Abeka
A structured, traditional Christian curriculum built around textbooks, workbooks, and daily drill.
Abeka vs BJU Press / Power Homeschool
Both are long-running, traditional Christian publishers offering either print kits or a video-academy option for a more school-at-home feel. Abeka (C+) is known for a fast, drill-heavy pace and strong phonics instruction; BJU Press's Power Homeschool (B-) flat $99/month covers unlimited courses per student regardless of course load, which is why it scores meaningfully higher on cost value for multi-kid households. Families who want the fastest, most traditional academic pace often choose Abeka; families optimizing for a flat per-student rate with several kids often land on Power Homeschool.
BJU Press / Power Homeschool
Bob Jones University's Christian curriculum, available as print kits or a flat-fee video school.
Scorecard
| Grade and dimension | AbekaC+ | BJU Press / Power HomeschoolB- |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Rigor | 4/5 Strong, well-sequenced phonics and math instruction with a fast pace that pushes students harder than many peer programs. | 4/5 Rigorous, clearly scoped academics across every subject, consistent with its long-running Christian-school textbook pedigree. |
| Ease of Use | 4/5 Kits and Video Academy lessons are both clearly structured and easy to follow for a parent, even without teaching experience. | 4/5 Both the print kits and the Power Homeschool video platform come with a clear scope and sequence that's easy for a parent to follow. |
| Parent Time Required | 3/5 Print kits need active parent-led teaching, though the Video Academy option shifts a meaningful share of that load onto the video teacher. | 4/5 Power Homeschool's Acellus video lessons need very little direct parent teaching once a student is set up on the platform. |
| Cost Value | 3/5 Print kits and especially Video Academy tuition ($315-1,145/yr) sit at the higher end, though the material quality is consistently solid. | 4/5 Power Homeschool's flat $99/month covers unlimited courses per student, which becomes a strong deal for full-course-load, multi-kid households. |
| Engagement | 3/5 Colorful, well-produced materials help, but the fast pace and heavy workload can wear on kids who need more processing time. | 3/5 Solid, professionally produced video lessons, though not built around games or narrative hooks the way some newer platforms are. |
| Flexibility | 2/5 The brisk pace and tightly sequenced scope leave little room to slow down without falling behind the program's own structure. | 3/5 Course-by-course access on Power Homeschool gives some pick-and-choose flexibility, though the underlying scope and sequence is fixed. |
| Independent Learning | 3/5 Video Academy gives a more independent, school-like experience than the print kits, which need a parent actively teaching each lesson. | 4/5 The video-lesson format on Power Homeschool is designed for a student to work through largely unsupervised. |
| Support & Community | 4/5 Decades of use across a large, established Christian homeschool network give it strong informal and official support. | 3/5 Official support exists on both platforms, but running two separate brands (BJU Press vs. Power Homeschool) makes community discovery harder. |
| Special Needs Support | 2/5 The fast, heavy workload is a common friction point for kids who need more repetition or flexible pacing. | 3/5 Self-paced video lessons help some learners, but nothing in the program is explicitly built for accommodation. |