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The Keystone School is an online high school and middle school offering flexible and engaging school programs open for enrollment year round. Keystone offers over 120 online high school and middle school courses all supported by certified teachers. Students can enroll full-time to earn an accredited online high school diploma or part-time to supplement a traditional school or homeschool curriculum.
Website: The Keystone School
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(51 Reviews)
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Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 10th
This service is terrible! It is very pricey, $300 for a 3 week credit. The assignments are mostly busywork, the teachers take DAYS to respond to CRUCIAL emails. This company only cares about the money! The would rather you fail highschool then pass.
Cons: Failed promises, worst two years of my life, awful support, crummy teachers, failed links, constant overworking, unrelated projects, self-taught with absolutely no usable aid half the time, everything
Grades Used: 9th- still going on in junior year
I've spent two years in this school, still going, and its a total nightmare for me. My parents signed me up without looking too much into the school, reviews, or curriculum. After I started, I told them about all the errors I've seen and such, but they told me to keep trying it. After being forced to use it for about 6 months, I couldn't go back to public school or else I wouldn't be able to graduate properly. As such, I've had to deal with the shoddy site by using every possible advantage I could find. Doing a complete self-taught calculus class makes it to where I could probably give you links to 50 different calculators that I used for the large majority of my papers. Then there's my history class that I finished and was constantly behind on due to essay-essay-essay-essay, with 500 word minimums and at least 3-4 a week. Project after project, paper after paper, and not providing any actual materials for the course other than a cheap $10 book at the beginning of the year just shows how money hungry the school is. Keystone is the absolute worst thing in my life and the constant 24/7 stress is the most likely cause for all the medical issues I've suddenly gotten after starting.
This is the absolute worst school I've ever seen. Not to mention that it states that it is as difficult as a public school, but my family members, with masters, in these subjects have issues with them a majority of the time. My grandfather has a doctorate in one of the subjects and says that he couldn't help me.
I've had times where I was forced to work constantly for days straight to keep them from overcharging my parents. 28 hours, 36 hours, and more, no breaks. Constant essays and work btw.
Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! From customer service to curriculum just horrible. This crap isn’t worth $5 a course let alone $500. I have 3 children in online school at the moment 2 are public (free) and then I have my son who is enrolled in keystone. Huge mistake and I’m paying all this money but for what it takes weeks to get a response, chat, tech support, customer service they just answer and know nothing. You can get a refund in 30day minus an insane amount of fees so it’s not even worth it to do that... it’s ridiculous 🤦🏽♀️ like everyone else they just want the money, but don’t give a 💩
Cons: Print work is self paced; no teacher guides
Grades Used: High School
We have used Keystone for a variety of reasons and situations with our three sons. Two have graduated from high school - one with a brick and mortar diploma and one with a Keystone diploma. The third started taking classes to supplement brick and mortar and will end up with Keystone conferring the diploma in (hopefully) about a month.
I've enjoyed the flexibility of transcript options between two schools and being able to switch back and forth as needed.
I am an elementary school principal and was looking for high quality, standards based curriculum when I found Keystone. The majority of their work is rigorous and I've found the high school English to be comparable to college level Comp. One.
I appreciate the flexible pacing and since I am an educator, have no issue with teaching the material despite not having teacher guides. I do think for someone looking for purely homeschool curriculum, more parent support is necessary. However, this is not that kind of setup - the online coursework is completely independent; the print work is easily navigated and instructor help is an email away.
My suggestion for people wanting full time homeschool curriculum for a whole year would be to go with the online program-the classes have easily 1000 tasks and the instruction is rich and engaging. If you are looking for supplemental coursework that can be done quickly and independently, go with the print coursework.
Without taking time to review transcripts, between all three boys we've purchased easily 21 credits. The only issue we may have when this third one transfers to our community college is the NCAA rule - but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
PROS: Reasonably priced for an online private school. Can order stand alone courses-my 10th grader is taking 1 course. Good curriculum.
CONS: Difficult to set pacing schedules not knowing the average time an assignment may take.
