Resource Description
Calvert Homeschool offers self-paced learning for students with step-by-step lesson plans for parents. Calvert Education was acquired by Edgenuity as part of their Glynlyon purchase in 2019 and currently offers mainly digital curriculum (K-2 is still print-based). According to their website, the new curriculum includes:
- Best-of-class digital resources
- Step-by-step lesson plans
- An online learning platform with 24/7 access to lessons, assessments, progress tracking tools, and more
For grades K-12, families can enrolls students in the accredited Calvert Academy online. For grades 3-12, families can sign up at more affordable rate to use the Calvert online curriculum without enrolling in the academy. For grades K-2, a colorful print-based curriculum is available for purchase.
Website: Calvert
(118 Reviews)
Before investing in any homeschooling resources, please read "How to Choose the Best Homeschool Curriculum."
Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: no support for students and their families during the transition.
Grades Used: 9th and 10th
Students were totally left in the dark - no support. A certified letter should of been sent to all families enrolled in this program - very sneaky and poorly handled.
Cons: All
Grades Used: High School
I used to encourage people to try Calvert, but now I do not. It has changed and not for the better.
Cons: Just about everything
The company was bought by another company, Odysseyware, which does not resemble the old Calvert at all. Since then, they lost my son's work and made him redo work he had done on the old platform. They also signed him up for classes he did not need. They were never upfront about the change as they took thousands of dollars. The new platform does not align with the old one at all. It has been a nightmare, and the people at Calvert Academy have been rude and unhelpful. It is nothing but boring busy work for the most part with no guidance. Your best bet is to find another home school program.
Also, Odysseyware fired all of the old employees once they purchased Calvert. So the one-on-one help we used to have is nonexistent now.
Cons: cannot afford the cost at the moment
Grades Used: 8
We had an excellent experience with Calvert, no doubt. Near the end of semester, we had to move to another state, which left my son a lot of lessons to catch up. On top of that, in the middle of this process of moving and settling in the new state, the Calvert changed the platform. As you possibly imagine, we were lost, yet not for long. Soon after, we found that the Calvert was extremely helpful in assisting us and the new platform worked so much better for my son. He really liked it and enjoyed his last month in Calvert a lot and wished to stay there. With kind support, words of encouragement from Calvert, as well as my son’s hard work, he was able to complete all of his lessons by the time we had to transfer to his new school. For us, Calvert was in overall a great experience in both Academic and Administration. We are truly grateful. Thank you for reading and we hope you can experience what we did with Calvert.
Cons: Odysseyware took it over
Calvert just was bought out by another company. Suddenly they changed their whole platform. The new platform does not resemble the old one at all. My daughter was almost finished with high school, but now on the new platform, she has so much more she needs to do. A lot more. Please do not buy this product. As of now, I will be contacting the better business bureau. I would be happy to participate in a class lawsuit if anyone should go that route. This is not what we signed up for. I feel really terrible that I told a friend to use Calvert a year ago.
Cons: everything
Grades Used: K-9
My child was with Calvert from K-9th grade, we loved the challenging coursework and ATS service with the advisory teachers and transcripts. Mid way thru 9th grade we found out Calvert was sold to another company. After many phone calls and poor communication with the new company we decided to rush thru the remaning assignements and get copies of transcripts. Thankfully we did becuase his peers who weren't finished got hit with less than 2 weeks notice to finish or be pushed into a new system and the courswork would not carry over. And all of the teachers were being let go as well as the high school academic advisor. Parents were sold a curriculum and told they had 52 weeks to complete it and the new company did not honor it. I used to be a Calvert advocate and told anyone I knew to purchase it. Now I tell people to run not walk away.
Cons: expensive
Grades Used: 3rd Grade
My daughters studied with Calvert Curriculum with ATS since KG until Elementary. I was in love with the Curriculum and they learned a lot more than the public schools. The problem came in 2019 when they switched to Online and no manual books etc. I was little bit confused by the change as my girls love to open the Calvert Box with brand new books each year and unfortunately it's no more.
