Forums | Acellus Academy

02 September 2022, 3:40

Hello, 

Please allow me to ask several questions in one topic-post. I hope this is not an inconvenience. 

Since grade 2, my son Indy is enrolled as a full-time student with private online school Laurel Springs. He's curious and invested in his learning journey, and in grade 5, he was selected to join The Academy of Laurel Springs. Although, he does great in his tests, we oftentimes feel that Indy is pushed through the material at too fast of a pace. There is very little time to reflect, make connections, and most importantly, there is no time to ask "why." We would like more freedom in pacing, and Acellus seems a good fit. 

Q: I can imagine changing from Laurel Springs to Acellus Academy for Grade 7. Is there a placement test? We are not entirely sure how the Laurel Springs Academy grade level differs from Accellus Academy's grade level.

Q: We do appreciate retakes, as Indy uses them to work more intensively with the material. At Laurel Springs we can request unlimited retakes for all quizzes and tests besides Mid-Terms and End-Term tests. Is this also the case with Acellus Academy's tests and quizzes?

Q: I didn't see any suggested literature in your Language Arts course. Will there be any mandatory books to be read for book reports, or is this not part of the Language Arts/ Reading curriculum? If a book report is part of the curriculum, can we choose our own book(s)?

Q: In some Acellus parent reviews on other sites, I read some that the videos and content are not available anymore after watching/reading. The same was written about tests. Reviews stated that a student can't see what they did wrong in a test after submitting it. Is this indeed the case?

Q: In the same reviews, I read many statements about having difficulties to receive prompt e-mail feedback from Acellus support. After asking some questions via your email form on the site, I also only receive automated messages. Is this forum the best way to communicate? 

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! 

08 September 2022, 15:44

1. Students would not be placed via pre-tests or placement tests. Instead, Acellus will recommend courses for your students based on their age. You can adjust the recommended course list to fit your student's specific needs.
   
   If you are unsure where to have your student begin, we recommend starting with the recommendation provided automatically by Acellus.
   
   Suppose a student is not prepared for the material. In that case, the new Vectored Instruction feature of Acellus will automatically pull up lessons from earlier grade levels if the system determines that the student does not have the background information needed to understand a concept. If a student is advanced because of our program's self-paced format. In that case, Acellus will quickly move them through the material they are already familiar with until they reach more advanced coursework.
   
   
2. If a student received a passing score of 70% or above, they could retake steps up to two times to improve their scores.
   
   However, if a student fails a step (scores lower than 70%), Acellus will automatically retake it. (The system counting the most recent grade will move students who fail an exam/assignment more than five times will be moved forward.) Please see the following link for more information: https://www.acellusacademy.com/tutorials/retake-extra-credit/
   
   
3. All course material and content will be delivered online. No physical textbooks or materials will be sent out to students.
   
   

4. Reviewing lesson videos can be done under the student interface. Students can re-watch a lesson video as often as they would like while working on the corresponding practice problems. 

   If a student would like to view a past lesson video, they can go under their Score tab and choose to retake a set of problems. While retaking the problems, students can view any help features associated with that step, including the original lesson video.

   When a student chooses to retake a set of problems, their new score will replace their original score. 

5. Parents are welcome to contact our Support Team via email at info@acellusacademy.com, phone (866-684-6127), or online chat. Here is also our Contact Support page for reference: https://www.acellusacademy.com/contact-us/