Calvert Education Tuition & Review (2026–27): Curriculum vs Academy

“Calvert Education” now means two different things, and only one of them has a published price. The Calvert Homeschool print curriculum (preschool to grade 5) costs $216 to $504 for a complete grade set in the official shop. Calvert Academy, the accredited online school, has joined Imagine Learning Excellence Academy (ILEA), and ILEA does not publish tuition. It quotes by number of courses and payment plan, on top of a $195 application fee (official sites, checked 4 October 2026). An older Calvert Academy tuition page is still online and lists full-time plans from $259 a month, but it carries a 2020 copyright and sends visitors on to ILEA. Treat those figures as history, not a quote for 2026–27.

If you searched “Calvert Education tuition”, “Calvert Academy cost” or “Calvert homeschool review”, you have probably noticed that the Calvert websites no longer agree with each other. The curriculum site’s terms say Imagine Learning LLC is the owner of Calvert. The academy site shows a countdown to ILEA, and the curriculum shop shows a banner pointing shoppers to Amazon “while we improve our website”. This page sorts out what still exists, what each option costs, how a school day works, what the accreditation covers, and how Calvert compares with Oak Meadow, Laurel Springs School and NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY is a different kind of online school that opens in 2027.

The short answer: who Calvert suits — and who it doesn’t

• Suits: parents homeschooling young children (preschool to grade 5) who want an all-in-one print curriculum. Each subject comes in one box with a teacher guide, “worktexts” and manipulatives, at a few hundred dollars per grade.
• Suits: families who want an accredited online school with a US diploma. Since the move to ILEA, the school states Cognia accreditation (certificate valid through 30 June 2027), NCAA-approved courses, AP and Honors courses, and open enrollment.
• Suits: students who need flexibility, such as athletes, travellers and students taking a single course alongside another school. ILEA courses are self-paced, and the platform is available around the clock.
• Harder fit: families who want a price list before they call. ILEA asks families to phone admissions for tuition, does not offer its own financial aid or discounts, and lists several extra service fees.
• Harder fit: families who want the print curriculum beyond grade 5. The current Calvert Homeschool shop covers preschool to grade 5 only.
• Harder fit: children who learn best in a live class with classmates. ILEA describes its learning style as asynchronous, with teachers available one-to-one.
• Harder fit: homeschoolers planning to move into the accredited school later in high school. ILEA states that it does not currently accept most homeschool credits.

What Calvert Education is

Calvert Education sells two separate products under the Calvert name, and it helps to keep them apart.

Calvert Homeschool (curriculum). The curriculum site describes Calvert Education as “a leading homeschooling curriculum publisher”. Its current print curriculum covers preschool through grade 5. Grades 1–5 include history and geography, language arts, math and science; kindergarten covers math and language arts; preschool offers phonics, math and electives. Lessons come in “worktext” units that each take three or four weeks, with self-tests and an 80% mastery level before moving on. Calvert Clubhouse is a separate set of supplementary math workbooks for kindergarten to grade 3. The site footer reads “© 2026 Calvert Education” with an address in Rock Rapids, Iowa. The terms of service call Imagine Learning LLC “the rightful owner of Calvert”.

Calvert Academy (accredited online school). This was the school side: a K–12 online academy with teachers, records, transcripts and a diploma. On 4 October 2026, calvertacademy.com showed a notice that Calvert Academy “has joined Imagine Learning Excellence Academy”, with a countdown that redirects visitors to ILEA. ILEA says it was established in 2011 as Edgenuity Virtual Academy, rebranded in 2023, and is based in Tempe, Arizona. Its Calvert FAQ tells families that credits earned at Calvert Academy stay on their transcript and that Education Coordinators are now called Academy Support Advisors.

One more source of confusion: Calvert School in Baltimore is a separate in-person independent lower and middle school. Its official site lists 2026–27 tuition of $23,900 to $34,975 a year and does not mention the homeschool curriculum. If you have seen those numbers in search results, they belong to that day school, not to Calvert Education.

Calvert Education tuition and fees (2026–27, official)

Calvert Homeschool curriculum prices

These are the prices shown in the official Calvert Homeschool shop on 4 October 2026. The shop does not print a school-year label, and a banner on the site was pointing shoppers to Amazon while the website is updated, so prices may change.

Single subjects are sold separately. Preschool courses cost $89.95–$108, kindergarten math or language arts $108, most grade 1–4 subjects $144, and 1st Grade Language Arts $168. A full grade set costs less than the four subjects bought one by one: grade 1 bought singly comes to $144 + $168 + $144 + $144 = $600, against $504 for the set. Calvert Clubhouse math workbooks cost $19.95 each. Shipping and tax are not included. Returns need an authorisation number and must arrive within 30 days of the invoice in resalable condition for a 100% refund. Box sets cannot be partly returned, and the customer pays return shipping.

