Earn College Credits in High School

If you know you want to attend a college or university after graduating, our online early college high school classes can help you prepare for more academically challenging college courses and meet enrollment requirements for many universities. You’ll complete your core high school courses like English, science, and math, then choose five college prep electives. Your early college electives electives will help you earn college credits in high school and are ACE evaluated and recommended and provide foundational knowledge to help you get ready for college. Additionally, your electives may transfer into a Penn Foster associate or bachelor’s degree program. Over 2,000 schools consider ACE credit recommendations for transfer to their degree programs. For more information, visit theACE CREDITwebsite.

State Licensing

许多大学使用ACE的建议来决定credit transfer values. Credits earned in Penn Foster programs may transfer to some, but not all, learning institutions. Students who plan to continue their education with another school should check with that school regarding credit transfer policies.

Homeschooling Requirements: Penn Foster High School students who are of compulsory age must also comply with home school requirements dictated by their school district, or those students will be considered truant. You need to check the requirements of your district to ensure the Penn Foster High School Program meets the district's home school requirements.

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Early College Pathways Courses

General High School Courses

Orientation

In this course, you'll explore the amazing potential of your personality. The course begins by defining personality and showing its effects on your life. You'll learn some famous theories about personality and the possible ways that personality is formed. After taking a personality test, you’ll reflect on your results to understand more about yourself and your traits. Finally, you’ll decide how your personality can help you to build better relationships, excel as a leader, benefit your community, and succeed in your High School program and beyond.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Define personality and its effects on your life
- Explain three theories that contribute to the development of one’s personality
- Describe one’s own personality type and individual strengths and preferences
- Examine personality characteristics that can be influential to learning, leadership, and career success

Humanities

In this course, you’ll learn how to become a strong Digital Citizen. You’ll learn to use technology to find information in ways that are ethical and effective. You’ll be able to describe why it’s important for everyone to have access to technology. By the end of this course, you’ll recognize how to protect your digital privacy during online activities.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize how to use digital technology ethically and effectively to obtain information
- Describe the importance of access to digital technology to communicate and perform tasks
- Describe how to protect digital data and how to safely use digital technology for commerce

English

In this course, you'll study techniques applicable to any type of reading, including reviewing, predicting, scanning, finding the main idea, and drawing conclusions. You'll discuss how to determine word meanings by examining context clues, and differentiating fact from opinion to identify bias. This course also covers poetry and fiction.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- 解读文本通过预览d scanning
- Create effective writing
- Interpret works of fiction and poetry
This course will help you improve your English skills so you can effectively communicate in your personal life, in the remainder of your studies, and in your career.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the four steps in the writing process
- Define, describe, and provide examples of the different parts of speech
- Identify the principal parts of verbs and verb tenses for both regular and irregular verbs
- Discuss the difference between an adjective and an adverb
- Identify prepositional phrases and the objects of prepositions
- Explain the difference between coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions
- Explain the main components of complete sentences
- Identify and correct sentence fragments and run-on sentences
- Provide agreement between subjects and verbs
- Explain the proper use of the different parts of speech
This course will enhance your language skills by expanding your vocabulary, mastering word usage, and strengthening your writing.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain why language is important and describe how communication skills can affect your life
- Explain how the eight parts of speech are organized to communicate meaning in phrases, clauses, and sentences
- Apply your language skills in conversation, vocabulary, word choice, spelling, pronunciation, and writing
- Use modifiers, prepositional phrases, and conjunctions correctly
- Correctly use apostrophes, hyphens, and periods
- Recognize and use the various elements of sentence structure
- Correct common writing mistakes
- Write sentences that have effective beginnings, concise wording, parallel structure, and active voice
- Create a unified, coherent composition with an introduction, body, and conclusion
- Write effective, appropriate, business letters, friendly letters, courtesy letters, formal invitations, a letter of application for a job, and a resume with a cover letter
This course will refresh your understanding of the basic parts of speech and will focus on the importance of organizing your time effectively to create a document from the first draft stage to the final draft stage.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize and use both formal and informal English for letter writing
- Begin to write an essay
- Organize your writing time effectively
- Plan a writing project from beginning to end
- Locate books using the card catalog and on-line catalog at the library
- Use your own experience, that of others, and library research to provide material for writing projects
- Organize your ideas effectively in an outline
- Write your ideas in detail, following a logical order and sticking to your subject
- Express your thoughts and feelings more easily, more accurately
This course will allow you to experience literature actively and become involved both intellectually and emotionally.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Read more effectively—for both knowledge and enjoyment
- Use new vocabulary to discuss, write about, and understand literature
- Explain the characteristics of the different genres, including the short story, novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and essay
- Discuss works by writers such as Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, London, Twain, and Thoreau
- Analyze novels, short stories, poems, dramas, and other types of writing
- Understand and explain the objectives and accomplishments of the various writers
- Seek, find, and enjoy many additional examples of fine writing
- Identify various literary figures
Textbooks:
- Great American Short Stories
- The Call of the Wild
- Great Short Poems
- Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel & Adventure
- Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
- Great Speeches by Native Americans
- Narrative of Sojourner Truth
- A Midsummer Night's Dream

