Acellus resources are available through Acellus Academy, an accredited online private school, headquartered in Kansas City Missouri, and Power Homeschool, a flexible online resource with affordable classes designed for students to learn at their own pace. Both are programs of the International Academy of Science, a non-profit organization with a long history and mission of advancing education and scientific research. Acellus Academy provides online instruction to students in grades K-12 through the Acellus Learning System, which was developed by the International Academy of Science and is used to provide primary instruction to students in schools across the United States. Power Homeschool is a program intended to aid parents in homeschooling their student. Parents may choose up to 6 courses at a time from numerous courses (grades PreK-12). Students are able to learn at their own pace under the supervision and assistance of their parent.
Website: Acellus/Power Homeschool
(56 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Don't care about students
Grades Used: 10, 11, 12
Do not use this school if you are on Social Security Disability Income. My daughter turned 18 at the beginning of her 12th grade. Acellius refused to sign the SSA form stating my daughter was enrolled in their school, so my daughter's supplementary check was discontinued. We have now lost almost $9000 in our household income so she can graduate OR I can disenroll her, let her get a GED and work at McDonald's so we can pay our bills. Reason I am on SSDI is because I'm dying from Stage 4 cancer. They will not talk to me on the phone, only sent me an email stating why they won't sign the Social Security form.
Cons: NONE
Grades Used: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and currently using
I Absolutely love Acellus Academy. I actually took my son out of a private school called " Richmond Montessori" when he was diagnosed with ADHD. I didn't want to place him on medication so, I decided to Home School him instead, and It was one of the best decision I've ever made. One of my co-worker actually recommended Acellus Academy to me. The lessons are pre recorder, the school actually records their attendance, the amount of hours the child spent on each subject, their test grades and GPA. Your child will be able to pause the videos and take notes. There is even an option to take Spanish as a 1st grader. My son has been taking Spanish classes on Acellus Since 1st Grade and he is now in 3rd. Most elementary schools do not offer a foreign language unless you're in private school. I absolutely love the program and so does my son. I would definitely recommend Acellus Academy .
Cons: If you’re looking for a hands off program this isn’t for you , parents MUST supervise
Grades Used: 0-100
This program is wonderful, easy
To use and fabulous in every way. It’s also VERY affordable compared to all other programs.
Grades Used: 5th & 8th
My two kids are enrolled in Acellus Academy and both are doing wonderful!! I'm so grateful for this school! The lessons are creative and interesting. My children are learning and excelling with Acellus Academy! It's so easy for parents! Students log in and know exactly what they have to complete for each day and week. The school records their attendance, hours on each subject, test grades and GPA. Lessons are explained thoroughly with lots of visuals. Lessons are prerecorded which allows the students to watch the lesson multiple times if needed, pause or rewind. Tests are given after each lesson and students receive their grade immediately so they always know how they're doing academically. Students also have the ability to complete their work anytime of the day and weekends if they choose. The parent app allows the parent to see exactly what their child has completed, attendance, grades and much more.
Cons: Every single thing to the last bit
Grades Used: 11th
This school is literally the biggest piece of steaming trash ever. That’s all that can be said. Other than the fact that the teachers are sexist, racist, people. They keep pushing on the stereotypes of the girls having to cook and clean for their husbands. Grow up! It’s 2021 women can do exactly what men can do and so can men! My god! Needless to say don’t even think about using Acellus. It’s not worth your time nor your money. Bottom line is its a steaming piece of garbage.