I was upset too like other parents but after having a conversation with Education advisor Ruby Anne Bello 877-789-2766 gave me a hope and made me understand the new style of learning through computer. Well I was reluctant but then I realized there's no harm giving a free trial for 30 Days and to my surprise this new version came out to be a lot easier and very practical. At first, my daughter hated it since she didn't like to sit on computer all day long but then she picked it up in one week and got hold of it. Now she loves it and finished her work way earlier than the required time. I would suggest parents that they should give a try and believe me it will be an awesome experience. Anyways now a days kids do waste their precious time on playing video games then why not learning beneficial and fun way educational games as well.
I hope my review will be beneficial for anyone who is confused about the change.
Cons: Un-reliable, Deceiving
Grades Used: 6-7 ATS
I am writing with utter shock at the decision that Calvert made at the last second. Now I am wondering what will happen to the grades of my son’s 7th-grade coursework. When a few weeks left for the completion of year 2018/19, we got a letter with an URGENT subject line saying that we must complete all the work before June/28 or else we will be moved to a completely new curriculum. At that point, we had some lessons still left to complete on ELA, SS, and Science. My son managed to complete SS. He literally had one essay to complete ELA with a B+ grade. He had about 3 units to go in Science. On Monday July 01, I logged into the new platform and shocked to see tons of work assigned for my son for all 4 subjects!! After shouting and screaming over the phone at the customer service, I was able to remove SS and Math from the list because he had completed them. For ELA, he has been assigned one entire unit with 39 assignments to complete which is no way equivalent to one essay that he missed! For Science he has been assigned 4 units which is going to take more than a month to complete. I had made overseas travel plans and we were supposed to complete the Old Calvert Program by July 15th and we will be flying out of the country on July 15th. What a mess!! How am I going to push my son to do all this within this short period of time? His grades are crucial for a selective magnet school we are targeting for his 9th grade. I am doubtful that Calvert has any evidence of my son’s completed work. It seems that they may have lost all past data. I was planning on purchasing this product for my middle schooler. After this horrible experience, no way. There are plenty of other cheaper and more reliable options. I won’t be surprised to see several legal actions against this company!
Cons: Price, Grading
Grades Used: 7th
Like others we received a letter mid-June that all coursework must be completed by June 28th due to the new system. We were supposed to have until August 1st (when our 12 month period started). It’s absolutely ridiculous! We still had quite a bit of work to do but we pushed through it. When I reached out to Calvert they just kept urging me to go to the new system. I wasn’t too thrilled with the curriculum as it was so I already knew we’d be switching next year.
Furthermore I have not been too happy with the grading. My daughter struggled with math so I reached out to math teachers I know who helped work her through problems and she’d still receive 0’s or low scores. And the Quick Checks! I hate the Quick Checks. It could be a 4 step Quick Check that she got 1 portion wrong and the whole entire thing gets marked wrong. Quick Checks are counted towards the final grade.
