Arkansas · high school · 2026-2027 school year
Arkansas homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript
Trellis has no step-by-step law page for Arkansas yet. The state's own statute and agency sources at the end of this page are the primary references.
Arkansas does not require homeschoolers to follow Smart Core or any state graduation-credit requirements. The parent designs the curriculum and issues the diploma; Arkansas does not issue a state or district homeschool diploma.
The short version
- Who sets the requirement: the state's graduation rules bind public schools, not homeschools. The parent issues the diploma.
- The reference standard: the public-school minimum is 22 credits, and that table is the common starting point a transcript is read against; colleges set their own expectations on top of it, below.
- What colleges actually look for: the universities in the table below publish their own course expectations.
- What a transcript must show: courses by year, credits, and grades, kept by the parent, with the same subject headings the reference table uses.
- Across states: compare what 51 flagship universities ask.
The public-school credit table, for reference
Arkansas's public-school diploma requires 22 credits. A homeschool is not held to it. It is shown as the reference a transcript is commonly read against. A recruited athlete also registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which grades home-school core courses against its own worksheet, separate from this table.
| Subject | Credits | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | English 9; English 10; English 11; English 12. |
| Math | 4 | Algebra I; Geometry; Algebra II; one additional approved math course. DESE lists Algebra II or Quantitative Reasoning as the options for that credit. |
| Science | 3 | Biology; two other approved science courses. |
| Social studies | 3 | 0.5 credit Civics; 1 credit World History; 1 credit American History; 0.5 credit Economics. |
| Foreign language | 0 | Not required for the Smart Core diploma itself. |
| PE and health | 1 | 0.5 credit Health and Safety; 0.5 credit Physical Education. |
| Arts | 0.5 | Fine Arts. |
| Electives | 6 | Career Focus credits. |
| Other | 0.5 | 0.5 credit Oral Communications; a course covering Personal and Family Finance standards (may overlap an existing credit). From the class of 2026, one credit of ADE-approved computer science is required (A.C.A. § 6-16-152); DESE's page places it in the math or science flex slot, so it does not add to the 22 credits. |
Assessments in the public-school rules: Must pass the Arkansas Civics Exam (100-question test on U.S. government/history, 60/100 to pass) and complete CPR training. Independent homeschoolers are not required to take standardized tests (testing mandate repealed by Act 832 of 2015).
What Arkansas colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for
DESE's current page presents one credit list with a Student Success Plan; the older Smart Core versus Core opt-out framing may no longer apply and is worth confirming with DESE. Homeschoolers are bound by neither.
Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.
flagship University of Arkansas
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 4 | 4 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 3 | 3 |
| Foreign language | – | – |
| Arts | 0.5 | 0.5 |
0.5 Oral Communication, 0.5 Physical Education, 0.5 Health and Safety (1.5 elective units total)
Described as a strongly recommended 16-unit college-prep curriculum, not a strict cutoff; admission also weighs GPA and test scores holistically. University of Arkansas requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Arkansas State University publishes no subject-by-subject course list. 3.00 cumulative GPA and ACT composite of 19+ (or SAT 990+), or top 20% class rank. Published admissions criteria are GPA/test-based; a specific high-school course-unit checklist was not found on the official page. Arkansas State University requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Questions families ask
Does Arkansas require a homeschool diploma?
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How many credits does an Arkansas homeschool diploma need?
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Who signs a homeschool transcript in Arkansas?
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What does University of Arkansas expect from a homeschooled applicant?
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How Trellis checks your transcript against this table
In Trellis, the courses you plan and the work your children check off become the transcript as you go. The graduation card reads that transcript against the table above and says, subject by subject, what is earned and what is still open, and it notices a course filed under the wrong heading before a college does. Nothing is retyped at the end of senior year.
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