ACE is Different and Better!

One of the distinctives that makes A.C.E. preferable is that the basic learning tool is a PACE rather than a textbook. Before we discuss the superiority of PACEs, let's answer a commonly asked question-"What does 'PACE' stand for?"

PACE is an acronym for Packet of Accelerated Christian Education. In the A.C.E. program, students work in PACEs from preschool through the twelfth grade level. Each academic subject for each level consists of 12 PACEs, and each student should complete a minimum of 60 PACEs in a school year. Some notable features basic to PACEs are:

Bite-sized units of self-instructional material enhanced with illustrations and examples.
Specific, understandable goals for the student to read before he begins work.
Controlled vocabulary with pronunciations and definitions.
Appropriate activities for drill, practice, and mastery of each concept.
Checkups, score strips, and a Self Test for assessment and learning control.
Character story features for Biblical character patterning.
Scripture and wisdom principles that provide encouragement and guidance.

So, why are PACEs better than textbooks? Here are a few reasons.

Students see tangible results of their progress. Each time a student successfully completes a PACE, he gets a new academic PACE with new character stories to spark his interest. It's something to get excited about and something to which he can look forward. A new PACE is tangible evidence that the child has climbed another rung on his academic ladder.

PACEs teach responsibility in ways textbooks cannot. Controls are built in. The student completes activities, Checkups, and the Self Test, and he does his own scoring and makes his own corrections. He knows when and how to review and prepare himself for testing. He experiences success and learns the importance of doing things right!

PACEs are geared to mastery learning. Children have a limited attention span and a restricted capacity for grasping new concepts. They need to have new material introduced in bite-sized pieces; then they practice the concept and test themselves to see if they really understand stand the new material. A textbook is not designed to allow a student to catch his academic breath but keeps putting more and more information into his mental processing network.

PACEs not only provide instruction at the child's maturity level; they also allow him to learn and master concepts.

PACEs provide self-instruction and mastery along with individualization. To achieve any degree of success, most textbooks require a teacher to interpret and explain the information. The teacher usually provides the examples and drills. Information is given, not on an individual basis, but to a whole class of children who have different capabilities and learning styles. PACEs, on the other hand, introduce one concept at a time, and each concept is visualized and illustrated by examples. Before he moves on to the activities, the student can go back over the information and examples until he understands them. No other students are held up while he gains mastery, and he is not held back by the rest of the class when he grasps concepts quickly. He learns on his own at the pace that he is capable of attaining.

Yes, A.C.E. is distinctively different ... and BETTER!