ideas for class
- Use hours for a course you can time, such as a language, music or a lab science.
- Use the share of the course finished for a curriculum with a clear end: a textbook, a video course or an online class.
- Use mastery when the student finished early or took longer than a year, and you can show the work or an exam result.
- Work out half credits for a semester course: 60 hours at 120 hours per credit gives 0.5.
- Check the total against what the college, the program or the sports body you are sending the record to asks for.
Related
Questions
How many hours is one high school credit?
There is no single rule for a homeschool. The Carnegie Unit, which public schools have long used, is typically 120 hours of study over a school year. Homeschool guides commonly use 120 to 180 hours for a full credit and 60 to 90 for a half. You choose the number and the page records it.
What is the Carnegie Unit?
A measure of time, used since the early 1900s, so that high school courses could be counted the same way. The Carnegie Foundation describes it as typically 120 hours of study, with classes meeting four to five times a week for 40 to 60 minutes across a school year. The Foundation also notes that time spent is not the same as learning.
Can I give credit for a course that took less time than that?
Yes, with the mastery method: you decide the credit, and you keep the evidence, such as work samples or an exam result. Some families also count a course as complete when the student has done most of the assignments; you set that percentage yourself.
Does my state set the credits a homeschool must give?
Check your state's page and any umbrella school or program you belong to. This calculator does not apply any state's rule. It does the sums for the numbers you choose and tells you how it got them.
Is anything I type saved or sent?
Your course list and settings are kept in this browser so they are here next time. They are never sent to us. Clear your browser's site data to remove them.
What about the NCAA or a particular college?
Each has its own rules and forms. Read theirs first; the NCAA's homeschool page is at ncaa.org/eligibility-center. Use this page to keep your own record straight, and put the same credit on the transcript.
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