As far as the tests go, they are done at home, so you can take as long as you want. (Well, of course, up to the due date ;-)) My daughter and I have differing opinions on why the exams seemed so hard in the beginning. She says there were things that she wasn't expecting on the test, and hadn't studied for. But the material was covered in the chapter. She felt like the teacher didn't emphasize certain things, but expected them to know it anyway. I wasn't involved enough to make a judgement on what was covered in class vs. what was covered on the test. However, DD did improve over the year, and her test grades went up significantly. My suspicion is that she didn't study very well for the early tests, but quickly realized that she needed to know the material better. The teacher did do a brief review before the exams, but not significantly. It seems like the tests were mostly answering questions to the best of their knowledge or fill in a large blank type. DD tends to want to be extremely brief and assume the teacher knows what she is talking about. She is getting better, but it is always best to give as much info as you can come up with , KWIM? We did not pay for any extras from the web site, but the study info was helpful. I think, as with most teachers, there is an adjustment period, where you figure out how they want questions answered, and what they expect. This teacher was very good about responding to questions, and offering extra help if needed. And there are a lot of assignments, so the grade is not so dependent on just the exams. I bet your DD will do fine. It all comes down to study time and effort.

I just wanted to chime in about the chemistry class. My DD took this class, learned a lot, and enjoyed it. She felt like it was challenging, but well presented. The tests were tougher than she expected, but she was able to adjust and figured out how to better prepare. There were weekly assignments, quizzes, and bi-weekly labs. Mrs. Brinkerhoff was clear in her expectations, and quick to respond to emails. We had an issue with the due date for the weekly assignments because of our schedule, and she was very willing to give DD an extension to turn it in. Mrs. Brinkerhoff required that the students turn in a final draft of their papers, so that she could read over them and return it with comments for the students to make changes before turning in their completed paper. The labs didn't always go as they were supposed to, but as long as the write up was done properly, addressed any issues, and the questions were answered correctly, it was fine. Overall, I would highly recommend this for a high school chemistry class.

Hi! I know it's been a few years, but I am looking at provost academy for my soon to be 10th grader. Did you wind up using them? I'd love to know what your experience was.

Wow, great advice. go_go_gadget, I did manage to leave out the important info that she is almost 15, and in 9th grade! I hate that she is so far behind in math, but we keep having to back up and review. And she doesn't like math, so it is not important to her. I have been trying so hard to get her caught up in math, but maybe I'm approaching it the wrong way. You are all saying it's not a good idea to rush this, and it certainly helps to hear that. I was planning on her taking geometry with Jann in Tx, and I will get in touch with her for suggestions. Maybe she can back up to algebra. And I should give up on getting her through anything more than algebra and geometry for high school. kiana, you're right. Algebra 1 and 2 back to back might be better for her. She struggles with logical thinking, and prefers creative outlets like music, drawing, and writing. I outsourced all other classes for this child this year, when I realized how much more effort she puts in for other people. But she begged me to keep teaching her math because she likes the way I explain things. Which would be fine if it wasn't such a struggle to get her to come do the work. I feel confident that making her obligated to something or someone besides me will make a big difference. I'm going to look into the tutoring with tablet class! Thanks, everyone!

Can you help me pick an algebra course that my daughter can possibly complete in the next 4 months? It will be her only course work over the summer. I can help her, but she is so resistant to sitting down with me to do the lessons, I am looking at something she can do more on her own, like Tabletclass or Teaching Textbooks. She has gotten through the first five chapters of Jacob's, and has done ok with it. She's not a great math student, (the first half of this year was spent reviewing pre-algebra) and she puts a lot more time and effort into her other assignments. I want her to take an online geometry class in the fall, and I think she can get through algebra if she has no other classes to use as an excuse. I also think that she would benefit from more immediate feedback when she's working problems. Thoughts? Am I just expecting too much?