As an enrollment counselor for an online high school I’m used to answering a lot of questions about our school, and what makes our school different. When talking to adults and students alike I hear the same statement at least once a day, and that is, “I don’t want to take any classes, I just want to take the test and get my diploma!” To which I usually reply, “Okay, if you just want to take the test, do you mean that you just want to get a GED?” “No, no, no, I want to get my high school diploma! I just don’t want to have to take all those classes.”

In talking to them I finally discover that someone either told them that they could just take a test and get their high school diploma online, or they were online themselves trying to do some comparison shopping and found one or more sites that made it all look so quick, easy and cheap to get their high school diploma online. 

As with most things, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. The truth of the matter is that there is no quick test you can take to get your high school diploma. You have to take the online courses, do the required work and pass your tests; any website you find that promises a quick and easy solution is simply a diploma mill!

Are All Online High School Diplomas Created Equal?

It is important to understand the difference between earning a diploma from an accredited online school, and getting one from a website that requires that you only pay their fee and take a test, or worse still, just fill out a form.

I know I said it once, but it bears repeating so here it is again: any website that promises a quick and easy diploma is simply a diploma mill!

Wikipedia defines a diploma mill in this way: “A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies.”

What this means is that you can easily pay them your money, and they will happily let you take their test and then provide you with their certificate that says that you have earned your high school diploma online.  The problem is that this certificate is not a valid high school diploma! In actuality it has no value at all, especially if you or your child is planning to use this diploma to get into college someday. It will not be recognized as a valid high school diploma, and what you thought was a cheap solution just turned into a complete waste of your money.

The fact remains that there is NO quick fix to getting your high school diploma. You simply have to take the required courses needed to graduate, put in the time to do the work and pass your tests.  If taking your high school classes in a traditional school setting does not work for you, for whatever reason, then attending a good accredited online school will probably be your best option. Some of the better schools will even allow you to log in 24/7 which enables you to do your course work on your own schedule, not the school’s.

If you just want to get your GED, that is a different story altogether; however, it is still recommended that you put in the time to study even for that.  A GED is not the same as having your high school diploma, but that is a different topic that is discussed in this post.

Doing Your Homework

Regardless of which option you choose, you are still going to have to do your homework. Making sure the school you choose is an accredited online school should always be your first assignment. Next find out if the teachers are board certified, and if the school really offers a flexible schedule, allowing you to do the work at a time that works best for you. I can proudly say they we offer all of the above and more here at Sterling Academy.  We have students ranging from the 6^th grade, to adults with jobs and families taking their high school courses online.  I encourage you to go back to our home page now and request a free demo of our courses – yes, we are so confident of our school and what we have to offer, we even let you sample our courses for free.