Cons: Would be nice if there was a way to practice more math problems
Grades Used: 3,4,5,6
I am blown away by all the negative reviews and suspect that a lot of them are politically motivated or from people who did not really take the time to learn how to navigate the program and access the parental resources (for example someone complained that you could not access the gradebook. You absolutely can access the grades as well as the answers your student gives on each test question. We actually use that feature to pinpoint the exact part of the lesson my son did not understand). I am a long time veteran of homeschooling with having successfully homeschooled two older children who are now both college graduates. We have used so many different programs including Abeka, switched on schoolhouse, K-12, Saxon math, Time for learning, and just so many other different programs and the Acellus checks so many boxes .We have been using Acellus homeschool, now known as Powerhome school, for 4 years now (3rd through 6th grade). This program has been nothing short of a lifesaver for us! It gets to the meat and potatoes of learning without all the fluff that can bog down education. Also if your child has any learning disabilities whatsoever there are so many natural built-in supports that make it so much easier for both you and your child. My son actually did a video presentation for his school as to why this program helps him so much and even I was surprised by how many different things he noticed that I had not. One big recommendation I have though is to do the course in the tutor mode, especially if you have any learning disabilities. Just to be able to have the visual menu, the ability for them to go back and review lessons they may have forgotten or are struggling with, the visual progress indicator, the ability to develop organizational and autonomy skills, etc. make this mode extremely valuable. The other thing that makes it’s very valuable to children with learning disabilities is that it separates out learning from writing. For example my youngest son has dyslexia and dysgraphia and by design this program allows him to learn content without this being a roadblock, and then we work on the writing skills independently. I will say there is a writer toll that is used for the special lessons that has been so much of an encouragement to him it has actually helped him to write more. The fact that it displays the word count has been a huge confidence builder for him. He also is learning to type as an accommodation and so this gives him a great opportunity to practice those skills.
Cons: none for our family
Grades Used: 1,2,3,6,7,8,9
We are using Acellus for 4 years now. Kids enjoy this program. This curriculum is well structured and grading is done online. One of the great options is the ability to retake the quizzes until passing grade is achieved. Easy and fair grading system,
Cons: Literally everything
Grades Used: 10th
Acellus is pretty bad. The videos are long and dragged out for no reason. There have been to many times (like almost all the videos) where I didn't even watch the video or stopped watching because it the teachers would often go in circles or I already knew the content. I cant skip the videos either (which is dumb) it becomes a waste of time and makes things take so much longer than they should. Another reason I absolute despise Acellus is the fact that if you fail one lesson it sends you back. I was just working on a math lesson and failed by one question but it sent me back 40, yes 40 lessons for no reason. Even worse than that is I have to make it up. Why? I want to quit so bad but I cant since its my last subject. Also whats up with the test reviews? there are just as many questions on the reviews as there are on the test. It waste so much time and mental energy to do finals. Who in there right mind gives a test review with 240+ question on top of finals with the same amount of questions? It doesn't feel like Acellus is bringing anything new to the table other then things i've learned in 6th,7th,8th, and 9th grade. The teachers look like they hate there life. Some subjects have times where they don't explain everything. All in all it's a pretty frustrating and over all bad experience using Acellus. I don't recommend anybody to keep using it, and hope it gets shut down.
Cons: not much content (high school)
Grades Used: 9th
Well, I realize it's inexpensive and mine liked the "no zoom" format with just prerecorded videos. Frankly, my high schooler got nothing out of the courses he took and when I watched some videos with him, I realized there wasn't much content. I'd prefer he found relevant youtube videos instead of this linear format- we discuss so much from other formats that I realized this was kind of a waste of his time. He took four classes and I had him stop before he finished any of them. I like the idea but not the execution of sound-byte teachers.
This site is utter garbage. There isn't any useful information being taught through it. All of the prompts are just duplicates.
Cons: literally everything
Grades Used: 9th
At the start it was going pretty well. Everything seemed to be easy and I got my work done, but after 2nd quarter and starting to 3rd quarter it just went downhill.
In middle school all my grades were good. I had A's and B's and an occasional C in one of my classes, but overall I did really well in school. I had a constant GPA of 3.5 and above and I really never did badly in school.
But ever since I started Acellus, my grades have been giving me B's and C's and an almost D. It's ruining me. My GPA is now surfacing at a 2.7 which has never in my life happened before. I was so shocked seeing how poorly my grades and GPA were showing, but I swear in mostly all of my classes I have been passing a 100%-70% so how could I have that kind of GPA?
It seems like my grade never goes up, it only ever goes down.
