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Abeka Academy is an accredited distance learning program for Kindergarten through grade 12. Christian character building textbooks from A Beka Book are used with video instruction for a college preparatory education. A Beka Academy offers a variety of educational options to include: Accredited Programs, Independent Study, Traditional Programs and individual courses. Students may use DVD's for instruction, Video Streaming and live hook-ups for learning. A Beka Academy offers an ESL program for international students.
Abeka curriculum reviews are listed separately.
Website: Abeka Academy
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(90 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: inflexible and not allowing for individualization
Grades Used: 1-4
I hope a homeschool dad is allowed to post here, since this seems to be a site only for homeschool moms. I used aBeka materials when I was in school. I have had several nieces and nephews homeschooled through aBeka's video program. We are currently homeschooling our two children, using some of aBeka's books. About the videos, they can be helpful, but aBeka does seem to be too inflexible about things. You cannot order individual subjects in elementary school, and they will not even allow you to substitutute one grade subject for another. For example, if your child is in second grade and is currently using third grade science, you must order all thrid grade subjects for the video program the next year. You cannot substitute fourth grade science. This greatly limits the individual aspect of homeschooling and the flexibility to meet the needs of each child. The videos themselves are okay, but can tend to get boring to sit and watch all day. aBeka curriculum is okay, but there are other programs, like Bob Jones, that do seem to put the child first and allow flexibility by substituting different grade level subjects when ordering their videos.
Cons: Physical Science in 9th grade is way to confusing,teachers like to make it more confusing,so many book reports
Grades Used: k4-9th
I am in 9th grade now i really do like most of my classes except for physical science and algebra.Mr.smith is great but i dont like that i dont have a history in 9th,the work load is more than most but the flexiblity is great. Sometimes the classes do get very boring,the test reviews are wonderful,the classws could be shorter.
Cons: outdated videos, unnessary material
Grades Used: 9-11
As a current student of a beka academy, I would just like to share my experiences so far. I'm doing the accredited video streaming. The videos are quite outdated and aren't very interesting in my opinion. In some classes, you have to watch at least 10 minutes of a silent classroom where the teacher is just walking around while the students are doing work. In the other classes, however, at least 70% of the video is reviewing what you've learned and for me, that 70% is extremely unnecessary since its quite easy for me to pick up the things they teach. And also, there's no way to skip those parts, so what should be a 15 minute video (without all the review) it's close to 45 minutes for each lesson (6 lessons total per day). I honestly don't even watch the history or science videos because it makes it 10x more confusing to me because the teachers like to put things in their own words instead of teaching directly from the book. I just read directly from the book - I mean, they only test you from the book anyways, not all the unnecessary teachings and stories that are in the videos. Parents seem to think too that this is a "better than average education" and I partially agree. For me, a lot of it is stuff I've already learned, the rest of it isn't much different from any other school. It's not a horrible school, but its not my favorite.
Cons: my entire review
Grades Used: k-3 and 8th
It is horrible. yah sure its organized, but they have random pop quizzes about things they learned and already tested on, instead of what they just learned. the digital assessments disappeared. my daughter was all caught up and on lesson 24 now all her digital assessments are on lesson 10 and 15 when she already took them. videos are boring and the teacher walks around helping students and she cant raise her hand to get help. the curriculum is organized but there is so much homework and random tests. she wants to go back to public school and deal with the bullies.
Cons: Restrictions for accredited streaming
Grades Used: K and 1st
We did the parent led Abeka last year and it went really well. This year we opted to do the accredited streaming curriculum and have found it to be very flawed. There are many improvements needed including the ability for parents to check off videos in order to skip. At the end of lessons the teacher is walking around the room helping and encouraging the kids, why do we HAVE to watch hat without the option of ending it there and starting a new lesson. Also the video where you have to watch the seatwork... it's equivalent busy work that I wanted to avoid in public school. Abeka needs to take away this unneeded restriction. I can't tell you how many times I've seen complaints on message boards online about this as well.
