• Math 3, Math 4, and Math 5 each cost $48.95.
• Math 6 and Math 7 each cost $63.95.
• Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry each cost $79.95.
• Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus each cost $83.95.

Every Teaching Textbooks course lasts 1 year and includes 3 months of additional pause time. When you purchase a course, you pick the day that you plan to start. Your enrollment period will begin on that day, and we will email you a start date reminder and the information you need to get started.

No. None whatsoever.

Absolutely. Click here for more information about that.

Yes, our digital apps are available to both individuals and schools. Schools are welcome to pay with a purchase order by sending info to purchaseorders@teachingtextbooks.com. However, we don’t currently offer bulk pricing or site licensing options, and each school student will require their own fully-priced enrollment. The large-family discount is not available to schools.

No. Each digital course enrollment can only be applied to one grade level. So when you buy a course, you’re paying for access to the content of only that math level. When your student is ready to start the next level, you must purchase a new enrollment for that level.

Our apps should work on any device using the following operating systems:

• Windows 10 and up
• MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) and up
• ChromeOS (must have the Google Play Store)
• Android 10 and up
• iOS/iPad 12.0 and up
• KindleOS (must have Amazon App Store)

You will need to be connected to the internet to download and install the app and get it set up for your student. Once the app is set up, your student can work online (or offline for up to 6 lessons before needing to reconnect).

Each course comes with 90 days of pause time that does not have to be used consecutively. The minimum pause interval is 7 days, so if you need to stop for that length of time or longer, for whatever reason, parents may do so by going to the Manage Courses area in the parent section of the app, or the Parent Portal on our website.

Each of our courses can be finished within the 12-month time frame allotted by doing a lesson each weekday, even allowing for time to take several weeks off per year for holidays or vacations, but if you anticipate that you will need more time to complete your course, the pause feature is a valuable tool for managing your time.

Yes, your student can freely move between devices. You will need to download and install the app and set up your student on each device they will be using. Their work will be available on each of those devices since it is automatically uploaded to our servers as they do their lessons. Any work done offline will be available on all devices as soon as the device that the work was completed on is connected to the internet so that the records can be uploaded. There are a few older systems that the app will not run on. If you are having trouble getting our app to work on one of these older devices, call us at 1-405-525-3600 Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm CT, and we may be able to help.

No. Since each problem would print individually, printing would be expensive and not helpful as a means of showcasing a student’s work as one might do when presenting a school official with a student portfolio. If you would like to create sample work for others to view formally or informally, it would be better to have the student neatly work out their answers on a regular piece of paper.

The scratchpad was designed to be used when a student is on the go and needs to perform a quick calculation but doesn’t have a pencil and paper handy. It’s there to encourage students to work problems out instead of trying to do too much in their heads, and it also saves the work so that it is easy to go back and view.

Each of our apps is designed to be as lightweight as possible. We keep track of what lessons students are on and only keep the lessons they will need in the next few days downloaded on their devices. If a student opens a lesson that is not available on their device, it is downloaded immediately as long as they are online.

Once you finish a digital course, you can delete the app and all of the files from our devices since the grades are always stored on our servers and are always available in the Parent Portal.

The Parent Portal on our website is a convenient place to access many of the features of our apps all in one place. There, you can:

• access all gradebooks, both current and expired, for all of your students in one place.
• edit or delete answers to whole lessons or individual problems in the gradebook.
• pause enrollments in the Manage Courses area.
• change student settings.
• view and print the answer key and eBook.

No, absolutely not. Everything is backed up on our servers. If you lose your device or delete an app, you can just download the app again, and once you set it up all of your information will be there. The only time you could possibly lose work is if you delete an app from a device where work was done offline. In order not to lose work done offline, the device will need to be reconnected to the internet, and the app will need to be opened so that it can sync with our servers.

Yes, you can. We absolutely understand that you must spend time with a product before you can be sure it’s a good fit. That is why we allow each user 30 days from the start date of their digital course to opt out of their purchase. If for some reason you feel you need even more time to evaluate things at the 30-day mark, then contact us and we will try to work with you.

If you are worried about whether a grade level suits the needs of your child - perhaps because of placement issues - then we strongly suggest you start with our placement tests. You can also start a course as a Free Trial. This will allow you to do the first 15 lessons without committing to a purchase. After you purchase a full course enrollment, you should have time to do another 20 lessons or so as well as preview the later lessons before the return window expires. In general, we don’t recommend using the Free Trial alone as a placement guide. Our Free Trials only include the first 15 lessons of the product and therefore have a lot of review from the previous level.

There are lots of reasons but here are some of the most important ones.

First, Teaching Textbooks does the entire job for the parent. We eliminate the need for lesson plans and do all of the teaching with video lectures, video solutions for every problem, and hints for when students get stuck. Our program grades every problem as soon as students enter each answer, providing instant feedback. All student grades are recorded in a printable, easy-to-read gradebook that is permanently stored on our servers so they can be accessed online at any time. We also offer a free tutor helpline for any customer who needs extra help. Because of all of these features, TT is an incredible value.