The main problem is with math. I admit I am not the best at math and I have a hard time understanding the concepts of it, but I just can never seem to pass any quizzes. It's almost the end of 3rd quarter and I have 75% done with all my classes except for math. It's stuck at 53% and I can't do anything about it. Every time I get most of the questions wrong, it takes me back to the same video every time and it's supposed to be helping me, but it's not! I took notes and watched the videos thoroughly, but I still can't solve the damn math problem! I'm stuck in this never ending loop of watching the same videos over and over again and doing the same math problems that I don't understand and it's ruining me!
The fact that I only have 4 days left to complete 22% of unfinished math problems is also ruining me. I don't know what to do! I'm stuck.
I like doing online school though. I can work at my own pace and give myself some needed days off from doing homework, but procrastination does get to me sometimes so that's a major con.
Also almost all the teachers I have worked with seem to be a bit racist. My math teacher had called a math term (AND I QUOTE ON QUOTE SAY FROM MY TEACHER) "indian sounding" when all the word was, was just "SOHCAHTOA" like how does that even sound "indian sounding" in the first place? That was extremely offensive and unprofessional to say considering it was from a teacher. I expected more from him, but hey. He is white and old after all so it's not surprising.
Also the harmful stereotypes being pushed onto children from this school. They seem to like pushing the stereotype that girls like to cook for their husbands and that the color blue is associated with boys only and the color pink is associated with girls only. It annoys me very much seeing all these stereotypes being thrown left and right at me.
Every video I seem to watch are always from the year 2000s or 2010s. It's 2021 people. Why are they showing me outdated videos from 10 years ago?
I really hate this school, but I'm forced to do this again for next quarter. I'm glad my school isn't choosing to do online school next year. It was a big mistake choosing online school.
Cons: Wish you could fast forward some videos if the subject has been mastered previously
Grades Used: 7th and 4th
Both my kids 7th and 4th grade love the program. It is set up very well a'd allows me to change the daily lessons per class if my kids fall behind. The truth is that any class can become boring if a student isn't interested in the subject but I think Acellus does a good job with most of the teachers in the videos.
Cons: Boring material and not age appropriate
Grades Used: Kindergartn
Using Acellus for my kindergartener, it’s terrible! Boring and lame! Some subjects are too complex for a 5 or 6 year old. There are a few teachers that don’t even pronounce words correctly and don’t look like they want to even be recording the lessons, they seem miserable.
Cons: Everything else
Grades Used: Ninth, but with some tenth grade courses
This school is really bad. The classes are extremely surface level. Only AP World History and Geometry don't seem to be, but that could be because there was an assignment to read over 32 pages from the Bible and eight books on Confucianism for AP World History. This is the only religious content I've seen so far and at least it was on more than one religious though I would've preferred if they made it so you didn't have to read so much.
For Music Appreciation all of the questions have only two chooses and are so easy. For example, they'll show a clip of a choir singing and the question will be, "In this clip we see..." and you can choose from A: "A choir singing" or B: "A violin concerto [solo]". They also misspelt a composer's name.
Some of the classes have background music that is really distracting, especially for anyone who has ADD/ADHD.
The World History I class thought content that my daughter learned in a different program when she was in fourth grade. The other program thought the content with way more detail.
A lot of the videos were made in 2011 so they are now outdated. They really need to update their courses. I also do not like that you can redo assignments and retake tests. I feel like this is somewhat cheating. I also had to create my own grade book so I could have the non-video assignments count towards her grade.
Two and a half stars; a bit bad. Would not recommend
Cons: everything
Grades Used: 8th
Terrible. full of religious indoctrination and the man who owns it and some of his colleagues are trump supporters who post racist and covid denying tweets. The course videos are so outdated that the finance class had incorrect tax information. The owner and some of the classes are ableist. There are hints of ableist, racist, and sexist narratives pushed into parts of the lessons.
Cons: Lack of interaction
Grades Used: 6
We have started using Acelus three weeks ago. My son was grade 5 but was popped to grade 6. He seems to follow and manage the course work. So far it is OK.
Cons: EVERYTHING!!!
Grades Used: 5th
I believe that this app is a scam because I am getting everything right and it tells me so...but after I finish a test or something(which it said I got 10-10 right) it gives me a extra help video...I have done the same lesson a few times now...I do NOT recommend.