Grades used: 6,8,10
This has been our first year with Keystone. I enrolled my 6th and 8th graders. Both kids got off to an incredibly slow start, and they fell far behind schedule. The 8th grader caught up with a lot of effort. It’s been a big struggle with the 6th grader, but in all honesty, it’s because she’s having a difficult time adjusting to the fact she has to do all the work and can’t skip longer assignments. It took her a long time to understand she needs to follow directions and not ignore them. Except for math, she gets good scores on her work and loves to boast on them.
We’ve been homeschooling for three years. The kids were done with me being their teacher. Returning to public school wasn’t an option. My adult daughter uses k-12 for her children and I like the curriculum, so although I researched other private online schools and kept coming back to Keystone. Regardless of our struggles (and they are our struggles, not the fault of Keystone) I will be reenrolling them for the next grade. I do anticipate paying to extend my 6th grader’s courses.
The biggest complaint the two kids have had is with their math. I think the 6th grade course has had a few areas of concepts she has not been able to catch on to. She soared through the geometry part. My 8th grader has hated introduction to algebra. He previously used Teaching Textbooks for math. He does not like the way it’s taught and says the flow is too fast from one concept to the next. This may be, in part, because he’s had to do a lot of work in a short time to catch up. He can either take it again next year or take pre algebra. It also took him a long time to utilize the online help.
Both kids are able to retain information they’re learning and do enjoy sharing what they’re learning. To me, that’s a great testament of a good curriculum and delivery method.
I just enrolled my 10th grader up for his first course, psychology. Next year he’ll be taking all of his core courses with Keystone as a part time student. He feels most of the homeschool courses he’s been taking this year aren’t preparing him enough for college.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 12
My son enrolled in 12th grade. Coming from an IB school, he was used to writing essays and organising his own time to study. Keystone is a great support for anyone working alone trying to make it through highschool. Teachers are only one email away. We are so grateful he could join and complete his high school while pursuing a career.
Cons: None
Grades Used: College bound
Enrolled our 8th grader. The program is very structured, which we appreciate as our son is preparing for college. We had read some scary reviews before moving from 7th grad k12 into 8th keystone, but after thoroughly reviewing the orientation material ( a review we plan on repeating once more before our son begins his course work) we feel pretty confident. Our 13 year old is having no issues exploring the technical tools, and understands the course workflow, and rules. We have enjoyed excellent assistance and communication with teachers and system counselors. Our son is actually excited, and we are excited for him. Last night we created his 1st and 2nd semester schedule. The work load is a little intimidating on paper, but we did not express that notion to our son as he was not upset by the expectations at all. We had a long chat with our son, we explained that this program will demand much more then the previous, but as long as he stays on schedule he will see the fruits of his labor. We plan on shadowing our son as much as possible to make sure he understands the assignments, rubrics, and submissions. We expect a few bumps along the way but will cross those challenge bridges when we get to them. So far we feel pretty good ... moving forward we will see what problems we encounter within the courses, but honestly feel pretty satisfied with the support thus far.
Cons: Quality
Grades Used: Very difficult
This homeschool is nice because the child can progress at their own pace. Its more expensive than other programs though i paid almost 500 dollars for two classes. I would not recommend this class to a child if they have ever struggled with school. The math and social studies my daughter is taking are harder than the classes she took in school for free. Even with my help she may not pass half of her credits. Very disappointed in the tests. The questions are confusing and seem to be for advanced students. I wouldnt recommend this program to any student unless they are gifted.
Cons: Stay Away ... cost a fortune in time and money!
Grades Used: 9th
This school and its support is deplorable. There have been so many issues over the last year that I would strongly recommend if you are looking to have you child attend this institution.
To seek their education elsewhere. Unless of course you like dealing with a nightmare scenario and long hours of trying to find answers to questions.
Their material is riddle with broken links, information that is has either unreasonably expectation, poor communication as to what the expectation or goal, a 'peer response' system that often has the student waiting days, weeks or months for other students to respond, and tests with question that don't offer a varied response.
We have had to call the 'teacher link' a number of times because material is scattered, disorganized, or not communicated properly of what is expected. Should a test or quiz, be submitted and the answer doesn't line up with what is expected.
