If you are comparing Oak Meadow vs Calvert for homeschooling in English, you are not alone: the two names come up again and again. Read a few parent forums and the advice seems to contradict itself. One family says it costs a few hundred dollars a year. Another says it costs several thousand. Both are right, because Oak Meadow and Calvert are each two things at once: a curriculum a parent teaches from, and an accredited school that grades the work and issues records.
So the useful comparison is not simply Oak Meadow vs Calvert. It is Oak Meadow’s curriculum vs Calvert’s curriculum, and Oak Meadow School vs the school Calvert Academy has become. This guide separates the two, puts the official prices side by side, compares how teaching works in each, and covers what changes for families living outside the US. Prices were checked on the official sites on 25 September 2026 (Oak Meadow) and 4 October 2026 (Calvert).
Oak Meadow vs Calvert: first, curriculum or school?
When you use either one as a curriculum, you are buying books, teacher guides and workbooks. A parent delivers the lessons, decides the pace and keeps the records. It is the low-cost route, and it is flexible, but nobody outside the family grades the work or produces an official transcript.
When you enrol in the school, your child works from the same kind of material, but a teacher reviews what they submit, writes evaluations and keeps official records. In high school, the school issues a diploma. It costs several times more than the books alone, and what the difference buys is people and paperwork: a teacher, transcripts and accreditation.
Decide which of the two you are shopping for before you compare anything else. Once you know, the right numbers to compare become obvious.
Oak Meadow: a creative curriculum and an accredited distance school
Oak Meadow was founded in 1975 and is based in Putney, Vermont. It publishes a book-based, Waldorf-inspired curriculum from PreK to grade 12 and runs Oak Meadow School, an accredited distance-learning school that uses the same curriculum with teacher support. The organisation says thousands of families use the curriculum independently each year and the school enrols up to 400 students a year.
Curriculum only
On 25 September 2026 the official shop listed kindergarten to grade 3 packages (each bundled with the shared K–3 Essentials) at about $640 to $775, and the grade 4 package at $684.95. The parent teaches from the coursebooks, which lean on stories, nature study, art and hands-on projects. Independent families can buy extra help when they need it, such as phone consultations with an Oak Meadow teacher at $60 an hour.
Enrolled in Oak Meadow School
Enrolment is priced as a fixed tuition plus that grade’s materials. Full-year totals are $3,509 to $3,644 for kindergarten to grade 4 and $4,710 to $5,110 for grades 5 to 8. High school is priced per course, at $2,435 to $2,909 for a full-year course. There is no application fee, siblings get 10% off tuition, and there is an evaluation period (60 days in K–4, 30 days in grades 5–12) during which you can withdraw and get tuition back minus a published administration fee.
The school is fully asynchronous: no live or prerecorded lessons. Elementary students submit work monthly and middle schoolers every two weeks, and teachers reply with written feedback. Oak Meadow School is accredited by NEASC and was re-accredited in 2025. Its high school diploma requires 22 credits.
Calvert: a mastery-based curriculum and a school now called ILEA
Calvert also has two sides, but both have changed shape recently.
Calvert Homeschool curriculum
The print curriculum in the official shop now covers preschool to grade 5 only. Each subject comes with a teacher guide and “worktexts”, combined textbook-and-workbook units that take three to four weeks each. A self-test closes each section, and students are expected to reach 80% before moving on. On 4 October 2026 complete grade sets cost $216 for kindergarten, $504 for grades 1 and 2, and $468 for grades 3 to 5. The terms of service name Imagine Learning LLC as the owner of Calvert.
Calvert Academy, now Imagine Learning Excellence Academy (ILEA)
The accredited school, Calvert Academy, has joined Imagine Learning Excellence Academy, based in Tempe, Arizona. ILEA does not publish tuition. It quotes by number of courses and payment plan, and asks families to call admissions. What is published is the list of fees around tuition, including a $195 application fee and a $75 evaluation for international transcripts. Courses are self-paced, built on prerecorded video lessons, with one-to-one help from certified teachers and some live classes and clubs. ILEA states Cognia accreditation (the posted certificate is valid through 30 June 2027) and awards a diploma after 22 credits, the last six of which must be earned at ILEA.
One common mix-up: Calvert School in Baltimore is a separate in-person private day school. If you have seen tuition figures in the tens of thousands of dollars next to the Calvert name, they belong to that school, not to Calvert Education.
Oak Meadow vs Calvert side by side: price, grades, teaching and accreditation
Curriculum price. Calvert is the cheaper box. For grade 2, Oak Meadow’s package is about $750 and Calvert’s grade set is $504. For grade 3, Oak Meadow is about $774 and Calvert $468.
Grade range. Oak Meadow’s print curriculum runs all the way to grade 12. Calvert’s current print curriculum stops at grade 5, so a family that starts with Calvert will need a different plan for middle school.
Learning style. Oak Meadow is creative and project-based, with storytelling, nature and art built into the lessons. Calvert is structured and mastery-based, with short units and regular checks. Neither is better in general. Choose the one your child is more likely to thrive with. Both publishers offer samples on their official sites, and they are worth reading before you buy.
