Beast Academy is an engaging, rigorous curriculum for elementary students. Through our online math learning platform (Beast Academy Online, also referred to as BA Online) and captivating comic-based printed books, students tackle tough challenges that move them to mastery.
This guide covers common curriculum questions that we receive from parents.
About Beast Academy Math Curriculum
Beast Academy Math is a full curriculum created by Art of Problem Solving for kids ages 6–13. We teach problem-solving and logical thinking by covering grade-level standards in greater depth than other elementary math curricula. Beast Academy is also loosely based on the Common Core standards.
See our Standards and Sequence documents for the math topics covered in each level of our program.
We created Beast Academy to help kids ages 6‑13 build their problem solving skills while learning elementary math. Students learn new topics from our graphic novel-style guides and then master math topics by solving engaging problems and challenging puzzles. We focus on higher-order reasoning and deep conceptual understanding, not drills and memorization. Students gain improved self-efficacy, motivation, persistence, and confidence.
Beast Academy curriculum comes in two forms:
- Printed books
- BA Online
The curriculum in our books and BA Online is self-paced and can be used as a primary curriculum, in homeschooling, or as supplemental curriculum, depending on your needs. Although Beast Academy was created with accelerated learners in mind, the program is flexible. Students ages 6–13 with a wide range of abilities have had success with it.
For example:
- Struggling learners who are still building number sense will get to explore how and why math works.
- Students who have little interest in math might discover a new enthusiasm while working on Beast Academy's engaging puzzles and problems.
- And of course, young math lovers will find plenty of material to sustain their interest.
We recommend using our placement tests to determine what level your student is prepared for.
It depends. While many students can successfully use Beast Academy without much help, others might need greater support as they encounter new topics and work through challenging problems.
You can access samples of the books on our website, or try out the BA Online Demo to see the types of problems found in the Beast Academy curriculum.
Beast Academy is flexible and can be used either as a stand-alone curriculum or as a supplement to another program. Our materials offer rich resources for developing number sense, building problem-solving skills, and practicing critical thinking.
Refer to our Chapter Overviews to see all the topics covered in each level of Beast Academy.
Printable materials that supplement the books are available on our Resources page.
Beast Academy is loosely based on the Common Core State Standards. It covers the key topics for grades 1–5 in greater depth and with more opportunities for problem-solving and logical thinking than other programs. Beast Academy Math 4 and Beast Academy Math 5 also cover many middle-grade standards and can be a good fit for early middle school students.
Refer to our Standards Charts for the topics covered by Beast Academy.
The Beast Academy math curriculum is organized into five levels, each roughly corresponding to a grade level. This curriculum is offered through books as well as BA Online.
The curriculum across our math books and BA Online is the same except for the following:
- The practice problems and puzzles are different.
- Our book levels are further broken down into four units: A, B, C, and D.
- Each unit focuses on different concepts.
Our curriculum is self-paced and flexible: you can use just books, just BA Online, or both. What you decide will ultimately depend on what works best for your student.
Supporting Your Student in Math
If you'd like your student to finish a Beast Academy level in one school year, aim to have your student complete each of the 12 chapters in 12–18 school days. We recommend assigning work in the Practice books by time and not by pages. Some lessons may take more than an hour to solve, while others are much faster. In fact, since our curriculum includes quite a lot of material, we don't expect students to complete every single problem.
Use our Sequence documents to coordinate the reading and practice for each topic, whether your student is using the printed Guide and Practice books, Beast Academy Online, or both.
We include challenging problems in Beast Academy to help students develop a deeper and richer understanding of math. The Guide books also offer several strategies for building problem-solving skills and struggling in a productive way.
Here's our advice for what to do when your student gets stuck:
- Make sure your student knows that challenging math problems take time to solve. Just because it's taking them a long time to solve a hard problem doesn't mean that they're bad at math.
- Remind your student to re-read the lesson in the Guide book and the examples at the top of the practice pages or in the BA Online instructions.
- Is your student unsure of where to start? Encourage them to try something new; don't be afraid to experiment.
- If your student's working in the books and is ready for a hint on one of the starred problems, feel free to use the guiding questions at the back of the Practice book.
- If your student's working in BA Online, they can watch the videos that accompany the lesson.
- Remember that it's always okay to take a break and come back later with fresh eyes.
Refer to our Chapter Overviews for more recommendations on supporting your student in Beast Academy.
About Beast Academy Science Curriculum
Beast Academy science curriculum is under development! We currently offer Beast Academy Science 3A and Beast Academy Science 3B individually or as a complete level, as well as Beast Academy Science 4A (the first in a two-part Level 4 science series).
The series includes labs, puzzles, projects, curiosities, and explorations of the natural world that often go beyond the standards with content that will engage motivated and curious students.
If you'd like to be notified when new books come out, sign up for our mailing list.
Beast Academy Science 3A and Beast Academy Science 3B are suggested for ages 8–10 and Beast Academy Science 4A is suggested for ages 9–12. The content in Beast Academy Science 3 and Beast Academy Science 4 are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades 3 and 4, respectively. However, we often go beyond what's expected, diving into material that goes beyond the NGSS standards.
Students gain a deeper understanding of science from graphic novel-style guides featuring familiar Beast Academy characters, while learning to think like scientists through experiments, puzzles, activities, and games.
Science literacy is an important skill for thriving in today's world. Having a solid foundational understanding of the workings of the physical world helps students make good decisions and prepares them for future learning. Our approach to science focuses on gaining a deep understanding of science, rather than memorizing facts. Students will learn to ask thoughtful questions, investigate those questions, and evaluate their own data from investigations. Our Beast Academy science books will help students learn to think creatively about scientific problems, apply their skills to new problems and new situations, and use their curiosity productively in the future.
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