All curriculum reviews

    Thinkwell

    Self-paced, video-based single courses (mostly math) that a student works through alone with everything auto-graded, sold one course at a time for a 12-month subscription.

    Nobody reads the workVisit site
    As a full curriculum
    2.5/5
    As a supplement
    3.5/5
    How this is scored
    Not sufficient on its own as a full curriculum

    This scores below our floor on at least one of content, assessment, accountability or academic demand. Use it with a documented plan alongside it.

    Rating capped at 2.5 as a full curriculum

    Most of the work happens in an app and no qualified adult is required to read what the student produces. It can still serve well alongside another programme.

    A student can move through this quickly with nobody checking

    Finishing fast is not the same as learning. Worth pairing with your own checkpoints.

    How it scored

    Nine dimensions, each scored 0 to 4 by a reviewer working from the programme's own published materials.

    4
    Standards, Accuracy & Content Scope

    Is the content accurate, at the right level, and does it cover what it claims?

    2
    Focus, Coherence & Cognitive Rigor

    Does it build in a sensible order and make a student actually think?

    3
    Research-Consistent Instructional Design

    Is it taught in a way the research supports, with honest claims?

    2
    Assessment, Feedback & Demonstrable Mastery

    Can you actually see what your child learned, not just what they finished?

    1
    Accountability & Feedback Loop

    Does a qualified adult read your child's work and respond to it?

    3
    Adult Usability & Implementation Support

    How much work is this for you, and does it help you do that work?

    3
    Differentiation, Access & Learner Fit

    Does it flex for a struggling learner, an advanced one, or a different kind of learner?

    3
    Practical Feasibility & Transparency

    What does it truly cost, in money and time, and will it work where you live?

    2
    Academic Demand & College Readiness

    Is this preparing a student for college, or just for a diploma?

    The practical details

    Grades
    Grades 6 through 12, plus courses labeled college level. Placement tests exist only for 6th grade math through Algebra 2. No elementary…
    Subjects
    Math is the real product: 6th Grade Math, 7th Grade Math, Prealgebra (8th grade), 30 Days to Algebra 1 Readiness, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Calculus, Calculus AB compatible with AP, plus college-level Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra and Precalculus. Honors versions exist for 6th…
    How it runs
    100% self-paced and asynchronous. A typical lesson: student watches one 5 to 20 minute video, completes the auto-graded exercises for that topic and gets instant right/wrong feedback with step-by-step explanations, then moves to the next lesson. Videos can be…
    Who teaches
    Pre-recorded video only, by named subject-matter faculty. Math is Professor Edward Burger (award-winning mathematician, called "America's Best Math Teacher" by Reader's Digest). Honors Biology is George Wolfe, an Emmy-winning biology teacher. Honors Public Speaking was authored by faculty from University of Colorado…
    Who grades
    Everything that produces a grade is auto-scored by software. No human at Thinkwell ever reads, watches or evaluates a piece of student work. Practice exercises, quizzes, chapter tests, the midterm and the final are all machine-graded with step-by-step feedback, and results post to an online gradebook. Math course grades are computed as quizzes 30%, chapter tests 30%, midterm 20%, final 20%; Honors Biology is chapter…
    What the parent does
    The parent is the teacher of record. Thinkwell is a supplemental provider, not a school, so legally and practically the homeschooling parent owns instruction, credit and records. Concretely the parent must: choose the right course (download, print and self-score the free placement test using the provided answer key and scoring guide, or call a Thinkwell advisor); set and enforce pace against the 36-week plan,…
    Credit and records
    Thinkwell holds accreditation as a Supplementary Education Provider from the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It states plainly: "Since Thinkwell is not a school, we can not grant course credit." It does issue earned credit hours for Standard and Honors math courses based on an objective completion metric once the required…
    Cost
    Priced per course, per student, as a one-time 12-month subscription. Not a monthly membership, and no auto-renew is documented. Current listed prices (sale price / regular): 6th Grade Math $135 / $169; Algebra 1 $135 / $169; Calculus $169 / $199; Honors Biology $169 / $199; Honors Public Speaking $79 / $99. So budget roughly $80 to $200 per course per child per year. Extras are all separate: Office Hours live…
    Alaska notes
    Bandwidth is the main constraint. The entire instructional experience is streaming video, 200 to 390 video lessons per course, and Thinkwell documents no offline mode and no video download. On metered or capped satellite service a 36-week daily video course will burn data every single school day, and there is no low-bandwidth fallback for the teaching itself. Partial…

    Strengths

    • Genuinely credentialed instruction: math taught on video by Professor Edward Burger, Honors Biology by Emmy-winning teacher George Wolfe. For a parent who cannot personally teach Algebra 2 or…
    • Turnkey structure a parent does not have to build: every course arrives with a 31 to 38 week day-by-day lesson plan, a weighted gradebook, and a certificate of achievement plus grade printout on…
    • Unusually low-risk to try: free printable placement tests with answer keys and video solutions, a free course trial with no credit card, and a full refund within 14 days no questions asked. Flat…

    Weaknesses

    • No human being ever grades or reads student work. Every graded item is machine-scored. Thinkwell itself says its courses are not NCAA-approved because it does not offer instructor-led courses. The…
    • It is not a school and cannot grant credit or a diploma. The parent builds the transcript and assigns the final letter grade, and Thinkwell warns you to confirm with any receiving school BEFORE…
    • The catalog cannot carry a full education. No English or language arts writing course, no history sequence, no elementary grades. Outside math the offerings are a scattering of college-level science…
    Good fitA family with an engaged, self-motivated grade 6 to 12 student who needs a rigorous math spine (or one strong honors science or economics elective), where the parent is already the teacher of record, keeps the records, and will check the gradebook, but cannot personally teach Algebra 2, Precalculus or Calculus. It is…
    Poor fitA family wanting a parent-free full core with real teachers, an accredited transcript and a diploma: this program is none of those things. A student who is struggling, unmotivated or needs accountability, because nothing and nobody notices when they stop working. A family needing English, writing, or history, or…

    Reviewed from the programme's own published materials. Pricing and features change without notice, so confirm details with the publisher before buying. How FrostBoard rates curriculum