If you are using Lindamood Bell products, why not LIPS? That's their auditory processing and beginning phonics program. A less intensive and cheaper option would be the Heggerty programs or the Tennessee kindergarten reading (free to print). Somebody here has the link. These are similar to each other; with more scaffolding than AAR, but much less than LIPS.

The SAT would be computer-only also. It's a trend... The AP tests haven't converted yet.

Can you get into that site? It looks like I can, but then I only see a blank page, no matter which option I pick.

It's not the College Board; it's the local schools inappropriately placing students. Several years ago, an administrator for my local district was quoted in the local paper as saying "we celebrate our 2's" because a student in the AP class who gets a 2 on the exam supposedly learns more than a student in a similar regular education class. That means failing to learn the content of the course, although the grading system probably gives the student a B or a C on his or her transcript. About the same time, a neighborhood child with APD complained about the special ed class she where she had been placed. She was a serious student, who read well, but processed oral information slowly. The one-size fits all high-school special ed "accommodated" by doing mostly oral work; worse than no accommodations for her. Most of the students had both reading and serious behavioral issues. She said the class was a waste of her time. The only option the district gave her and her parents was to move her directly to AP. She moved. The family was happy with her C grade in the AP section and a kid who actually liked the material being covered and her classmates. I never asked if she even took the exam, but I expect that the school would have insisted even if she said she didn't feel ready.

I think many people use Megawords as just worksheets, but the teachers' manual emphasizes repeated readings of a few words from each list over several days until accuracy and fluency are achieved even with a new selection of words. With 40-100 words per spelling pattern and 5 or 10 per practice session, there's plenty of choice if a kid needs a month to reach fluency. The criteria for spelling is similar, but only the more common words are suggested for spelling practice. They encourage moving ahead in reading even if spelling needs to move more slowly.

Just to ensure that someone other than the original poster doesn't misapply Malam's good information: Malam's point is true for math, sciences and most STEM areas, but not necessarily for all fields. The professional schools, such as medicine and law, are notoriously expensive. The humanities generally do not fully cover tuition and living expenses.

Wait a minute... the older kid might be a good candidate for Beast Academy, but a really wonder about the younger one. You have to really like puzzling out tricky problems for Beast. If he needs lots of help with Singapore, I'd slow down and give him the help. Also, I would never make a dramatic switch in math programs without doing a placement test first. The sequences can be different enough that even quite "mathy" students may need to back up a level. They may then be able to speed through parts of the first level or two, though.

I have taught in a large, required course where the final exam included a standardized national exam published by the professional organization for our majors, plus a brief in-house part covering topics taught in our course that weren't covered on the standardized test and questions with higher-order thinking. We set our own grading scale for exam and course grades since it wasn't exactly the same test as the standardized part. (We reported the raw scores from the standarized part to the national organization.) We could NOT ever release the full exam due to exam security rules on the standardized part.

Napoleon's Buttons is good, with an emphasis on chemistry that may have changed history. However, the chemistry level is probably too high for a logic level student, more like strong high-school or college/interested adults. There are lots of comparisons of similar organic structures, easily accessible for AP level students.

When I taught freshman chemistry at a 4-year, mostly science and engineering college, we had about 24-27 labs for the whole year. Each was scheduled for 2 hours in lab plus reports written as homework. Some "reports" were simple forms to describe what occurred; others required extensive data analysis, graphing and a formal written report. We actively taught computer skills for data analysis and the desired format for the reports. I would expect slightly less from an AP course because very few high schools or home-school families have the more expensive laboratory equipment.

Note this comment: When I taught at CTY many years ago, the 3-week "AP" chemistry class was clearly labeled as prep for a follow-on AP class. It skipped the easier topics (assumed solid mastery of high-school level material) and provided an introduction to the more difficult topics, not complete coverage. I assumed the biology works the same way. The 6-7 week version should be great for showing rigor and readiness for acing the same course in college. The student would still need extensive review and test prep if planning to take the AP test 9-months later. Most students forget a lot over a full school year if not used or reviewed!

Note: For pre-med students, colleges often recommend a second year of biology and/or chemistry in high school, but not earning credit for AP/DE. You can still take the AP, but not report it or (at some colleges) report it, but not ask for credit. The idea is to take these courses officially at your 4-year college, which med schools often regard more favorably, but with most of the material understood before the class. Colleges with large numbers of declared pre-med students often use these classes as "weeder" courses, making them harder than necessary to eliminate pre-med majors who might struggle in med school. Not a nice practice, but it does happen at some colleges, because it gives the college a good reputation with the med schools if all their applicants are stellar.

Seconding Miss Tick. The only other "math movie" I saw was "The Mean Policeman" which was about the mean value theorem in AP Calculus class. A man tries to argue with the policeman who gives him a speeding ticket on a turnpike because the time and distance between two toll booths shows an average speed over the speed limit. The "mean" policeman patiently explains the theorem three times. Not at all useful for grade 7.

I did Mech and EM BC as a senior concurrently with AP Cal BC. I felt I learned more multi-variable calculus than electricity and magnetism in the second part of the physics class. Well, it made "Calculus 3" much easier in college, but I re-took the physics despite my univ being willing to give credit.

Note: I know one local school district that pushes AP hard, but the AP coordinator was quoted in the local paper saying "We celebrate our 2s!" A friend's teen in that district went from special ed for auditory processing disorder to an AP humanities class with no accommodations mid-year and did OK (B/C borderline). I don't know if she even took the test. This was done at the student's initiatve. The parents were surprised that there didn't seem to be any intermediate levels available. Northern VA schools tend to be among the highest achieving in the country, so OP school is likely to have a different attitude and higher level of achievement.