Calvert Academy / ILEA school tuition

ILEA’s admissions page states: “Tuition is based on the number of courses and which payment plan is chosen”, and asks families to contact admissions. Its FAQ repeats that tuition depends on the payment plan, number of credits and courses, and gives a phone number (+1-888-866-4989). A tuition amount is not published on the official site. The fees that are published:

• Application fee: $195 for new (or returning) students.
• Senior dues: $75, for students graduating through ILEA.
• International transcript evaluation: $75, plus a certified English translation, which you arrange yourself.
• Extra individualized graduation plan: $75 (one per calendar year is included).
• NCAA counseling: $150 per semester per student (optional).
• K–5 printed workbooks: $100 per semester (optional; all material is in the online course).
• Verification of enrollment or graduation: $5 per electronic document; notarisation $10 per document plus shipping; reactivation after a missed payment $25; rush fees $25–$100.
• Other costs: most AP courses need textbooks the family buys, AP exams are arranged and paid separately, and the school does not provide computers.
• Financial aid: the FAQ says ILEA “does not offer financial aid” and has no scholarships or discounts at this time. Its financial aid page lists outside funding that may apply, including state ESA programmes managed through ClassWallet, Florida’s Step Up For Students and Folds of Honor scholarships for military families. The same page mentions discounts for paying a full semester or year up front. The two pages do not quite agree, so ask admissions which applies to you.
• Refunds: 100% within 14 days of the first payment for spring and fall (7 days for summer), minus the registration fee. Monthly-pay families get a sliding partial refund for a few days after each payment.

The older Calvert Academy price list, as a reference point only

The legacy Calvert Academy tuition page (footer “© 2020 Calvert Education”) was still reachable on 4 October 2026 before redirecting. It listed full-time plans based on average course loads over a ten-month year:

The same page said shipping and diploma fees were extra and that “rates are subject to change”. Because the academy now enrols through ILEA and ILEA does not publish these figures, ask for a written quote. Do not budget on this table.

A worked example using only official numbers

Curriculum route: one child homeschooled with full Calvert grade sets from kindergarten to grade 5 costs $216 + $504 + $504 + $468 + $468 + $468 = $2,628 over six years, before shipping and tax. Two siblings in grades 1 and 3 in the same year cost $504 + $468 = $972 for that year.

School route: for a high school student who graduates through ILEA, the published one-off fees are a $195 application fee and $75 senior dues ($270). An international transcript evaluation adds $75 ($345), and NCAA counseling adds $150 per semester. Tuition comes on top and is quoted by phone, so the full total cannot be calculated from the official site. For a sense of how online school costs compare with a campus, see online vs in-person international school costs, and for a US private online school that does publish a yearly price, read Pearson Online Academy tuition.

How a school day works: schedule, live classes and time zones

With the curriculum, the parent is the teacher. Lesson plans are built into the teacher guides, so a parent can look over the lesson the night before and teach from the box. Children move through short worktext units at their own pace and take a self-test at the end of each section. There are no classes, no deadlines and no time-zone issues. The trade-off is that nobody outside the family grades the work or keeps official records.

At ILEA, students learn on an online platform with prerecorded video lessons, available “24/7/365”. The school describes the learning style as asynchronous: the student works at their own pace, not to a live lecture. Certified teachers grade work and contact students, and help is available one-to-one through Blackboard meetings, text, email and phone. Free tutoring is available in core subjects. A semester course is designed to take about 18 weeks at roughly one hour per class per day, and summer courses about eight weeks. Taking longer than that may cost extra. The K–5 programme runs four core courses at a time and needs a parent involved. Since 2024–25, no work is due on weekends or holidays. The Calvert FAQ says live classes and clubs will continue and expand. Schedules are posted on the family website after enrolment, so the times and time zone of any live sessions are not published on the official site.

Because ILEA courses are self-paced, families abroad can usually fit them around local time. The things to check are when your Academy Support Advisor and teachers are reachable (the school is based in Arizona) and how long enrolment takes. ILEA says the process from application to first class typically takes two to three weeks, longer for international transcripts. To see how this compares with a timetabled online school, read how an online international school works.

Accreditation, diploma and college recognition

The Calvert print curriculum is not accredited, because only a school can be accredited, not a course or curriculum. Calvert Academy’s own accreditation page made the same point. Families using the curriculum independently keep their own records under their state’s homeschool rules.

ILEA states it is accredited through Cognia. Its posted certificate is issued by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, the Northwest Accreditation Commission and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, and is valid through 30 June 2027. The school tells former Calvert families that ILEA holds “the same high standards of excellence since 2011”. The school also states that its courses in core subjects are approved by the NCAA, and lists its College Board CEEB code (030676) for AP score reporting.

The ILEA diploma requires 22 credits: 4 English, 3 history and geography, 4 math, 3 science, 1 fine arts or CTE, and 7 electives. The final six credits must be earned at ILEA, and at most 16 transferred credits can count. Graduating students go through an “Alumni Approval” review that typically takes three to five weeks. On college recognition, the school says its graduates have been accepted at colleges around the world but that it cannot guarantee acceptance or credit transfer. Specific college lists or acceptance rates are not published on the official site.

