How hard is the A Beka Book Cirriculum compared to a public high school?

Question

I'm going to be an 11th grader and I had A Beka when I was homeschooled the last 2 years. What will be easier or harder? I know I am going into a higher grade, but I thought A Beka was kind of hard- maybe it was the way they approached teaching, I don't know. Is A Beka for more advanced kids or is that just me?

Answer 1

We've used A Beka all the way through our home schooling after the 3rd and 4th grades. My children went to a pvt Christian school that used mostly A Beka , except for Saxon Math so that's what we kept when we pulled them out so they'd be used to the curriculum. We did switch for part of one year and found that they were very bored with the other curriculum saying it wasn't as in depth as A Beka. Luckily I had a friend that had just finished the grades I needed and we finished out with A Beka and have continued every year since.

Both of mine are in high school now, 9th and 10th grades and use exclusively A Beka. They've been tested yearly with SATs and test PHS in everything. <Post High School>.  It is a slightly advanced curriculum in that it is a lot more work than most and more tedious but I personally feel for my kids that it's made them better at studying and at delving totally into every aspect of a subject.

As with all curriculum it also depends on your learning style and if you possess any slight disabilities such as reading comprehension or the way you learn, sequential etc.

I feel like A Beka makes these more noticeable and that way you can find additional help to get you up to par before it becomes a hindrance later.

You can also contact any of the teachers by email and they will help you just as if you were in their classroom.

Hope this answers your question! :)

Answer 2

I don't really think it is fair to say one is hard and one is easy. I would say that Abeka is a quality education and what you will probably find is you are very strong in some areas compared to your classmates, and right with them in others.

The difference mainly being a Christian curriculum versus a secular curriculum.

Answer 3

I believe the A Beka curriculum is more challenging.  Not necessarily for "advanced" kids, just challenging.  It really depends on your learning style and what works for you.

Answer 4

I did ABeka grade 11 last year, and while it was harder than grade 10, all you have to do is pay attention to what you learn and review often. I would reccomend the dvd's for your math, science, or language courses. Good luck!!

Answer 5

Abeka is a tough curriculum and is ahead of public school curriculums, I am not sure how far ahead. You will be fine but should not go in with the idea of it being easy and therefore goofing off. Work hard and be dillegent. If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing right!

Answer 6

You can expect A Beka Curriculum to increase at the same speed it did from ninth to tenth grade. While having used the curriculum for the past two years will make the transitions easier; you may find that you still have some gaps in your education due to not having done the curriculum all your school career.   A Beka has three different options for educating  high schoolers. The DVD Option, the Traditional Parent-Directed Option, and the Textbooks/Materials for Home Schooling. If you believe you are having a learning style conflict try another  program.

I can't comment on the differences between A Beka and high school because I do not know the schools where you live. I can tell you that I went from a private school that used Alpha and Omega to a public school and found the work to be to easy and unchangingly.

On a side not comprehension problems are more likely a sign of of a learning disability then a bad curriculum.

Answer 7

A Beka is very advanced in early grades, however in high school it levels out a little.  Algebra 2 is (more or less) Algebra 2 regardless of which curriculum you use.  It remains a high quality, challenging curriculum, but in high school it still covers the standard high school subjects.  Public School work may be a little easier, but really it depends on the school.

Answer 8

I'd like to answer your question in a generic way, as I teach Jr. High (and use the Glencoe "Reading With Purpose" curriculum). My experience with the A Beka program has been in the manner of teaching students who have been through the program for at least a few years. While I admire their Christian perspective, and I know that there is some research and accreditation behind the program, I am in no way impressed with the A Beka Book curriculum. I have a 6th grade student right now who learned to read exclusively with A Beka Books, and while he can read 6th grade stories beautifully, his comprehension level is very low. We gave him a STAR reading test and his comprehension is at 2.5 (5th month of second grade). We are now implementing a schedule that will keep him in my Communication Arts class, but will move him to 3rd grade reading and I will do 3rd grade Communication Arts work with him. A previous student I worked with a few years ago as a tutor also went through the A Beka Reading program, but had the same problem: Phonics levels were high, but comprehension was very low. From what research I have done on the program, I have found that they are almost exclusively phonics-based and work very little with comprehension. What good is reading at grade level or higher if you don't understand what you are reading? Long story short, you may find High School reading less challenging in phonics, but more challenging in comprehension skills having gone through the A Beka program.