Cons: Takes all day, child is flabbergasted can't make friends since at home
Grades Used: 4 thru 8
Curriculum is good. Customer service is young adults answering the phone with memorized answers and very inflexible with making adjustments in this day and age of being customer focused. Start date for new school year is automatically 2 weeks out from order date and cannot be changed. Last year Abeka warehouse was so far behind in orders we started a month late. They make themselves look good for meeting deadlines. Issues / problems are yours and not theirs. I like the Christian teaching which is right on. The academy is legalistic so that bothers me. I noticed two teachers shared clothing on the videos. Same blazers and suit jackets shared. Christ wants your heart and loves you. He looks at the inward. Abeka looks at the outward too. Price is decent for the curriculum. Priced to force you to buy the whole year. Buffer between customer and higher ups that can alter or make overriding decisions (young trained staff) with rigid answers.
Cons: The work load is horrendous
Grades Used: 9th
My son started with assessments and streaming in the accredited program. There were so many unannounced pop quizzes and appendix quizzes. He was lost. It was so stressful. His grades plummeted. He didn't know whether to study forward or backward in the material. We had to change to all paper and independent study. That helped some. At least I could show him which way to study. Now we know how the system works, it wouldn't be as bad.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 2nd, 3rd, 4th (upcoming)
I’m a single mom and I work, so I opted for the DVD independent study from Abeka Academy along with a local enrichment program. This will be my third year using the curriculum and I am extremely pleased with the program. My son likes being in control of his day, though he has scheduled breaks and is required to complete that days lesson, if he chooses to work on Arithmetic and then Science he has that option. I feel confident he is receiving the best education he can because he is being taught by licensed teachers who know how to teach and present the material to accommodate different learning styles such as visual, audio, and repetition. The program is very creative in engaging the home students. As anything, you get out of it what you’re willing to put into it. If your child does not participate with the class as directed by the video teacher, they will be bored and their mind will wonder and they will not grasp the concept being taught in that lesson. However, if your child participates, they not only will have fun, but they will learn the lessons being taught. As a parent, if you do not check the daily assignments, quizzes, and tests then you will fail your child and not know they’re struggling with a specific concept. I feel this would be a great solution for families which do not feel confident in their ability to teach subjects outside of their strengths.
A previous reviewer stated the DVDs did not work on a laptop/computer. I have not had that experience and we began in 2015-16 school year. They do offer a streaming solution, but I could not guarantee my child would always have internet access and therefore continue to opt for the DVD solution. The DVDs play on an older laptop running Vista as well as a newer one running Windows 10. One uses the free VLC Media player and the other uses a manufacture specific media player.
The only challenge I have is determining which quizzes or tests are administered by the video and therefore handles the timing of the test. As we have progressed through the grades, the videos have edited out the duration of the quiz/test; however, it’s unclear as to the amount of time that is expected to allocate. This is not an issue if you do not plan to have your child participate in local standardized tests, but if you do then acclimating them to working within specified amount of time is for their good. It also seems the quizzes are often administered in the middle of the lesson and therefore requires the DVD to be paused. This requires the parent/home teacher to be more aware to ensure the child doesn’t get distracted while the DVD is paused.
Wonderful teachers wonderful text books and definetily wonderful principles.
You will not regret it.
The teachers also make you feel apart of the class.
Anyone who thinks abeka is terrible dont care much for their kids because abeka not only teaches them to learn but most of all how to know Jesus personally but have a closer relationship with God.
I know my kids are learning godly habits instead of the junk public schools teach our kids.
I wouldn't know what to do about my children's education without abeka here to help!
I would highly recommend abeka!!!??
Grades Used: 2nd- 11th
I have been homeschooled with the Abeka curriculum since the second grade and have been using the videos since about the fourth. There is a fair amount of homework and the lessons are just as long as a regular classes in school.
The one major pitfall with doing school this way is there is no student, teacher contact; if you have a question, you can't ask. I believe that this actually worked to MY benefit, because I then had to figure out how to solve that problem on my own by deduction and I now see the difference when I am among other individuals who ask immediate questions without thinking them through first.
