Where are the accredited online high schools in the US?

Answer 1

Answer 1: So far, I've only found one accredited school, Ashworth Career School, offers college prep diploma program and general high school diploma program.

Answer 2: There are many accredited online high schools in the US. Ashworth's "James Madison High School" is but one! Ashworth College's direct competitor -- Penn Foster College -- also operates a high school; and it, too, is accredited.

To be clear, "accredited," at the high school level, means accredited by an agency approved by the US Department of Education (USDE). But there's a caveat...

USDE approves two kinds of accreditors:

1) National accreditors

2) Regional accreditors

The six big USDE-approved "regional" accreditors are the ones that most people have heard about. Heck, some people don't even know that there's any other kind of accreditation. In fact, some people who know any better use the term "regionally accredited" or "regional accreditation" to mean just plain "accredited" or "accreditation." And that's because, again, they don't even realize that there's anything else; so they just use the two terms synonymously.

However, among at least some of those who know anything at all about accreditation, there is a decided -- albeit insensible -- prejudice against schools that are "nationally" (rather than "regionally") accredited. This is true at both the high school (secondary) and college (post-secondary) levels; but it is especially true at the high school level!

While a "nationally" accredited college, university, seminary or trade/career college's diploma may or may not be acceptable to employers, other colleges, or even governmental agencies...

...there is no question that a diploma from an only-"nationally" accredited high school will not be acceptable to most employers, most colleges/universities, and most governmental agencies which require a high school diploma for whatever reason.

With most employers, colleges/universites, and governmental agencies which require a high school diploma for whatever reason, only one from a "regionally" accredited high school will do. Period.

Again, both "national" and "regional" accreditation is, at the high school level, USDE approved; and at the college level, it's both USDE approved, and also approved by the USDE-sanctioned Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)! However, "national" accreditation, for whatever reason, seems not to be as accepted as "regional" accreditation. While it's arguable at the college level, though, it's positively true at the high school level.

And so, then, whatever high school you choose, please make sure that it's at least "regionally" accredited, and not only "nationally" accredited. It can be both -- and that's okay because the "regional" accreditation trumps the "national" one -- but it must be at least "regionally" accredited if it's a high school. Please do not ignore that advice!

Ashworth's James Madison High School is both "nationally" and "regionally" accredited; so that's perfect!

Ashworth's career school, and its college are only "nationally" accredited; and while I believe that that's also perfect, there are, again, many employers, colleges/universities, and governmental agencies who disagree. So even at the college level, it make be safer to just stick with "regionally" accredited schools.

Ashworth's most direct competitor -- Penn Foster College -- is in exactly the same situation: Its career programs and its college are "nationally" accredited; but it's high school is both "nationally" and "regionally" accredited.

See the "sources and related links" section, below, to see a link I've placed there to CHEA's "Higher Education Transfer Alliance" (HETA) web page which argues that all accreditation -- both national and regional -- should be equally respected; and which encourages all employers, colleges/universities, and government agencies to equally accept both nationally and regionally accredited academic credentials.

Ashworth and Penn Foster, though, are far from the only accredited online high schools in the US. There's nice fellow out there named TOM NIXON who has written the two definitive books on acquiring a high school diploma by other than traditional means; and he has a companion website on which he lists -- available to anyone, for free -- the US's best online high schools!

There are many of them from which to choose! Some are expensive, some are inexpensive, and some are even free! That's right: FREE. Some state departments of education, and/or local school districts, have launched online high school programs for students who live in their states or districts so that those who get kicked-out of high school, or who quit, may circle back and still graduate by enrolling in the online program; andsome of those programs are free! Do check with your state department of education, and/or your local city/county school district to see if such a program exists.

Whatever online high school in which you enroll, however, must be "regionally" accredited. Do not believe anyone who tells you otherwise! And be careful and and sure, even on Tom Nixon's excellent "Best Online High Schools" website, that any online high school you consider is "regionally" (and not "nationally") accredited. Do not accept any other kind of accreditation!

See the "sources and related links," below.

Answer 2

I've only found one from one of the online school directories that I usually use. You might be able to find more, but be sure to check the accreditation of the school! This is the most important issue if you choose online degree program/school.

Ashworth Career School offers a general high school diploma program.

Answer 3

Answer 1: The US Department of Education (USDE) does not accredit. Rather, it approves accrediting agencies. The USDE-sanctioned Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) also approves accreditors. Then each of both USDE's and CHEA's approved accreditors do all the accrediting in the United States.

All manner of both in-classroom and online schools are accredited by various both "regional" and "national" USDE- and/or CHEA-approved accreditors.

The USDE- and CHEA-approved accreditor that specializes in accrediting online schools and degree programs is the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). However, even regionally-accredited, normally-in-classroom schools are expanding their online programs; and their accreditation remains "regional," not "national" through such as DETC.

So, then, it's very difficult to list all the schools and/or programs that are exclusively "online"... especially among the "regionally" accredited ones. It's easier to just get out there and search for whatever program you'd like, and then see if it's available entirely online. Once you've found one, then simply look-up the school in both the USDE and CHEA databases of accredited schools to make sure that it's really accredited. If any school is not listed in at least one of those two USDE and/or CHEA databases (and you really need to check both because there are a few accreditors that are approved by one, but not the other), then said school, no matter what it claims, is not accredited. Only enroll in a school -- be it online or in-classroom -- that's listed in either or both of the USDE and/or CHEA databases; which listing evedences that the school and/or its programs really and truly are accredited by a USDE- and/or CHEA-approved agency.

Links to the USDE and CHEA databases may be found in the "sources and related links" section, below.

There's also a link, there, to the DETC website's search page. Just leave all the fields as they are, and just click on the "Search" button to make an alphabetical list of all DETC-accredited online schools and programs appear.

Answer 4

There are many options to choose form if one wanted to enroll in an accredited online high school. To find out more information, one can visit education forums such as Get Educated where many discuss about different high schools.