Math

This course will provide a solid foundation so you are able to successfully use mathematics in your course, life, and career.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Solve real-world problems involving whole numbers
- Solve real-world problems involving fractions
- Solve real-world problems involving decimals
- Compare the English and metric systems of measurement
- Explain ratios, proportions, and percents
This course will allow you to apply your math knowledge to areas of your everyday life.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Estimate results quickly
- Accurately figure the amount of money involved when discounts are stated in percents
- Make smart consumer decisions
- Calculate yearly interest rates
- Understand the importance of a budget and how to prepare one
- List the factors to consider before buying a new or used car
- Discuss the options available regarding your personal insurance
- Determine when you’ve saved enough money to start investing
- Explain the difference between common stock and preferred stock
- Explain why it’s important for you to plan for your retirement
This course will review the four mathematical operations so you are able to use them at an advanced level.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Use the rules of the order of operations to solve multistep problems
- Solve word problems using equations
- Use the four basic operations with positive and negative numbers
- Give examples of monomials and polynomials
- Simplify polynomials by combining like monomials
- Simplify and solve one-step and multistep equations
- Identify and name various components of geometry
- Identify different types of quadrilaterals and triangles
- Calculate the area of squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles using appropriate formulas
- Apply the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of a missing side in a right triangle
- Compute the volume of cubes, cylinders, and rectangular solids using the correct formulas
- Solve equations using the principles of geometry

Science

The course covers topics in geology, oceanography, meteorology, environmental science, and astronomy.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain the basic principles and methods of Earth Science
- Discuss the various surface processes on Earth
- Identify features of Earth's atmosphere and oceans
- Explain the causes of geologic activity
- Describe the impact of human activity on natural resources
- Explain the formation and properties of the solar system and universe
In this course you’ll gain insight into the origin of life, the relationships among all living organisms, and discover how your own body works.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the characteristics, chemistry, and ecology of living things
- Analyze cells and their processes for obtaining energy and reproducing
- Explain how traits are passed on from one generation to the next
- Explain how different species of living things have evolved and are classified
- Identify the characteristics and behavior of plants and animals
- Describe the anatomy and physiology of the human body
This course covers a variety of topics in modern science that affect everyday life, from energy and heat to sound and electricity.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain how objects move when forces are applied
- Describe the effects of heat energy on matter
- Analyze waves and radiation
- Apply the principles of chemistry
- Determine what scientific principles apply to electricity and electronics