I had many memorable teachers over the years and hold the hilarious Mr. Howe (5th) and utterly amazing Mr. McBride (high school) in very high regards. I don't really like science so, although I admit that the classes really are quite interesting, I still prefer to just read the the book and study some days. They drill you on everything and, if you are with the program for multiple years, you will learn songs associated with memorizing long lists that will never leave your memory. The constant quizzing and testing was annoying, at least, but it really kept you on your toes and gave you a reason to finish your homework accurately.The work can be long and tedious but, in the end, you learn everything with an accurate and Christian perspective.
Throughout the years I earned mostly As and scored well above average on all of my standardized tests. As a junior I took two semesters of college composition and algebra at a community college and finished with an A+ in all of them. And I actually skipped the tenth grade, so the curriculum REALLY prepared me for those classes.
My only regret is that I didn't try hard enough to apply myself in everything because then no other K-12 education could surpass my own. This education curriculum is rigorous and requires discipline. If you want to try to succeed without those elements, then you are setting yourself up for failure. But do it right and you can't really go wrong.
Cons: Not for the weak student or parent who can't help
A Beka is not for the weak or unmotivated student. The teachers and program are first class and challenging. Our child was able to score very well on the SAT and ACT and was offered scholarships to all the leading schools.
Cons: No cons
Grades Used: K-12
I don't understand how ABeka Academy gets such bad reviews. They are a quality homeschooling program with quality textbooks. The young people reviewing ABeka must all be lazy and not interested in excelling in their education. Yes, the DVD program may be a bit grueling to sit through, and a pupil could just as easily read the material and test on it without the help of the video teacher, but some states require accredited courses and will not accept non-accredited courses for graduation to satisfy state requirements. This is why my son will enroll with ABeka Academy when he is a 9th grader and complete the course through high school. I have homeschooled three young men using ABeka, and there is no finer curriculum - much less Christian curriculum around.
Cons: stuck at home
Grades Used: Jk-8
This program is *language deleted* terrible honestly, don't let your kids suffer with this type of *language deleted*. Who cares if the "system" is bad even getting bullied is better than this homeschool program, if you're gonna do this to your kid at least sit down with them everyday and let them go outside and be free. Outside of that this homeschool program is horrible
Cons: still awful
Grades Used: 8th
Please everyone who is thinking about homeschooling NEVER DO IT i just went through a year at this abeka academy and you will regret doing it its not worth it send you kids to a public school i was literally mentally tortured it was awful so don't do this ever.
Cons: LITTLE TIME, A BIT TOO FAST.
Grades Used: 11 GRADE
I LIKE ABEKA 50%.THE TEACHERS ARE SOMETIMES TOO FAST,GIVE LITTLE TIME.IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND,YOU CANT ASK A QUESTION. SOMETIMES IT IS REALLY FRUSTRATING.THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR
THEY TEACH WELL.READ BIBLE.SOMETIMES THEY ARE FUNNY AND MAKE YOU LAUGH.MY BEST TEACHER IS MRS. AUTREY.THEY SING HYMNS,THAT IS NICE TOO..
Cons: still not good
Grades Used: 8th
ALSO i dont recommend this program itts so boring like give a child some breathing room not 5 quiz and 2 test every week!
Cons: still not great
Grades Used: 8th
Probaby the most boring homeschool ever
Cons: Kind of boring at some times
Grades Used: 5th
I love the arithmetic teacher, Mr Howe. He can be pretty funny but the language video can be a bit boring at times. I'm planning to use it later on.
Cons: Technical problems with discs playing
Grades Used: K -7th Grade
My wife and I both work, and share teaching, which is why we opted for the DVD independent study from Abeka Academy. While our children generally like Abeka and we are satisfied with the content we ran into technical issues this year. We have used Abeka Academy from K through 7th grade, there are some great and memorable teachers, but now they have decided to start securing the discs, and as a result they no longer play on a computer.