Second, students generally love TT. It introduces new concepts gently and in plain language, making it easier for students to succeed. Also, our fun interface with buddies and customizable wallpapers keeps kids engaged and helps take the fear out of this notoriously intimidating subject. So much of what makes a homeschool year successful is the student's attitude toward a curriculum, especially math. It might be the kids’ attitude toward TT that makes it a curriculum that families stay with throughout their homeschool journey.

Also, Teaching Textbooks is mobile. There is no need to lug around a heavy textbook if you’re on the go, and since TT can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices, and even offline for up to 6 lessons at a time it’s easy to take it with you wherever you might need it.

In short, TT works. It usually tops the list of “homeschool keepers,” and veteran homeschool parents often say it is one of their best curriculum picks of all time.

Teaching Textbooks is much more flexible than a live tutor. You can use a Teaching Textbooks digital enrollment in the comfort of your home on your schedule. Most tutors require that you travel to a tutoring center. Also, hiring a live tutor to walk you through 4,000 problems step-by-step could cost several thousand dollars. A Teaching Textbooks digital enrollment costs just a small fraction of that. Numerous features built into the course–the ability to rewatch lectures, step-by-step solutions, hints, second chances, references to past lessons, and practice problems–allow a student to get extra help while working independently.

Co-op classes can be a huge lifesaver for homeschool parents, and many co-ops use TT for math. However, co-ops, especially ones offering high school courses, are often expensive. Moreover, since co-ops usually only meet once a week, students who have questions throughout the week can often be prevented from moving forward with their studies and staying on schedule. Of course, these students could try to enlist the help of their parents, but it can be very difficult for parents to be able to help teach concepts that they may have forgotten.

Teaching Textbooks, by contrast, offers a thorough explanation for every single one of the thousands of problems in each course–all at the push of a button–and these explanations can be rewatched as many times as the student likes. TT even offers a free helpline if students need to discuss a particular concept or get overall course guidance. So co-ops are great, but all in all, TT is pretty hard to beat.

Obviously, every student is different. Teaching Textbooks is designed to help each student succeed no matter what level of support they need. There are video lectures for every lesson that can be paused and rewound as needed. Every problem is read aloud to the student, and many problems include hints to help give the student a nudge in the right direction. Problems are graded right after they are answered, which gives students immediate feedback. Also, every single problem has a full, step-by-step video solution that is available after the question is answered so that the student can see exactly where they went wrong. On top of all this, we provide free phone tutoring for all users (see the next FAQ for more information on this).

With all of these safety nets, it is completely possible for a student to go through our program without a parent needing to get involved in the teaching process. If your students do ask for help, the lectures and solutions are an amazing tool for parents to use to jog their memory on topics where they may be rusty.

Other math programs do not have the same level of teaching and often do not have automatic grading, so they require a much more significant time commitment from the parent to help their student get through the program.

Yes, we do. And note that this is rare if not unheard of among homeschool curriculum companies, certainly math companies. Both the telephone call and the time spent tutoring is free to all customers. In fact, it’s been this way since we opened our doors. One-on-one tutoring is a valuable safety net for struggling students and part of our guarantee to take the entire burden of math off of parents’ shoulders.

Absolutely, TT covers all the standard topics for each grade level. To give you an idea of just how comprehensive the TT program is, note that the eBook for each grade level—if printed out—would be 500 to 900 pages long. Each grade level also has at least 100 hours of audiovisual teaching. If you would like to see a detailed scope and sequence for Math 3 through Math 7, click here. For Pre-Algebra and above, click here.

Yes, we do. This is a proven method for building skills and long-term retention, so each Teaching Textbooks digital course uses the review method on every single assignment. However, our approach to reviewing is less tied to memorization than the approach taken by almost all other review-based programs. Instead of reviewing rote procedures that have lost their connection to concepts, each Teaching Textbooks digital course reviews concepts as well as rote techniques. This builds skill while reinforcing the meaning of the material to the student. As a result, students who use Teaching Textbooks gain problem-solving abilities as well as understanding. Another difference between our approach to review and that of other math programs is that our assignments are not overly long, which means that students who take longer to do their lessons don’t get bogged down and students who grasp the concepts quickly don’t get bored.

Yes, each grade level of Teaching Textbooks strives to present its subject matter within the context of real-world problems. We think it’s important for students to see how math is used in a variety of applications. When students are shown how math is used in daily life, they are better able to accept the necessity of learning new techniques. Also, some students gain motivation once they understand that their learning serves a practical end.

In addition to covering all the standard school geometry topics, our Geometry program puts great emphasis on problems found on the SAT and ACT. In fact, nearly every problem set includes several problems that were modeled after those found on actual SAT and ACT exams. And since all Teaching Textbooks use the review method (see the question before last above), students become better and better at solving these important problem types each day.

