Criticial reviews of accelearated christian education năm 2024

Recently I moderated a comment where the author asked if I was still using the curriculum and if not why not. And if I was still using A.C.E. what were my thoughts now. With it being such a popular post I thought that it would be a great idea to revisit it and add my thoughts three years on. So here we go, the A.C.E Curriculum review revisited!

Please note that this review is written from a British perspective as I live in England. I am sure that A.C.E in the U.S. will have its own boards and standards for certification.

Our A.C.E Curriculum Current Homeschool Situation

We have continued to use the curriculum because in England, UK NARIC recognizes that the International Certificate of Christian Education (ICCE) which is what students will achieve if they follow the prescribed curriculum (that’s all subjects taken through A.C.E using their Paces and/or approved courses), is comparable to the overall Cambridge O and A level certificates. Further more, it qualifies for UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Board) points. UCAS is a UK based organisation whose main role is to operate the application process for British Universities. So if you are wanting to go to university but not go the GCSE and A-Level route, this certificate is recognized and awards the points needed to apply for University.

Currently both my daughters are still homeschooling using A.C.E materials. My eldest is in her final year and will be going to college in September. My youngest still has three years left and plans on going to University once she graduates. Both girls have been educated using the CM methods and Unit Studies for their elementary years. We switched to A.C.E just over three years ago and both girls far prefer this style of homeschooling. They enjoy the structure, gauging their progress and abilities through the tests and seem to have retained so much of what they have learned.

Why We Continue To Use A.C.E

• My daughters continue to receive a Christ-centered education
• It’s thorough! My eldest daughter has recently undergone diagnostic tests in Maths and English as part of the process for her college applications. In both subjects she has scored well and impressed the college tutors.
• It awards the points needed to access higher education.
• It takes all the prepping and planning that was my job out of the equation. I can focus on supporting my daughters learning and on being the mom I want to be. There was a time when I was exhausted from all the prep and planning I used to do and that made me cranky – not the mother I wanted to be at all.
• It’s so easy to transport. Seriously, if you are a family who wants to take an extended road-trip or perhaps there are health issues in your family and the inside of a hospital is a place you frequent, all you need to do is pack your PACE’s. Learning can continue easily.
• It is great for reviewing past work. The PACE’s review past knowledge gained regularly. For my youngest daughter this is important in Maths and English as she tends to be an ‘out of sight out of mind’ kind of gal. This helps her retain facts that you simply cannot do without in these subjects.
• There are required essays and science projects for the General, Advanced and Intermediate certificates. I love that this is an opportunity for my girls to work on projects that require research and a high standard of writing and presentation skills.
• I love that A.C.E has a Student Convention once a year. A.C.E students from all over Europe meet at an assigned country to participate in the convention. There is a myriad of events that the students can choose to participate in. They earn credits for their entries so can opt to participate in the convention instead of taking an extra elective subject.

So Is It All Pros?

Of course not. I don’t believe that any curriculum can be that perfect. I do have some things that I don’t like about it.

• Some of the elective courses need an overhaul! Seriously, they seem dated and a bit boring, but I will save that review for another post.
• I also do take issue with the strict marking rules that they have on ‘exact word’ answers. I mean really – is it not enough that they child understands and retains the knowledge and can communicate it clearly in the test? I don’t see why the student should be penalized for not giving ‘exact word’ answers. This is not enough for me to throw out the curriculum though – we’ve devised our own way of dealing with this issue.
• Occasionally things are made to be ‘spiritual’ that really aren’t. We have learned to roll with it and not take those statements too seriously. I don’t think, for example, that God is really too fussed one way or another about neat handwriting. One of the PACE’s suggested that neat handwriting was pleasing to God – lol
• I feel that some of the Etymology PACE’s could be more challenging. Some of the spelling words at this level are really basic.

PACE’s

Are you Still Tweaking The Curriculum?

Indeed I am! We follow the rules and abide by the standards. We do the PACE’s, we study hard for tests and make sure we give of our very best. But learning is not all about PACE work.

• I make sure that we have our Bible devotional time together each morning, by this I mean devotions NOT using the A.C.E Biblical Studies PACE’s. Those are done separately.
• I still include our Charlotte Mason favorites: Art Appreciation, Composer Study, Nature Study and Narration. For the narration it is all verbal. I ask them, for example, what did you learn in your social studies today? Then we discuss it so that I can help develop their critical thinking, debating and conversational skills.
• We STILL do read aloud together! My girls are 16 and nearly 18 but we still read together. I choose classics that are not included in the curriculum. We are currently reading Great Exceptions by Charles Dickens. This book has really provided some fabulous discussion points so far.
• Field Trips: These still happen, perhaps not weekly, but I like to include field trips that will be interesting and educational and thus beneficial to rounding out my girls education. I will make sure that we go to the theater, and art gallery, a museum, an animal sanctuary/zoo/aquarium. In our nature studies I plan to focus on different habitats throughout the year such as grassland, woodland, beach etc. Sometimes these require a bit of traveling to get there, the beach for example is about a 30 minute drive, it’s not right on our doorstep like the woodlands or moors.
• The girls participate in one outside class at the local college each term so that they grow accustomed to different styles of teaching and of having to work within a group etc. This term it is an advanced cooking class.

What About The Naysayers?

Well, they will always be around won’t they? I had quite a bit to say on this subject in my original review, please do pop over to read that as my views have not changed. I would like to add however, that ‘peer pressure’ can be a nasty thing, even amongst us homeschooling moms. We might feel that everyone else is using the CM method /classical approach/unit study approach {for example} so I really should too, even though it’s really not working for me, etc. We might feel that somehow our homeschool is ‘lessened’ in effectiveness or value because we have chosen to use resources that are not topping the popularity charts. We feel looked down on or scorned for the choices we have made for our children.

I want to encourage you, no matter what your approach or curriculum, that you are to do exactly what God has called you to do and do not feel ashamed or guilty for your choices. At the end of the day no one else except you knows your children or home situation and current circumstances as well as you do. Curriculum is just a tool, it’s not what will determine your children’s success as individuals. All tools should really be kept to their proper purpose and used for their usefulness. If they fail to be useful then get rid of it.

Questions and your viewpoints are always welcome, please leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Shirley Ann lives in the UK with her husband, two daughters, and two cats who think they rule the roost. She's a veteran homeschooler of 13 years and is passionate about home keeping, homeschooling, nature study, and seasonal living, Shirley regularly blogs about her Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschooling and British lifestyle on her blog, 'Building A Household of Faith'.

What are the disadvantages of A.C.E. curriculum?

The ACE curriculum does not meet national and state standards such as the National Science Education Standards (NSES), because it does not support skills for critical thought and basic scientific literacy.

How does A.C.E. compare to abeka?

Unlike Abeka curriculum or Bob Jones curriculum, A.C.E. is geared toward each child individually, so there's no need for you to spend hours of your precious time finding materials that are appropriate for your child's performance level in each subject.

What version of the Bible does A.C.E. use?

The King James Version (KJV) Bible is used throughout all of the curriculum produced by A.C.E.

How long should it take to complete an A.C.E. pace?

In order to complete 60 PACEs per year, students need to finish on average a minimum of 2 PACEs per week. In order to catch up grade levels, students need to complete more than 2 PACEs on average per week. To meet minimum requirements students need to complete a PACE in 10 days.