Acellus Academy is a K-12 online school that provides students with personalized learning experiences using the Acellus Learning Accelerator. Results show that students have improved academically with Acellus, not only in our online school but in classrooms as well. What many Acellus Academy parents and students may not realize is that teachers across the country have implemented Acellus in their classrooms. Superintendents, school administrators, and teachers report academic growth, declining dropout rates, and significant gains in their student’s standardized test scores.

Educators have implemented Acellus tools in a variety of ways. For example, teachers use blended learning methods, which combine online learning with face-to-face instruction. Other teachers have used it as a supplementary resource that gives students extra help with subjects with which they struggle. For any parent who is considering whether our online program is right for their child, here are just a few examples of how educators have seen success using Acellus tools in their classrooms.

Improved Student Comprehension

The Acellus Learning Accelerator uses a variety of tools to ensure students are on track with academic performance for their age group. For example, our Vectored Instruction tool recognizes deficiencies in each student’s background knowledge. When a student is struggling with a subject or concept, it usually is not necessary to review the entire previous grade level. Instead, they only review certain lessons from past courses that are relevant to what they haven’t quite grasped yet. This process increases student comprehension because it allows students to focus on the concepts they need help with and master each one at their own pace.

A department head at Ingleside Independent School District (ISD) in Texas reported that students gained two to three years’ worth of course materials in a semester. The students are placed in classes for their individual levels, which increases on-task and task completion behavior. This helps to bridge potential gaps in student knowledge and sets them up for success as they progress through each grade level.

Higher Standardized Assessment Scores

School districts around the country have seen improvements in standardized test scores after implementing the Acellus learning tools in their classrooms. The former superintendent from Crescent Public Schools in Oklahoma reported that both middle school and high school test scores improved after trading in traditional textbooks for Acellus math courses. The district reported that the average score of the adequate yearly progress (AYP) test increased substantially. For middle school students, scores improved from an average of 1200 to an average of 1341 (the highest possible being 1500) in just one year.

The Acellus Learning System that these schools use in their classrooms is also integrated into Acellus Academy courses. Like other schools that have implemented Acellus, our students see significant academic gains after beginning coursework on Acellus.

More Positive Attitudes Toward Learning

The goal of Acellus is to help students learn and excel in school. However, we also want to help students enjoy their courses, develop a positive attitude toward academics, and to understand how knowledge can empower their future. With the Acellus Learning Accelerator, educators say that students are becoming more encouraged. They describe it as seeing “the light bulb click” for certain subjects and concepts.

An instructor in the Chino Unified School District in California says that students were having trouble with math and would become frustrated and discouraged. With Acellus, they became more attentive, and the teacher saw a spark of interest that wasn’t there before.

Increased Graduation Rates

The Acellus Learning Accelerator yields many benefits, including increased comprehension and more optimistic outlooks on learning. Although these are all wonderful benefits, increasing graduation rates is the most significant part.

A former principal at Plainfield High School in New Jersey credits the school’s increasing graduation rates to the Acellus Learning Accelerator. In 2016, the rate was below 75 percent, but three years later, it reached 90 percent.

When students do well, and they are more engaged in their academics, the likelihood that they graduate from high school dramatically increases. A high school diploma opens many doors for students after graduation that they would not have otherwise. Students can go on to college to further expand their knowledge about certain subjects, or they can enter the working world with a variety of career opportunities.

Acellus Academy students have seen the same success as the students who have used Acellus in their classrooms. We have seen students enroll who were discouraged about education that experienced significant improvements in their comprehension and test scores, as well as changed their perspective of learning and school.

If everything we are doing with Acellus were to change the life of just one child, it would be well worth it, but we are changing the lives of millions of children at thousands of schools. It is exciting to be involved in something that is having such a significant impact.