Cons: Cost, quality, customer service, support, platform
Grades Used: Pre-K through 8th and Algebra I
Bait and Switch! Do not purchase! I have been using Calvert since 2003, and the product being sold today is nothing like the old Calvert that we all knew and loved. Three years ago, Calvert sold out their homeschooling division. It is no longer affiliated with the excellent private day school in Baltimore, Maryland. Since selling out, the quality of the curriculum has steadily gone down hill, and today is unrecognizable from the amazing product upon which Calvert built its reputation. This year, like always, we purchased a full textbook program with the optional Advisory Teaching Service, so that we could have the proof of completion of an accredited program to submit as our proof of progress for the school district. Our purchase contract says that we have a full year from starting to finish the curriculum, which for us would be September 5th. Mid June we received an email saying their platform will no longer be supported and that all school work must be submitted by June 28th. This is breech of contract, plain and simple, and I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau. We still had two modules to go in language arts, because we home school year round. So finishing by then is simply impossible. They said they will switch us to their all online platform and give us extra time, even though it will not utilize any of the books we've already purchased and will start completely different material in the middle of a module. All online school work will not work for my family. I have 3 teenagers and only 1 computer. My high schooler needs that computer to do her work. I purchased their textbook option for a reason. So now I am out the money wasted on ATS, because we will not finish the course ware before they lose their teachers, and we will not get our certificates for proof of progress for the school district. That's $1,000 I'm out for two kids. And it leaves me scrambling trying to find and pay an evaluator for my kids because it is too late to do standardized testing. Not to mention that they should really be giving me a prorated refund for the portion of the curriculum that we will not be able to complete due to their last minute platform change. They are switching everything over to Odysseyware, which is essentially public school online. If I wanted that, I could get it for FREE from my local public school district. Why in the world would anyone pay thousands of dollars a year to chain their child to a computer all day? Calvert used to be so excellent, and such a great deal. But their quality has gone in the toilet, even as their prices have skyrocketed. They have become the homeschool version of a degree mill. They will not get another penny from this family. Please do not waste your money.
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 9
I cannot believe how disappointing and sneaky Calvert Academy was this year.
They took our $3600.00 for teacher advisory homeschool through Calvert Academy and guaranteed us a full 12 months of access to Calvert Academy curriculum .
Well, in June 2019 we got a letter saying that Calvert Academy curriculum was being " upgraded " to Odysseyware.
Calvert Academy was going to be dissolved in a couple weeks do you need to complete everything before dissolution.
Then, they proceeded to tell us that Odysseyware is a less money.
I asked if I was going to get reimbursed. They said no.
I told them I didn't intend to purchase Odysseyware, that Calvert has been the gold standard for years.
They said Calvert, it's classes , it's teachers and everything were going to be gone by June 28th.
What a mess. Complete waste of money and now Odysseyware is a " teach to the tests " common core, dumbed down curriculum.
I would not be surprised if they get hit with a class action lawsuit.
We are our all of our completed work and thousands of dollars.
Nightmare.
Cons: Lack of support and communication from teachers, the need to complete physical worksheets and assignments
Grades Used: 10th grade
We are extremely disappointed with Calvert program this time. The program was all online. This made it easy for studying anywhere that had internet access, but it also made it hard to stay on track of the working progress. Some work needed to be printed out then completed on paper, then scanned or photocopied and sent over again. This made it easy to loose track of completed assignments and completing them very messy.
Another function on the student platform that made progress easily muddled up was the fact that students were able to move onto any assignment they wished, irregardless of which assignments or lessons were completed beforehand. Since students are able to access whichever assignment or lesson whenever, but cannot repeat previous assignments to improve their grade except through emailing redone work to the teacher and not on the student platform, their grades relied pretty much entirely on their first attempt on an assignment or test.
Contacting the teachers and supervising personnel was only possible through email or other external contact. This made communication between students & parents and teachers not only limited but also confusing and troublesome. Any additional work to a lesson or assignment must be done so in the same way. Any comments a teacher had for a student on any assignments were also done through emails or other external contacts. So if a student was unable to access their email or other methods to contact their teachers, any notes, suggestions, or other things a teacher had to tell their student would be unaccessible to them.
Cons: Poorly written lessons with little few explanations or practice questions/problems
Grades Used: 8
I have been using the Calvert Classic curriculum for 25 years with our 9 children (33-13). Our youngest, who is 13 , just completed the last year of the traditional ATS program. We then enrolled in the new Calvert Academy which is now just a subsidiary of Glynlyon which supposedly "provides comprehensive online curriculum solutions to school districts and students" It was a disaster. First the program an is academically with short, inadequate lessons, and dated videos, quizzes and games. They have cut corners in every way that they could. When you sign up for the academy, you have 21 day from the date that your child begins to make a decision and even then, Calvert Online/Glynlyon will retain 500 of your purchase (which runs around $1700). Getting our child out of this horrible program was worth the loss. An example of how bad this curriculum is follows.