The student is forced to call in to find out what it is needed to complete that step of the program. Often this call is met with voice mail, a group of prompts, leading them to have a parent follow up to finally get help.
These episodes cost the student, energy and more importantly a 'unreasonable' method to understanding, and staying on track with work. All of which is time consuming causing the student to fall behind in their work.
At one point my daughter asked: should I not complete this assignment and move forward to complete the course. Does it affect my grade?
Well the short answer might be yes at most educational institution across the United States. However at this school regardless of how far a student has progressed or their 'cumulative' grade. They receive a 'zero' for the entire course.
Something that is not told to parents, or outlined in their handbook, policy or material given as a lesson, quiz, or test.
When questioned on this policy, the response was "that this is how they get their certification" - and yet it is not stated up front in their literature.
Leading to frustration with the student in learning, finding the answer and resorting to a system, with poor support using a 'teacher link' system that may answer their question days later.
Forcing the student to wait ... to complete that assignment, quiz or test. Contributing to the length of time needed to complete all the material in that course.
Should they choose to move on, the end result is a zero for the entire course.
As I said when approaching the school, with this unreasonable insight - after the fact. I asked, how then does one meet these responsibilities?
Their response was a one month extension, that would be free, and should my daughter need more time, they would extend her program up to six months, but that would need to be paid.
Again we encountered a problem with material not communicating expectation, lacking answers, and forced to call a poorly manned 'teacher link' to get the supported needed to move forward.
In short, I was forced to call the school directly, taking up time in my day, eventually speaking with someone and still no answer.
Currently I am waiting for an outcome, still trying to seek out answers to the material elsewhere.
Hoping that today, I may receive a phone call.
It is my firm believe that like any business, especially one that is educating students, there should be support and provision to address issue promptly.
These mechanism should not add to the frustration of learning material, time needed to complete work and finally be so convoluted and cumbersome, that they cause the student to fall behind.
Resulting in extensions, that could cost parents more money, the student more time to complete work.
It would seem that the school benefits, greatly for this practice, they continued to get paid.
Making this environment a recipe for lining their pocket with profit, from such a 'shoddy' service and program.
I invited anyone and everyone facing this problem to start your complaint at the Better Business Bureau, along with the Professional Standards and Practices Commission:
https://www.pspc.education.pa.gov/Educator-Discipline-System-and-Reporting/How-to-File-a-Complaint/Pages/default.aspx
Along with: The Department of Education:
https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
The Office of Compliance:
https://odr-pa.org/parents/parent-resource-library/doc-compliance/
Cons: Overworked, Fall behind easily
Grades Used: 10th
I enrolled in Keystone last September because we moved to a new county and i did not want to move schools. I thought it would be more flexible. But boy was I wrong....
When I first started it was not that bad at all. But then it quickly went down hill, I am a total of 2 months behind because I can not keep up with the work. It may seem like I am just being lazy but that is not the case at all. I have to finish a years worth of school by july so i can go back to public. Its now may and I'm working as much as i can. I have to write essays all the time for every class and I do not get much time to work on it.
I am extremely stressed out and scared i will fail my 10th grade year. They strain you constantly and my parents constantly get reports saying how far behind i am. I go to a tutor to help catch me up but its still not enough. I wish I could go back in time and just transfer to the new school. Please do not put your child through this. It is a set up for failure.
Cons: hard to navigate, no progress details, not accredited in our state
Grades Used: 9-10
We're in Washington State and just found out that Keystone Academy has lost their accreditation here and no other Washington schools will accept their credits. They knew this a year ago and didn't inform us even after we started another year. When I called they offered a refund and said "yeah, we should have contacted you." Now our 10th grade son now has to start high school over from scratch. We're going to sue.