Calvert vs NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY vs two other options (official data)

Sources: Calvert Homeschool shop, Calvert terms of service, Calvert Academy tuition (legacy), ILEA Admissions and Enrollment, ILEA FAQ (incl. Calvert FAQs), ILEA Accreditation, Oak Meadow Tuition & Payment, Laurel Springs Tuition — checked 4 October 2026. For more on the two alternatives, see our Oak Meadow tuition review and Laurel Springs School tuition review.

Reviews and common concerns, answered honestly

Parent discussions of Calvert tend to raise the same handful of questions. Here is how each one looks against the official information.

“Is Calvert still around?”

Yes, but in a new form. The print curriculum is still sold under the Calvert Homeschool name, and the terms of service name Imagine Learning LLC as the owner. The accredited school now operates as Imagine Learning Excellence Academy. ILEA says Calvert teachers, curriculum and credits carry over. If you bought older Calvert materials or used the former online curriculum, contact Calvert support (877-760-0289) about what is still supported. The current site does not publish a separate online curriculum subscription.

“Why can’t I find the price?”

For the curriculum, the price is in the shop. For the school, ILEA quotes tuition by course load and payment plan rather than publishing a list. Ask for the quote in writing, with every extra fee listed (application, senior dues, transcript evaluation, workbooks, AP textbooks), and compare it with schools that publish full price tables.

“Is the curriculum rigorous enough?”

Calvert’s print units are short and mastery-based. Students must reach 80% on self-tests before moving on, and placement tests are offered for grades 1 and 2. Some families want more depth or more challenge. Download the official samples and check them against your child’s level before buying a full set. The sets are returnable within 30 days if unmarked.

“Will a homeschool year with Calvert count if we later enrol in a school?”

Not automatically. Using a curriculum at home does not create an accredited transcript. ILEA says it does not currently accept most homeschool transfers. Other schools set their own rules. If you think you will need accredited records, enrol in a school from the start of high school.

“Does it work for international families?”

ILEA says it is open to students around the world. Foreign transcripts need a certified English translation and a $75 evaluation. Self-paced courses avoid most time-zone problems. International shipping for the print curriculum is not published on the official site, so ask before ordering a box set abroad.

Alternatives to Calvert worth comparing

Oak Meadow works the same two ways as Calvert, as a curriculum and as an accredited school, but it publishes every enrolled-school price and covers PreK–12 in print. Its style is creative and Waldorf-inspired rather than worktext-based. Laurel Springs School is a private, accredited, mostly self-paced online school with a full published fee table and Honors and AP courses, at a higher price per year. For a tuition-free public route in Florida, see our Florida Virtual School tuition review. For another self-paced private school with a US diploma, read the Keystone School tuition review. Our comparison of online international schools lists more options side by side.

NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of option. It is an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania. It opens in September 2027 (planned), runs free trial classes monthly from September 2026, and will take a first cohort of 100 students. Calvert’s school is self-paced. NGA instead teaches in small live dialogue groups of about eight, with subjects in English supported by a bilingual English–Japanese mentor and CEFR-based English levels, plus social co-creation projects with companies and governments. There is no entrance exam and no English requirement, and it can run alongside a local school. Its limits: it is not yet open, not yet accredited and has no graduates. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, so families in the Americas or Europe should check live class times against local time. Tuition has not been published yet. You can read why families choose an online international school or see the NGA curriculum and timetable.

See how NGA admissions work →

FAQ

How much does Calvert Education cost per year?

The Calvert Homeschool print curriculum costs $216 (kindergarten) to $504 (grades 1–2) for a complete grade set, plus shipping and tax. Tuition for the accredited school, now Imagine Learning Excellence Academy, is not published on the official site. It depends on courses and payment plan, plus a $195 application fee. The older Calvert Academy page listed $2,548–$3,772 a year paid in full, but that page dates from 2020 and redirects to ILEA.

Is Calvert Education accredited?

The curriculum is not accredited, because curricula cannot be. The school side is: Calvert Academy has joined Imagine Learning Excellence Academy, which states it is accredited through Cognia, with a certificate valid through 30 June 2027, and issues a diploma after 22 credits.

Can international students enrol?

Yes. ILEA says it is open to students in the US and around the world. Foreign transcripts must be professionally translated into English, and there is a $75 evaluation fee. Courses are self-paced online, so time zones matter little for daily work.

Is Calvert worth it?

For parents teaching preschool to grade 5 at home, the all-in-one print sets are a low-cost, well-organised choice. For an accredited diploma, ILEA offers flexibility, NCAA-approved courses and AP options. Ask for a written tuition quote first, because prices are not published. It is a weaker fit for children who need live classes with peers.

What are the alternatives to Calvert?

Oak Meadow (curriculum and accredited school, published prices), Laurel Springs School (private, accredited, published fee table, higher cost) and, for families in Asia and Oceania, NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (live small-group classes with bilingual support, opening September 2027, not yet accredited).

Choosing calmly

Calvert’s name now covers two different things: a box of well-structured books you teach from, and an accredited online school under a new name. Decide which one you need first. If it is the books, the prices are on the shop. If it is the school, ask for a written quote and compare it line by line. Whichever you choose, pick the learning model that fits your child — parent-led, self-paced or live — before you compare costs.

Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 4 October 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.

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