Assignment 14 Experiment Calorimity,
My son who had degrees in chemistry and biology and was assisting his 13 year old sister states:
"She is being given boiled down ideas with complicated and complex thoughts which the student hasn't seen before with no practice problems or examples. Anything with specific heat or balancing equations are week long, even month long topics not quick, easy assignments." It took three sessions with Shelly Bruce (who by the way is the one great thing about this experience). Also, the test for this lessons set had a question about building and using a coffee cup calorimiter when she had been given no instructions on how to make one. Also, the lack of hands on experiments is a minus. You need more examples and practical problems from the student to work. The only good thing about this p[program (as still not worth the money , stress, or aggravation) in the online blackboard--in which the teacher has office hours and the student and the teacher can share a screen to solve problems
The reality is that the teacher must constantly work through problems with the students. The reality is that No one sits down, reads a math textbook, and then launches into quizzes and problems without many practice problems. Colleen graduated from Calvert 7 ATS, the defunct and far more developed program, with honors but we will have to look elsewhere for a good solid curriculum for 8th grade as Calvert no longer offers one.
I used Calvert homeschool curriculum (grades K-8) for 19 years to homeschool our four children and loved it. My youngest child finished 8th grade with the 2017-2018 school year, so my review does not include the current Calvert curriculum as I have no experience with it.
I liked that everything we needed was shipped to the house— textbooks, workbooks, lesson manuals, supplies. The lesson manuals were easy to use, and the curriculum was thorough. I especially liked the emphasis on writing skills. (In college my oldest daughter was asked by a professor where she learned to write so well!)
The education counselors were very helpful whenever I called with a question.
I was happy with he Calvert experience that we had.
Cons: Math book needs to show work for solving problems.
Grades Used: 6
Hello my name is Trina. I enrolled my son in the 6th grade curriculum with teaching assurance. It has been incredible. I was terrified taking o homeschooling but they make it so easy. The teachers are helpful and grade assignments quickly with good reviews. It helps me know if my son is on the right track with learning. I’m really impressed with the program and we will be continuing for 7th grade.
Cons: www.calverteducation.com - Thumbs down
Grades Used: prek - 6th
Depends on which Calvert you are talking about:
1. http://www.Calvert Education.com - The "Calvert Education" brand is now apparently not associated with the 100+ year old Calvert Education Services or The Calvert School. Is apparently now owned and run by GlynLyon / Odysseyware and rebranded as "Calvert Academy". It is online only and requires you to complete a plethora of "projects". So you really have no flexibility. Interaction with their "teachers" is robust and frequent as they grade everything you submit. Doesn't leave for much flexibility on how much time you spend on each particular topic. For example you might spend hours or days on these projects that you as a home school parent don't feel are worth the time investment and you could be better served focusing on other topics. But they are required so you have no choice. The material and online lessons are dry and dull. The students disliked it.
2. http://www.CalvertLearning.com / http://www.calvertforschools.com - This is still apparently associated with the Calvert School and the 100+ year old Calvert you are familiar with. They used to offer Calvert ATS, where you did all of your work with real books and supplemented with online activities and checkpoints. The online activities and check points are optional. You have a great deal of flexibility in where you spend your time and on which topics you cover in more detail. All you have to do to is be able to pass the tests every 20 lessons. This is the best of both worlds. An accredited program, online optional work, and flexibility in your daily work. Unfortunately this no longer appears to be available to home school parents directly. Not sure if it is available at all? They still have a contact page where you can inquire. https://calvertforschools.com/contact-us
Grades Used: 1st
The Calvert Education name for homeschooling was sold to the company that now owns Odysseyware. It is now only Calvert by name. This new company has treated Calvert’s existing homeschool customers horribly and have tried to hide the change in curriculum and ownership from us. It is now an ALL online untested unknown curriculum. The only way to get the Calvert of the last few years is through a Calvert Learning public charter school. The old Calvert that existed for decades no longer exist other than buying used books online. We are currently customers using the Calvert 2018-2019 curriculum which is available next year only through public Calvert charter schools and I do not recommend it either. For 1st grade there is very little grammar, no phonics practice, no spelling. No english/reading worksheets at all. I have had to supplement a lot. I guess as a free charter resource it might not be bad depending on the public school requirements, just know you will HAVE to supplement the English portion and what is provided is repetitive busy work. I do not recommend anything bearing the Calvert name unless it is more than a couple years old.