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 8th
(I know this is long but it's worth the read)- This school is TERRIBLE! I feel so bad for my parents, they had to waste their money on a school that was just going to let me down... considering the website says "Affordable and Flexible" - Yeah sure... Keystone over works you, I had less assignments at my ACTUAL SCHOOL! They also can't explain an assignment for anything! I have to send millions of emails with questions on what to do, and those emails don't usually get answered until at least an hour later... They also shut my account down for almost 3 WEEKS because my parents were two days late on their payment - my question is, why is my education being put on the line because my parents were a little late on a payment... - my answer is because they don't care about your education, they only care about the money they get out of it... I was also accused of plagiarism (I know you can't just believe anyone on the internet but I would love it if you would just listen to me). My assignment answers looked SIMILAR to those on a website and they just assumed that I copied off of it, I was told that I would just re-due the assignment and be let off with a warning, but I wasn't going to do that, I didn't plagiarize, so my mom argued on the phone for hours and days... I was let off with a verbal warning, and my assignment was put in as a 0... even though most of my answers were right. Now I'm about 3 to 4 weeks behind in my school work, and I don't know if I'm going to graduate, but you know what... EVERYTHINGS FINE! I am now so stressed out that my migraines are coming back and I have panic attacks on a daily basis... I'm writing this review because I want to make sure that everyone knows that Keystone is a SCAM! 🙁
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 8th grade
Worst school year of my life. I am behind a lot in every subject for one fact alone...this school is horrible. They give way to many assignments to do and I’m burnt out by the end of the day. It’s hard to get in contact with teachers and if you don’t understand something well your on your own. You can contact them but it’s hard to have them explain how to do math over the phone. Waste of my time and would a 1,000% not recommend.
Cons: Expensive, will throw you out of the enrollment as soon as the check didn’t go in. Won’t even give it a day or two. Some links they want us to look at literally don’t work. Extremely confusing. EXPENSIVE. Stressful. I’ve always had As and Bs and now I feel completely dumb. Very confusing and little to no help.
Grades Used: 12
I had to get taken out of public school due to severe depression and anxiety. This was the worst decision ever. It will suck every bit of money you have all just to have a very uninteresting and confusing as crap assignments and tests. The quizzes have errors and are also very confusing. You can read the introductions and do what you’re supposed to and still fail a quiz. There’s little to none communication and I literally wanna rip my hair out. I want to graduate so badly and this was the only school that was open for enrollment late. I had no choice and now it’s taking a financial strain on my family and it’s making me feel like a complete idiot. They really didn’t have to make this program so vague and confusing.
Cons: No communication, Money Vampires, Undeveloped site, Rude Staff.
Grades Used: 12th
What I liked about this school was only the open schedule, other than that I would NOT reccomend this school to anyone else. The teachers are not invovled with students unless, If any it took them double the time it should to respond to a simple email about resetting an assignment. Though, By the date the teacher responded The assignment could nk longer be reset so teachers risk the students grade. Along qith if they do have issues regarding the terms and condition of the school they will threaten that they will Kick you out of the school but take the 1000+ you paid for this school without a dime back. Even after you are no longer attending they will continue to take it even with the student no longer being enrolled. The teachers do not comkunicate well, When they do theres attitude. When i called Keystones main number the the lady who i spoke to gave me pure attitude over me asking to simply talk to a counsler, Even so she directed me to a number THAT NO LONGER WORKED. Even assignments that assign the students some dont even work, the attached files will be wrong. Theres False positives plagiarism claims, I dont not recommend this school to anyone. Its a waste of money and the biggest heachache ive ever experienced with a school.
My daughter was enrolled for one month before i put her into a different. Home school program and now they are saying i am responsible for $1000+ payment anyway its a terrible program and waste of money. Anything is better then Keystone.
Cons: Insanely vague, hard to understand
Grades Used: Summer before 12
This was an awful experience. I took Spanish II because it would not fit into my schedule senior year and I thought this would be a good alternative.
Man I was wrong.
First of all virtually the entire textbook is in Spanish. How am I supposed to learn Spanish when I can't even read the captions under the pictures? The textbook is random and confusing, and the tests even more so. Additionally, the audio for the listening part of the test is basically incomprehensible, I ended up using voice dictate on my phone and filling in the blanks with my best guesses.
During the school year I am a straight A AP/Honors level student.
Additionally, the tests took about two weeks to come back, with no confirmation that they were received, and all the emails I sent to Keystone took about a week to get a response, which held me back from completing the course swiftly.
