It's so easy to get hung up on the whole issue of a high school diploma. The main purpose of a diploma is to document a specific program of study that has been completed at an educational institution. So in view of this, if you give it some thought, you may agree with my "Inverted Value Theory."  Simply put, it suggests that the more "official" a diploma looks in the world's eyes, the less true value the diploma actually possesses. This would mean that a regular school diploma, the most widely accepted diploma (Who would ever question it?) has less genuine meaning in the scope of life and God's values than any other diploma. On the other hand, a diploma representing an education navigated by mom and dad would very likely rest in the hands of a student who is better prepared for living, learning and loving than 10 traditionally-schooled students put together. (I don't have the statistics, but just take your own poll.)

IS YOUR DIPLOMA MEANINGFUL?

If you're asking whether it means anything to an employer, the answer is "Most likely--as much as any other diploma." Have you ever, even once, been
asked to show your diploma for a job?  I haven't.  I've only had to give the name of my high school. So if you come up with a good-sounding name for your homeschool, you're safe there. ("Rainbow Home School" probably wouldn't quite cut it.) If you're asking whether a college, the armed services, or a financial aid board would consider it valid, the answer is "Maybe yes; maybe no." If it doesn't mean what you want it to mean to the party you want it to mean something to (like the Dean of Admissions at a college), the student can always take a few classes or a year at a community college. (Some or all of those college credits could even be taken during the high school years.) This automatically waives the need for a diploma. For example, when someone has taken Algebra II, they never ask if you've taken Algebra I; it's simply assumed that you know the material for the simpler if you have attained the more difficult.
  
If your student intends to enter the service, or another certain institution upon graduation, check into their requirements now, then work toward them — or work them into your program — through these years. 
  
Another suggestion is to even try to work around their requirements by seeing if you can work with one of their counselors to find "equivalencies" in meeting requirements. This is breaking new grounds, scary, but it has been done and needs to be done if homeschoolers are to forge ahead and (gently) take their rightful place in society. This is usually done one brick at a time at a grass-roots level where you find a lot of dirt, bugs, and rocky ground!
   
SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR DIPLOMAS
  
There are actually many options in this arena for those not wanting to connect with a curriculum program.

You can purchase an official looking diploma made up professionally.  Several businesses offer such diplomas. (Cost ranges from $10 to $25. See end of article for addresses.)
   
You can make one yourself using press-type lettering and high quality paper (available in stationery stores) which is as professional an appearance as you can get without spending a chunk of money or owning a high-tech computer. (I include one in my senior high manual, but it's not as spiffy as some you can purchase.) (Cost is about $3 to $5.) 
   
Recognizing that some could still feel a need for a "valid" diploma, prior to completing my senior high book, I made arrangements with Triune Biblical University to offer an "official" diploma. This diploma enables Do-it-your-self-ers to translate their student's learning into classes and credits and still have an official-looking diploma to show for it. There is a list of required classes to follow, but parents determine entirely the content of these classes. (Cost is about $100, payable as you accumulate credits through senior high years.)...Home School Associates of New England offers a similar plan.

SO BACK TO THE QUESTION
   
But I still haven't totally answered "Does your diploma mean anything?"
Keep in mind that the following is not an answer I would actually give someone who was honestly asking the question. It would contain elements of the following response, but the purpose of this answer is to give you some food for thought. My answer starts out in the form of a question...
   
What does your diploma mean? How has it prepared you for the "real world" where offices don't usually have 25 people all the same age, and work days aren't usually divided by bells into six totally unrelated sectors? Has your diploma prepared you to be a loving, considerate husband or wife or a wise, nurturing dad or mom? (The most important roles you'll probably ever hold.) Did what you learned in science reveal to you the awesomeness of God and give you more of a sense of His hand upon the making and history of the universe or are you even more convinced of the "Big Blast," evolution, or the "gene pool"? Did your diploma help you acquire wisdom and true knowledge — or mere head knowledge? Do you view all knowledge as being "truth" only as it aligns with the truth — His Truth?  Or has your training made you hesitant to make such a "biased" statement?  Does your diploma indicate you are closer to God? More confident in His love for you?  Better equipped you to accomplish the work God has "prepared beforehand" for you to walk in through life? ...Just thought I'd ask..."
  
BACK TO REALITY
   
I assure you that the diploma we award our kids won't guarantee that its recipients have attained all these high ideals! We can do all the planting we want; only God can do the growing. But our diploma will signify that we tried, that we went the direction we believed God was taking us, with His values as our "Student Learning Objectives," with His vision our vision. 
   
OUR DIPLOMA
   
The diploma we issue our children, then, will be in alignment with dad and mom's priorities rather than the "state's." It will not be state issued or state-approved. We are a private, home-based school; not state-funded or even state-affiliated.
   
As the world's values and morals continue to spiral (plummet) downward, the chasm between the values of Christians and those of the world is widening dramatically. God has an abundance of work for His people in these latter days and perilous times! I believe we need to be more concerned with preparing ourselves and our children for His work — and finding out what that is — than with obtaining a diploma that will open bigger doors to higher-paying careers or gaining entry into a more prestigious college. 
   
Do we want a "valid diploma" for the wrong reasons? "Let us study (through these high school years) to show ourselves approved by God" — not man! We may need to ask God for a spirit of doing all things well for the glory of God, in readiness for doing the will of God. All God needs is a heart completely yielded to Him. A "good-education," defined accurately as being the result of yielding ourselves to being taught of God, will only enhance and equip us to that end. Our values should never take preeminence over our call to serve and know God — or cause the fire of our love for Him to wane. 
 
 
The above article is excerpted and rewritten from the book Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+la by Barbara Shelton. Addresses of resources mentioned in article are as follows:
   
Home School Associates of New England: "North Atlantic Regional School" is the name on the diploma, signed by them. Send work to them for evaluation. $60. (116 3rd Ave./Auburn, ME 04210).
   
Triune Biblical University: "Triune Senior High Private Extension Program."
Send documentation of completed work; they fill out and sign. About $200;
less if some credits are transferred. (Call 360-577-0586 to obtain 
Information/Registration Packet.)
 
In Texas, as private school officials, parents decide the requirements for high school graduation. When met, the student may receive a diploma.  THSC now makes available this custom diploma on which you may have not only your student's name and graduation date, but also your school's name and a life verse, if desired. Mix and match four wording choices with four different fonts and seven paper types.
   
Josten's: offers a generic diploma — parent fills out and signs diploma.
About $10. (1-800-323-9343).
   
   
(Please notify me at beshelton@aol.com if any of the above info is outdated!)