Cons: credit recovery program
Grades Used: 1,2
We've used Calvert for 2 years (1st and 2nd grade) and we were lucky enough to use the "old Calvert" curriculum.
We were about to enroll for 3rd grade this year when the new changes took over and we found out that Calvert was sold to GlynLyon and using Odysseyware - a credit recovering program that has a very bad reputation.
Moreover, their textbook option is completely gone for grades 3 and up. Everything is now online.
The old Calvert was great but these new changes made us look somewhere else. If you're looking for a solid program just look someplace else. The old, rigorous Calvert is gone.
Cons: new online curriculum is repetitive, boring with poor customer service
Grades Used: K-7
We have used Calvert Curriculum with the ATS for my four children for grades K-7 with good success.
HOWEVER, in the past two years, the curriculum has changed significantly as the company has changed hands. The curriculum has gone from a book / paper / writing / rhetoric based curriculum with emphasis on critical thinking to a fully online / no books / no paper / no ATS "virtual school".
We have been able to use our "Old Calvert" curriculum (before the changes to an online program) with excellent success with all our kids. The new, online curriculum looks very much like a credit recovery program and the Calvert Homeschool customer support has been poor and we will NOT be continuing.
With the changes and the terrible communication about these changes from Calvert, we will only be using our old Calvert curriculums. I cannot recommend the new Calvert based on the recovery software/Odysseyware-like program and the terrible treatment of their current homeschool families.
Caveat emptor.
Cons: None
Grades Used: K-5
I can attest to the success of children being homeschooled. When my mom realized how the Public Education System was failing my brother, my sister and myself she opted to homeschool us, from elementary through high school. I also received my Bachelor Degree online. As soon as I realized I was expecting my first child, there was no hesitation to homeschool my son. I'm glad I chose Calvert, throughout my son's school years, the Calvert staff and teachers have given their full support. When we go to Museums and other excursions my son wears his Calvert clothing (Polos, sweater, Pants, and FleeceJacket) with the Calvert Emblem on the clothing. People always question us about the school, and they're surprised when we tell them, Calvert is a private school and about the curriculum. I've given parent Calverts contact information. I can say I'm very happy with Calvert and plan to continue my son's education now and through High School.
Cons: units choppy, we extended each lesson further than required
Grades Used: 6 & 8
I really am grateful for the flexibility of home teaching with the Calvert homeschool curriculum (with the ATS (advisory teaching service). The first time I used the courses was to complete my daughters second half a 6th grade when we moved across the country. We enjoyed the ease of accessing the information both within the textbooks and online, weaving the most comprehensive experience for her without having to repeat work that she had already completed. After that, we used the textbooks and the ability to access the courses online well into her seventh grade year as review. As soon as my daughter identified that the work that she was being given in eighth grade, did seem robust enough to meet the challenges of high school, we reached out again for the online courses only to use a a supplement and review yet again. Calvert has designed a program through the grades that serve the student brilliantly and one that is easy for the student to navigate even on their own. Thank you.