The school side. Oak Meadow School publishes every tuition figure and charges no application fee. ILEA quotes tuition by phone and charges a $195 application fee. Oak Meadow is entirely asynchronous, with feedback on submitted work. ILEA is self-paced video with one-to-one teacher help and some live sessions. Both are accredited, by NEASC and Cognia respectively, and both issue a 22-credit diploma.
For the full fee tables, read our Oak Meadow tuition review and Calvert Education tuition review. If you are also considering a faith-based option, see our Abeka Academy tuition review, a Christian homeschool publisher with its own accredited school. For a US private online school that publishes a yearly price, see Pearson Online Academy tuition.
Using Oak Meadow or Calvert from outside the US
English reading and writing come first
Both programmes are taught through reading and writing in English. Oak Meadow states that enrolled students need to be fairly fluent in English because the curriculum relies so heavily on both. If you use either curriculum independently, the parent also needs to be comfortable reading English teacher guides. For a child who is still learning English, that is a heavy load.
Shipping and time zones
Oak Meadow ships internationally, warns that printed materials can be held up in customs, and offers digital editions for many products. International shipping for Calvert’s print curriculum is not published on the official site, so ask before ordering a box set abroad. Time zones are rarely a problem for daily work, because neither programme is built around scheduled live classes. Calls with teachers, though, happen on US time: Oak Meadow’s teachers work mainly on US Eastern time, and ILEA is based in Arizona.
Local rules on schooling
Whether a home curriculum or a foreign online school counts as schooling depends on the country you live in. In Japan, for example, parents of Japanese children living in the country are legally required to enrol them in an elementary and lower secondary school recognised under Japanese law (ages 6 to 15), and enrolling in a foreign distance school does not fulfil that duty. In practice, families there use these materials alongside a local school. Our guide to homeschooling in Japan vs online school explains how that works. Check your own country’s rules before you withdraw a child from a local school.
Records for later
Using a curriculum independently does not create a school transcript. Oak Meadow does not accept credits from independent use of its curriculum, and ILEA says it does not currently accept most homeschool credits. If you expect to need accredited records for a future school or university application, enrol in a school rather than relying on a curriculum alone, especially for the high school years.
Three questions to answer before you choose
Who will teach? In the elementary years both curricula assume a parent delivers the lessons every day. If both parents work during the day, a curriculum alone is hard to sustain.
Do you need records or a diploma? If yes, the comparison is Oak Meadow School vs ILEA, and the curriculum prices stop mattering. Oak Meadow publishes everything; ILEA quotes. Ask ILEA for a written quote that lists every extra fee, then compare line by line.
What English level and format suit your child? Some children do well working from books on their own. Others learn best by talking with a teacher and classmates. If live discussion matters to you, note that neither Oak Meadow nor ILEA is built around it. To see how a timetabled, live online school works, look at the NGA curriculum and timetable, and to see more schools side by side, read our comparison of online international schools.
Where NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY fits
NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, opening in September 2027 (planned). It is operated by NIJIN Inc., which runs learning programmes in Japan, including NIJIN Academy for children who do not attend school, and has supported more than 1,000 children. It is a different kind of option from Oak Meadow or Calvert. It is not a curriculum a parent teaches from. It is a school with small live dialogue groups of about eight, subjects taught in English with support from a bilingual English–Japanese mentor, and CEFR-based English levels. There is no academic entrance exam based on test scores, and it can run alongside a local school.
The honest limits: NGA is not yet open, not yet accredited and has no graduates, and tuition has not been published. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, so families in the Americas or Europe should check live class times against local time. NGA cannot replace the long track record of Oak Meadow or Calvert. But for families who cannot teach at home every day, or who want their child to learn by talking in English rather than only reading it, it may be worth putting on the list.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Oak Meadow or Calvert?
As a curriculum, Calvert is cheaper: complete grade sets cost $216–$504, against about $640–$775 for Oak Meadow’s K–3 packages (official shop prices, September–October 2026, before shipping and tax). As a school, Oak Meadow publishes $3,509–$5,110 a year for K–8, while ILEA, which Calvert Academy has joined, does not publish tuition.
Is Oak Meadow or Calvert accredited?
The schools are; the curricula are not, because only schools can be accredited. Oak Meadow School is accredited by NEASC. ILEA, which Calvert Academy has joined, states accreditation through Cognia.
Does Calvert still offer curriculum past grade 5?
The current Calvert Homeschool print curriculum covers preschool to grade 5. For later grades, families typically move to another curriculum or enrol in a school such as ILEA.
Can we use Oak Meadow or Calvert from Asia?
Yes. Oak Meadow reports students from more than 40 countries, and ILEA is open to students outside the US. Allow for shipping and customs, check your country’s schooling rules, and remember that both are taught through English reading and writing.
Start with who will teach
Oak Meadow vs Calvert looks like a contest between two curricula, but it is really two decisions stacked together. First decide whether your family needs a curriculum or a school. Then decide which learning style fits your child. Once both answers are clear, the official price pages will tell you what you need to know.
NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY opens in September 2027 (planned), with pre-opening trial classes in April–May 2027. We will share the curriculum and timetable by email as soon as they are confirmed.
You do not need to decide today. Start by writing down who can be with your child on a weekday afternoon. That one answer will narrow the choice more than any review.
