CLASS Christian Liberty Press Academy Homeschool Review
Our oldest son has been enrolled in the CLASS Christian Liberty Press Academy Home School program this year, as featured at CLASS Christian Liberty Press Academy. I thought I would do a review on homeschooling system since this has been on my mind as of late.
First the Positive Aspects
- The curriculum is fairly rigorous. Our neighbor’s kids use this curriculum and one of their children is now pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota!
- Many state colleges and universities will accept your child with a diploma from CLASS. In many respects, the Christian Liberty Press diploma is the equivalent of a diploma from a private high school.
- They will grade your students exams, thus providing some extra accountability. Then, they send the results back to you.
- This curriculum requires the student to provide comprehensive answers with all steps shown on math exams. My son was showing work on problems in an organized and complete manner comparable to what a (good) college student would show.
- This Christian Liberty Press homeschool curriculum will force your child to adhere to a schedule in order to submit tests on time and complete the given curriculum in the given school year.
- Their curriculum covers all the subjects well. Christian Liberty Press has graduation requirements much like most public schools would have.
- The science experiments provided are nice. They involve use of common household items, so you do not need to invest in some pricey kits. My son like the science curriculum a lot.
The Negatives
- Their mathematics texts used are by Saxon. Although I think Saxon does a wonderful job at the K-6 grade levels, they fall short as students progress through the Algebra and Pre-calculus series. Saxon is all about skills where as Pre-calculus and Calculus is about deductively building mathematical concepts in a logical manner. Saxon’s “shotgun” approach falls short in that regard. I have heard this same complaint voiced by many math teachers. (I have a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics with experience in teaching math by the way).
- Their mathematics tests sometimes feature irrelevant questions. For example, at the Algebra I level, the CLASS written exams asked a question similar to “What number is 3 1/2 of 4 5/7 ?” My son, who is very strong in mathematics, got a B on his first exam because he missed such irrelevant questions. Not good education in my book!
- Their Bible curriculum stresses Old Testament facts and figures. Nothing wrong with studying the Old Testament, but when they require mass memorization of trivia for tests, rather than test on content, it seems counterproductive. My son is not doing well in Bible at this time. Also, our neighbors were not too fond of their Calvinistic stand they seemed to take within the curriculum.
- You must make sure your child knows the proper format for answering exam questions. I am not suggesting you give them answers - I am saying they must know all the work or steps to be shown. This can involve a bit of time on your part.
- There is a lot of bookkeeping, test administration, and prep involved. My wife did all of this, and this has been the busiest year she has ever had homeschooling.
- This is not an accredited school. Still, students can get accepted many state universities as noted above.
Summary
If your child is a self-starter and does not always need to know “why” they are learning a particular topic this curriculum will probably work. And your child will get a diploma and will probably get accepted in many state colleges and universities. More importantly, a child completing this CLASS system will be academically prepared and better accustomed to the rigor and deadlines associated with college education.
If you child has difficulty learning something “just because”, and/or is very strong willed, this curriculum may not work well. We are seriously considering enrolling my oldest son in the Wisconsin IQ Academy. This would free up some time on our part and give us more time to oversee our son’s education as well as supplement it with activities in Science, Art, and Music. I believe the CLASS Homeschool curriculum would work well for our middle son, as he is very self-disciplined in his school work, often beginning his school work at 6AM in the morning, doing all that is asked (and more) without question.
Having taught Saxon math from algebra 1/2 through calculus in a public high school for more than a dozen years, I can assure you that students fail algebra because they cannot do fractions, decimals or percents. As mathematicians all agree, students fail calculus not because they cannot “reason,” but because they did not master the basics of algebra.
John Saxon’s application of Dr. Benjamin Bloom’s concept of “automaticity” was responsible for my high school math student’s ACT math averages going from 13.4 to 22.2 in just three years by them mastering the basics and not by me teaching the test. At that time, the national average score was only 20.0. Not bad for a “shotgun” textbook.
Art Reed
http://www.usingsaxon.com
Art I agree that Saxon is a better choice than any “reform” type math curriculum like “Investigations by TERC” in lower grades and “Core Plus” in higher grades. What these reform curricula have done is near a crime! Students using such curriculum will indeed not be able to do fractions, decimals, or percents as well as algebraic operations such as factoring and combining algebraic fractions.
But Saxon, at the higher levels, departs from the hierarchical and logical structure of mathematics. For example, in the Saxon 8/7 book, they list LESSON 58 Line Symmetry & Functions, LESSON 59 Adding Integers on the Number Line, and then LESSON 60 Fractional Part of a Number, Part 1. So a student skips around, rather than devoting some time needed to develop a concept. This is at the 7th and 8th grade level. At the 12th grade level, where it can take considerable time to systematically and deductively develop such notions as natural logs or functions, such skipping around does not make for the best math education. That said, I feel Saxon will still suffice as a curriculum for the student not pursuing courses beyond calculus and will indeed be far superior to any “reform” curriculum. And it lends itself well to homeschoolers. But I feel a better curriculum at the higher grades (7th and above) is a good traditional algebra/pre-calculus series, with none of the rigor removed.
It seems people are of two opinions for Saxon Math which leaves this homeschool mom still guessing as to the best math course available for a very non-self-disciplined, strong willed, artisticly inclined student. My child currently studies Rod and Staff math, and when I looked at Saxons’s on-line placement for 5/6 grade my student would have faired very well. Is it wrong to require oddly placed math questions anywhere if that should be a mastered skill? I think not. If a student knows the material well he or she should be able to answer it no matter where it is placed in a test.
Cynthia Peek
Cynthia, at the 5th and 6th grade level, the student is still mastering a lot of skills. At that level, Saxon is perhaps one of the best choices. We use it ourselves.
At the 7th grade and beyond, however, a more organized naturally flowing curriculum might be a better choice. See my most recent post at http://www.schoolinyourhome.com/homeschool/teaching-math/saxon-math-homeschool-math/
Regarding their Bible curriculum….CLASS will allow you to use another Bible curriculum…if you choose.