We used Apologia Chemistry this year with my 13y/o and 15y/o. We also purchased the extra MicroChem lab set and did this every other week with a few other kids, kinda like a co-op. Both my 13 y/o and the 15y/o were able to do the work on their own & do well on all the tests.........both have an "A" averge, and both very much enjoyed the course. My only negative would be that my 15/yo looked at the Sat 2 Chem study book , and felt that there were areas on the test that we hadn't covered in the Apologia text. (Those are probably covered in the Advanced Chem book. ) My recommendation would be that for kids that don't want to persue a science career, and for parent user friendliness, this is the best course.