The best way to tell is to have them take our Pre-Algebra placement test. The instructions for the test explain how to evaluate the results (see the first page of the link just given). However, if the results are somewhat inconclusive then you could also give the student our Math 7 placement test (Math 7 is the level before pre-algebra). If that test seems too simple for them then it’s probably best to go ahead and sign up for our Pre-Algebra Free Trial, especially if the student has had some exposure to basic math and can handle the concept of using a letter (usually an x) to represent a missing number in an equation.

The Free Trial will allow you to do the first 15 lessons without committing to a purchase. After this, you can purchase the full Pre-Algebra course and over the next 30 days confirm that it is the correct level for the student.

The best way to tell is to have them take our Algebra 1 placement test. The instructions for the test explain how to evaluate the results (see the first page of the link just given). However, if the results are somewhat inconclusive then you could also give the student our Pre-Algebra placement test (Pre-Algebra is the level before Algebra 1). If that test seems too simple for them then it’s probably best to go ahead and sign up for our Algebra 1 Free Trial, especially if the student has had some exposure to pre-algebra.

The Free Trial will allow you to do the first 15 lessons without committing to a purchase. After this, you can purchase the full Algebra 1 course and over the next 30 days confirm that it is the correct level for the student.

It is generally best to take Geometry before Algebra 2, but the choice ultimately depends on the student’s goals and your homeschool’s curriculum. Teaching Textbooks offers placement tests for both courses to help you make an informed decision:

• Geometry Placement Test
• Algebra 2 Placement Test

The best way to tell is to have him/her take our Pre-Calculus placement test. Your student will need to have taken - and done reasonably well in - Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 courses first, though. Also, don’t forget about our Free Trial option.

The Free Trial will allow you to do the first 15 lessons without committing to a purchase. After this, you can purchase the full Pre-Calculus course and over the next 30 days, you can do the next several lessons and preview later lessons as well. If you decide within this time that this is not the right level for your student, you may request an exchange or a refund. We don’t recommend using the Free Trial alone as a placement guide since it only includes the first 15 lessons of the product and therefore has a lot of review from the previous level, so it may not give a good indication of how your student will do through the rest of the course.

Our placement tests and Free Trial option are designed to ensure that students end up in the correct level, but if a mistake in placement occurs, we also have a generous refund and exchange policy.

No, it doesn’t. However, each of our apps contains a multi-hundred page eBook. Parents can view a student's eBook or print off any pages they wish using our Parent Portal, yet we offer fully-printed copies of our eBooks as a convenience for people who do not want to have to print off hundreds of pages and bind books themselves. If you would like to purchase a physical version of the eBook for a particular product - you may do so here.

There are several things to discuss in relation to this question. Yes, we do still sell physical textbooks and answer keys, but we recommend they only be used in conjunction with our apps. The main benefit of the books is that they offer parents a quick way to scan the entire contents of a course. They can also be handy when there are device shortages in the home that prevent students from being able to work on math at a time that’s convenient for them and/or the rest of their family. However, we do not think it is best to use our physical books and keys by themselves, as substitutes for a digital course. That’s because the amount of teaching in the physical textbooks is far lower than the amount that’s in our digital products. Each digital course offers at least 100 hours worth of teaching that cannot be found in the textbook for that same grade level. Also, you should note that each app has the complete textbook for that grade level built into it in the form of a searchable eBook; therefore, many of the unique benefits of a physical book - such as being able to quickly scan a course’s contents - are also present in each digital course purchase. Finally, our digital software provides students with a great user experience that simply can’t be duplicated by a print product, such as animations, sounds, rewards, and other features that deeply engage students and help them to stay focused and motivated. Generally speaking, the higher the engagement, the more the student will learn/remember.

Yes, absolutely. However, we ask that you call us before you attempt to return the product so we can give you a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. Also, you will need to pay for the return shipping, and the product needs to be postmarked within 30 days of receipt and still be in a resalable condition. If it is not in resalable condition, it will be returned to you. When we receive your products, we will refund the purchase price of the returned items; the initial shipping cost is non-refundable.

If you buy a new textbook from us here, its contents will match up with the content covered in any of our current apps or our retired discs.

However, some really old printed textbooks for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Algebra 2—ones printed from 2004 to 2011—do not match the contents of our apps or retired discs. That’s because we made substantial changes to the contents of those courses after that time period. Therefore, if you are attempting to buy one of our textbooks in the used book market, you must compare the table of contents of that used book with a current table of contents for these courses (see below) to make sure the two match up.

• Pre-Algebra
• Algebra 1
• Algebra 2

The end of sales for our disc sets and replacement discs was on October 31, 2024. You may want to check the second-hand market for our retired discs.

Starting January 1, 2026, we will no longer be able to provide support for installing, activating, or using any disc product.