Cons: Everything else
Grades Used: 10
You know it's bad when I can get more from Khan Academy in two minutes than I can get from Acellus in 30. The lessons are extremely drawn out, which completely disengages you. The content being taught is often not explained very clearly; which is especially frustrating in topics like math, where you need to know literally everything that's happening. Truthfully, I can not tell you how many times I've had to rely on sites like Khan Academy or Mathway to get me through my Algebra 2 class.
Lack of communication is also something you'll notice. It's not a person teaching you, but rather a buggy computer program paired with a library of 6-8 year old videos. If you don't have someone who you can reliably contact, it can be extremely difficult to get ahold of someone if you're stuck and need help. It also doesn't help that when you get something wrong or get lower than a 70%, Acellus won't actually tell you what you're doing wrong; it just makes you redo the entire lesson.
Other than that, students don't get access to a syllabus. This makes it difficult for the student to plan ahead and stay on track. There's no social interaction with peers- again, it's just a computer program. Probably the biggest thing, though, is the fact that it's all virtual. There are no workbooks or textbooks, no resources outside of the few they provide, and no hands-on activities other than a few "special lessons", which are most of the time aren't doable (I had one that wanted me to dig a four-foot hole in my backyard).
Take it from an actual high-school student when I say DO NOT GO WITH ACELLUS! The entire program is literal garbage!
Grades Used: 1, 2, 6
I homeschool my children and found this curriculum to work for us very nicely. It came recommended by a friend and I’m glad I tried it out! I have a newborn and was getting bogged down with grading. The grading is now done for me!! I can enjoy the videos with my children, see their grades, what they did on a daily basis, attendance and amount of time on each section at just a glance in the parents app. They offer special assignments that include some written work as well.
I read some negative reviews about having to retake exams. Personally, my children and I don’t mind them. My teachers had me do this in private school growing up and I’m certain it helped me feel more confident as I went through the material, aided in my SAT and ACT scores, and laid a foundation of joyful learning because I got to develop confidence in the subject matter. I think it’s important to learn how to learn and develop a joyful sense of mastery with learning as you go along. Many career paths require continued learning and excellence as part of the discipline in order to be competitive in that field. So I personally don’t see a problem with retaking exams until you know the material better. But if this is a feature that bothers you, then this curriculum probably would not be a good fit. Best of luck in your curriculum discovery journey!
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 11
I forgot to mention in my last post that the videos are outdated and poor.
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 11
I do not feel this program was beneficial. You are forced to retake test until you get over a 70%. I want to have the choice to retake the test. I was ok with the grade that I received on my final because my grade in the class should have ended up being a b at the lowest. I got a 65% on my test and was forced to watch all of the videos again that where 20 minutes long each which where a waste of my time and did not help my at all. I had to redo all of the questions I missed then retake the entire final all over again. There was nobody that I could ask questions even during the lessons. I had to resort to google to answer all of my questions. And when I followed the teachers instructions to a T I still the the question wrong so I resorted to google and used a completely different formula. Half of the time the videos make no sense. I would have done so much better in person or on another website.
Cons: Discriminatory and Religious content
Grades Used: 3rd and Kinder
In using this software with my children I noticed inappropriate and sexist content, as well as lack of rigor. I reported this to my school and they discontinued the program. Our Department of Education did a curriculum review and found discriminatory and religious content throughout. It is available for public review so you can decide for yourself what is appropriate for your student/child. Here is the link to the full Instructional Review of Acellus from the Department of Education, but if you aren't comfortable clicking on it here you can just google it for yourself. http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/Parent%20Communication/Comprehensive%20final%20report%20Acellus.pdf
Cons: Biased and inaccurate
Grades Used: 6
This curricula is full of religious indoctrination, sexist, and racist content. Don't use it if you care about actual history or science.
It’s ok but little slower than the actual school grade. I think if you make it double click would better than dragging the letters to fill-in to make the word! Overall it’s a very good educational apps for students.
Cons: very repetitive, lack of communication
Grades Used: 9-10
In the beginning, the program places you in what class they feel fits best based on tests. However, as you progess, if you get less than 70% correct on topic questions, it repeats the topic video, not helping clarify anything further.