Social Studies

This course focuses on US history from the earliest human settlers in North America thousands of years ago to the modern-day. You’ll learn the story of the native people who lived in this region long before Europeans came to create colonies. Follow the colonists as they faced the unknown and attempted to make new lives for themselves in North America. Finally, you’ll experience the birth and growth of the United States, a young nation that has managed to pack a wealth of world-changing events into its short history.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe settlement of the colonies in America
- Identify events from the American Revolution to the ratification of the United States Constitution
- Recognize expansion and industrialization in the United States during the early 18th century
- Describe the causes and lasting effects of the American Civil War
- Analyze how the events leading up to World War I shaped the United States
- 讨论大萧条的影响和我们rld War II on the United States
- Recognize changes in America from the 1960s through today
This course covers what the basic purposes of government are and how modern governments differ from one another.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the different types of government and give examples of each
- Summarize the process used to ratify the Constitution
- Describe the three main parts of the Constitution and explain what each part includes
- Describe the process for amending the Constitution
- Describe the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of the federal government
- Outline the process by which laws are made
- Summarize some of the landmark cases handled by the Supreme Court
- Briefly describe the ways in which state and local governments operate
- Explain the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic nation
- Summarize the process for electing a president of the United States
This course will provide a broad survey of the history of the world, from the earliest humans who emerged from Africa to the modern peoples and nations that exist today. You’ll study how people adapted to live in different environments, developed tools and technology, created political institutions to govern, and spread ideas as they interacted with one another. By following the stories of different peoples and cultures through time, you’ll observe how key developments and events that took place over thousands of years have shaped the world today.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize features and achievements of ancient civilizations, and Europe during the Renaissance and Age of Exploration
- 比较世界duri地区的社会和政治ng the period of 1500-1800
- Explain causes of revolution, impacts of industrialization on society, and factors leading to development of global empires during the period of 1750-1914
- Describe how the Great War, Great Depression, and nationalism affected world regions
- Describe how World War II, the Cold War, and economic globalization affected world regions

Health & Physical Education

In this course you’ll learn the key components of nutrition, cardiorespiratory exercise, safety issues, and stress management techniques.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain the relationship between calories and energy
- Explain how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins fit into a healthy eating plan
- Select healthy ingredients and preparation methods
- Analyze food labels, recipes, and menus for total calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, sodium, and fiber content
- List the advantages of cardiorespiratory fitness
- Recognize symptoms of common injuries and identify how to prevent them
- Explain the different types of stress and how they impact the body
- Recognize physical and psychological symptoms of stress
- Identify stress reduction techniques and common stressors of daily life
- Explain how fitness benefits your physical and mental well-being

Technology Requirements- As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need access to high-speed internet to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 10® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running macOS® Sierra Version 11.2 or later, access to a word processing program to complete written assignments, and an email account to complete this program with Penn Foster.

Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Apple, Mac, and macOS are trademarks of Apple, Inc. registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

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FAQs

Can you take college classes in high school?

Yes! There are many programs that allow high school students who qualify to earn college credit while they’re finishing their diploma. With Penn Foster’s college prep high school program, you’ll complete a traditional curriculum online then prepare for college-level classes with more academically challenging courses like economics and psychology.

What is early college high school?

An ‘early college’ high school program like Penn Foster’s is geared toward helping students prepare for college-level coursework after graduation. Many colleges and universities look for more academically challenging classes on a potential student’s transcripts, so taking more rigorous courses like English composition can help you prepare to meet those prerequisites. Additionally, it can help you to adapt to the more demanding coursework you’ll be expected to complete in college so you can confidently start your degree.

Is it good to take college classes in high school?

在高中学习大学课程不是for everyone. Students who want to join the workforce or train for a career at a vocational school don’t necessarily need to take college classes in high school. If you know you’d like to attend college after graduating high school, it’s helpful to take college prep classes to help you prepare. Through five academically challenging electives you’ll build the skills and study strategies that can help you succeed in higher education.

Will my early college credits transfer when I do finally enroll in college?

Our courses are accredited and ACE approved, so they may transfer to some community colleges and universities. Before enrolling in the Early College Pathway Program, it’s best to check with a school you’re interested in attending after graduation to ensure that your elective classes will be transferrable. Additionally, if you decide to enroll in a Penn Foster degree program, your electives may transfer to some general education courses in our associate and bachelor’s degrees.

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