This is a serious problem for us, the flexibility of school anywhere with a laptop was part of why we choose Abeka Academy.
Customer service tells us the DVDs are only designed to play on a dedicated DVD player (IE like the one connected to a TV to play a movie).
For us this serious downgrade in technological capacity in 2016 by Abeka is making us rethink using them.
Cons: Can be intensive
Grades Used: K5-5th
This is our second year to use Abeka Academy and we absolutely love it. My kids are ahead of their peers in PS. The workload does increase some with each year. At first it takes some getting used to but you will find what works and what doesn't as time goes on. We plan to continue using Abeka.
Cons: A little time consuming
Grades Used: K5
We started k5 with my daughter using dvds. She has learned so much this year. She enjoys school and loves to sing along with her class. She is always happy to share something new she has learned in her bible lesson. The dvds have really saved our homeschool. I felt so stretched thin having three children, chores, and church commitments. But the dvd program has taken a huge load off of me. I am still involved but the dvd teacher does the most time consuming part of homeschooling. I love the bible lessons and the phonics program is the best I have found. My only complaint is that the videos can feel a bit long at times. But you as the parent can modify as needed. I definitely recommend Abeka video classes.
Cons: moves fast at times, can be rigorous
Grades Used: k-4
We have used this curriculum for the last three years exclusively and parts of it for a year prior. This past year we started using the streaming and love it. We love the conservative Bible based teaching. We even went to Florida on our spring break and met the teacher!
Cons: Sometimes I felt I didn't have as much 1 on 1 as my child needed
Grades Used: so far K5 - 1st
I love Abeka Academy Accredited Program. My son loves his DVD teacher and can feel just like he is a part of the class from home. The Video teachers always interact with those watching. They have awesome curriculum and great customer service when I need. I have no complaints and will use through grade 12.
Grades Used: 3rd through 11th
A Beka Academy has excellent customer service. Once in anger I hung up the phone on them, and a few weeks later, I apologized. They wholeheartedly and without reserve forgave me. They are always friendly and courteous on the phone. They bend over backwards in helping you. I am very impressed with A Beka Academy.
Cons: Lack of Individual Instruction
Grades Used: 3rd Grade Through Eleventh Grade
A Beka Academy surpasses all the other homeschool programs available. I would not choose anything else for our two children. The Biblical worldview that is taught is excellent. The academics is excellent, and the teachers are excellent. Our two children, a girl and a boy, both have looked forward to the next homeschool year with excitement and enthusiasm. The teachers teach the Christian way of life in all their classes and discernment is taught as well.
Our children have learned through A Beka Academy the evils of Communism and socialism and the democrat party as well as the goodness of capitalism and conservatism in politics. They have learned that our nation was founded by men of strength of character who upheld the Bible and founded our nation NOT on slavery, as the government teaches the children and college students today, but instead on the Word of God. Our children know that two wars could not be fought at the same time. The war against England had to be fought first and then the war against slavery. One war within and one war without at the same time would tear a nation apart. That is why the Revolutionary War was first. Our children know that the founding fathers-most of them- did not like slavery and wanted to get rid of it.
Our children have scored 91% overall and 94% overall on the Iowa Test this year and last year they scored extremely high as well on the Stanford 10. In the accredited program, our daughter got straight A's the last two years and earned honor roll. Our son, who is two years younger than her, has always earned mostly A's , a B+ in the sciences or a B, and a B in his arithmetic/mathematics courses.
As I said before, our children have always loved A Beka Academy and A Beka Academy accredited. We did use A Beka Book from first grade to the end of third grade with our daughter and kindergarten arithmetic to the end of 2nd grade with our son, and we found that a joy, too.
I cannot say enough good things about A Beka, A Beka Academy, and A Beka Academy accredited. It is by far, the best. The first year of A Beka Academy our daughter even cried real tears because she did not want it to be over. She did not want to say good bye to the teachers she loved so much.