I have used Calvert homeschool curriculum with ATS (advisory teaching service) for 13 years. (yes, we have 7 children and we have used their program exclusively with multiple children enrolled year after year). This will be our last year. We have accepted the slow progressive changes to the program over the past decade, however the changes in the last year and planned changes for next year are too drastic and intolerable. The program is completely for profit and appealing to public school dictated state requirements and to be honest the curriculum has incorporated inappropriate video links and set ridiculous requirements. They have completely crossed boundaries. To restate, we have have been adapting to the changes in good faith. It's just no longer a good program incorporating morals or academics. The one advisory teacher was so difficult to work with (my 9 year old daughter's 4th grade advisory teacher) that we had asked for a different teacher. Their response was we will not accommodate your request. You won't get a refund, but you may discontinue the program if you wish. For the rest of the year we did not communicate with the ATS teacher...this was since Thanksgiving! But, my daughter finished the year with completion certificates for each class. So disappointing. It truly was a great program. Not anymore!
Cons: Not a huge selection of electives; can be pricey
Grades Used: 4-11
We have always homeschooled. When my children were little, I used a variety of homeschooling curriculum, including Oak Meadow and Saxon Math and Phonics. However, when my oldest was in sixth grade and her sisters in fourth, we switched to Calvert and never looked back. The support is awesome and the curriculum is challenging. We had an algebra tutor who said that the "regular" algebra from Calvert was comparable to Honors algebra in a public high school.
Yes, it's a little more expensive. They offer sales and a sibling discount. It's worth the investment.
I loved Calvert. I homeschooled my daughter from 1st grade thru 7th grade using their ATS and Calvert's curriculum of books and online resources. It was such a warm, loving experience. And than....it went corporate. They sold out to a cold corporate entity. No more books, no more discounts to the poor, single moms with no support from their dead beat dads. Even their website is shallow, grey and cold. It's so depressing to lose such a wonderful friend to my childs education. Prices skyrocketed so only the rich can afford to homeschool. Good-bye Calvert! You'll be belly up in a few years as your CEO's collect all the money they can, realize it's not working and either sell out or go bankrupt like so many other failed corporations. Ya don't need a crystal ball to foresee that one coming.
Cons: Online only, not homeschooling, is odysseyware with calverts name on it. Bad customer service.
Grades Used: K, 2
We started our Homeschooling journey in fall 2018. We used it for 2nd and K. I liked the interface but the books provided were overpriced through Calvert. They could have been purchased for half the price on amazon.
It was very English heavy and was too much work at times. The grammar and spelling was weak or non existent. I had to supplement with other curriculum. The books provided very little reading and really varied from too easy and short to too advanced. I ended up using the same assignment for different books through another curriculum because they would ask you to read the same book 5-6 times. It was ridiculous.
The science interactive components no longer work and tech has been working on it forever. They said they fixed it then said the email was sent in error. They provide links for videos and the speaker has such a heavy accent it is heard to understand. They rely on things that are free. It still doesn’t work. It is very dry and boring. Social studies is also very boring. We ditched it.
Health was boring and the videos were miserable to listen to. The cadence of the speaker was so boring and monotonous I can’t believe people pay for that. Art was ok.
The worst part of all of this is I worked out all the kinks and knew how to make it work for us and without notice they sold the company and the new company won’t even admit it. THEY WERE BOUGHT BY NORTHWELD/GLYNLYON/OFYSSEYWARE. The treatment of the customers is horrible and the lack of transparency. They lied and still don’t admit they aren’t even the same company.
I sat through the seminar on the academy and it is ODYSSEYWARE down to the teachers having email from the company. It is no different than odysseyware. They read a boring passage and answer questions. They get to talk to the teacher but they raise their hand and wait their turn like a real class. Parents aren’t even needed apparently. It is OW with calverts name slapped on it. They have no idea what the homeschool option is. Still in development but based on customer service, I doubt it is good.
We are piecing together a curriculum next year. OLD CALVERT IS DEAD. They still won’t admit it.