One other pet peeve of mine with the course- I was required to send in CDs with my voice recording of various passages, except Keystone left no instructions or options on how to do so, and no instructions on how to send them the CD in the mail.
Extremely disappointed.
Cons: Takes a while to figure out how their system works the first time around, some assignments vague or confusing, a bit pricey
Grades Used: 10th grade biology
I tried Keystone for a summer biology course because my son needed another credit to transfer into a new high school. I spent several days navigating through their system and getting it to run on my laptop. Once I became accustomed to their system, the class layout seemed fairly organized, and my son took a tutorial/introductory course (several hours long) to get familiar with the system. I spent several hours going through the first unit with my son. There were some helpful features (vocab practice, crosswords, etc) but he was also asked to define vocab words and identify chemicals that had not even been mentioned in the lesson. He was directed to websites, but not told what to do or look at on those sites. I started scanning future units and found some of the assignment instructions to be vague or confusing. The course also is heavy on evolutionary content, much more than my AP biology high school course. This school may have worked for my son if he were using it as part of a full year curriculum, but it seemed like too much to try to figure out the online format and assignment requirements in a short time. I disenrolled him (and was given a prompt refund with no hassles) and found a correspondence course through another school.
Cons: Terrible curriculum, horrible support
Grades Used: 8th
Avoid this school at all costs.
As stated in other reviews, this curriculum is vague, incomplete, and tedious. It took my daughter 9 months to complete one semester. She is very intelligent and earned all "A's", but it was a struggle! They do not give you all the resources you need. They assign project after project after project. Their tests are flawed and contain many errors. The refund is only good after 30 days. Don't waste your time or money.
Cons: Outdated, hard to navigate, harsh grading, teachers are not helpful, most of the assignments are busy work
Grades Used: sophomore
I am a Sophmore who is using keystone for an online Spanish course since my school doesn't offer Spanish. Although I have only been using this program for two semesters, I can say I will not be using it again. This program is outdated and not helpful at all. The program is hard to understand, and the "teachers" are not helpful at all. It is a completely independent program, which was nice for me, but when I came to some information in needed help on, the teacher wasn't helpful at all. The program used very outdated technology.
My course was hard to navigate, and grading was too harsh. The only nice part of the program was that it was self-paced, and it was offering a variety of courses. I will not be continuing to use this program for my Spanish 3 course. The program gave me useless assignments that seemed more like busy work than for an actual learning purpose.
I would not recommend this program to anyone who wants to get a good education.
Cons: The worst LMS I've ever seen - it's archaic!, Not designed for elementary level kids, Excessive busy work
Grades Used: 1
My 6 year old has a chronic illness and the public schools are unable or unwilling (both!) to accommodate him, so we sought out online programs to try to homeschool as I work full time from home. After looking at many different programs and reviews, we decided on Keystone.
Like most the reviews here, we are not very impressed with Keystone's program. Given that my son is six, he is unable to read the instructions and only about 50% of the lessons have audio buttons. So that means Mom gets to attend the first grade all over again as I sit through EVERY SINGLE LESSON telling him what is required of him, (Ex: Reading quiz answers that he is unable to read himself because he is SIX, reading him daily chapters from Ramona the Brave, and explaining how to complete a visual book report). It's a LOT of work. On top of that, they beat a dead horse with their lessons. Even my son is annoyed by having to do twelve lessons of addition, when he understood it perfectly in six.
I don't really know of a viable alternative here, but I hope there is one out there. I just can't commit the level of time required to help my son complete all their busy work.
Cons: Terrible instructions, diffcult to understand, horrible curriculum
Grades Used: 7
I cannot share enough how much I HATE this program and even though it cost TWO THOUSAND dollars for the year, I don't know if I'm going to make my daughter finish the second semester. The instructions are horrible, the questions and answers are horrible - earning a bachelors degree was sooo much easier than this curriculum
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 8th and 9th
We have homeshooled for quite a while and before that, I was a classroom teacher and I can honestly say that I have never seen a more ridiculous excuse for a curriculum than the Keystone School.
My 8th grader was confused on day one of trying to get acclimated to their material. I assumed it was him and tried to help by going over it with him. After many hours in front of the computer, I was just as confused. I sent an email to his "teacher." After 4 days of hearing nothing, I called. The representative made the assumption that I just hadn't read or understood things clearly; after about 45 minutes with her, she realized that I was correct and it didn't make sense. I was put in touch with the person in charge of that subject. She told me that the teacher had made her aware of my email (but nobody bothered to respond to me) and they were unsure what to do, as this particular class was new and they were still, "trying to imagine what the assignments for the class might look like." So, in short, they sold my an incomplete, unwritten curriculum for $400!
To top all of this off, we withdrew immediately and 30+ days have passed and I still don't have a refund. Of course, I had to purchase more curriculum in the meantime. The whole experience has cost me many hours of frustration and money that I don't know if I'll ever get back, even though I have complied with all of their policies and procedures.
I don't know a time that I have been more displeased with a purchase.
Cons: Parents must teach / no instruction or teachers, takes too long, expensive
Grades Used: 7-10
My daughter has completed grades 7-9 of the curriculum and is in danger of failing to complete grade 10. The curriculum takes MUCH longer to complete through Keystone due to the lack of instruction and the fact that each course includes several more chapters and units of work than found in a physical school, whether public or private. This is a self-taught, self-paced program. Keystone utilizes a standard core high school curriculum. The first year was a nightmare due to the amount of work (I'd say it was too much for a middle-schooler), but we trudged on, and she got straight As. In order to accomplish this, she sat working at her computer for 9-16 hours a day for years. Consequently, she developed kyphosis (hunched back), and her lifetime 20/20 vision deteriorated due to excessive near vision usage and underused distance vision (yes, our lifestyles dramatically affect our vision as well as every other bodily system -- something I learned from her ophthalmologist). As a stay-at-home mother dedicated to education, I have spent an average of four hours a day teaching her, assisting her in deciphering poorly written or insensible assignment rubrics, doing research on the higher-level chemistry and math topics to instruct her, and making prolific use of KHAN ACADEMY instructional videos. The course material, as well as the too-frequent quizzes and exams, are laden with errors that render a correct answer impossible without first calling or emailing the school to verify the existence of the error and then what the exam question was supposed to say. Highly intelligent, attentive, and articulate, my daughter has succeeded due to her own academic rigors and my daily assistance. She has significantly expanded her knowledge and educational skills, HOWEVER, the price -- financially, economically, and physically -- has not been worth it or a good trade-off. The curriculum is taught by Blackboard text with animated avatars. Keystone "teachers" should be called "graders". They rarely offered genuine instruction when she was stuck on a concept. Feedback consisted of variations of "good job" from all teachers except for two. Some are dedicated, responding to email questions and requests for help within 24 hours, but others are not because they take a week or more to reply if at all. I began to suspect many of them were not actual teachers due to their poor grammar, misspellings, and facile communication styles. The Guidance Center, despite employing friendly, courteous, and professional people, is a complete waste of time: we reached out frequently during the beginning and received only basic, rote advice on student motivation, such as keeping your work area clean, making it "fun" with highlighters, using their basic online scheduler, and trying to minimize distractions. Even though the course material is sound, it is not prudent to pay $3,000 a year to a school that has me do all the teaching. I am searching for educational alternatives for her.
Cons: No refunds, no support, unorganized/uninteresting curriculum
Grades Used: 10th-11th
Keystone was a bad experience. I should have paid attention to the reviews. My daughter signed up for 6 courses over 2 years but the schoolwork was too easy and uninteresting. It's a money-making machine with no support for students or parents.
I requested assistance from the Keystone "Learning Coach" but she knew less about the program and motivational skills than I did. She showed no concern and had no advice on how to handle the online experience.
I was able to cancel 2 courses and receive a partial refund. But the second time around, NO REFUND because my daughter had not submitted any assignments within 30 days. Keystone will warn you if the student is going too slowly through the course, but will not warn you that there is NO REFUND if there is NO ACTIVITY.
We had a decent experience with George Washington University Online High School, part of the K-12 company. The advisor and administrators were attentive and acted like they cared.