Ezra Learning vs Kirkwood Education Online
Kirkwood Education Online is a video-and-workbook program for preschool to Grade 5, priced per student by the month; Ezra is a Grades 1–9 curriculum priced for the household. Here is how they compare, line by line. Facts checked October 14, 2026; sources at the end.
What each one is
Kirkwood Education Online is the homeschool version of the program Kirkwood Educational Center supplies to Kirkwood Christian Schools, for preschool through Grade 5. It covers Math, Reading, Language Arts, Vocabulary & Spelling, Phonics, Writing, Bible Lessons, American History and Science. Each concept is taught first by an instructional video, then by interactive lessons and practice exercises, with workbooks the family prints from free PDFs or buys printed; the child works at his own pace under a mastery model and earns a weekly award at each character level. The base plan is $50 a month for one student plus $40 a month for each additional student, with a full refund on request within 30 days.
Ezra Learning covers Grades 1–9 in Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography, with about 6,900 hands-on practice skills and 1,220 narrated lessons, each with a printable sheet. Scripture (Berean Standard Bible) is read word for word in every strand of every subject; there are no cartoons, games or characters. The Family plan is $15 a month per household, up to six children, and the first two sections of every subject and grade are free.
Kirkwood Education Online fits best when…
Choose Kirkwood if you have a preschooler or kindergartner, you want Science and American History in the same program, you like a video teacher followed by workbook pages on paper, you want weekly awards and a character-level program built in, or you want a curriculum with a Christian day school behind it.
Ezra fits best when…
Choose Ezra if your children are in Grades 1–9, you want a drawing and a voice rather than a video, you want practice the child does with his hands on the screen rather than workbook pages, you want a Bible verse read aloud in every strand of every subject, you would rather have no awards or rewards at all, and you have more than one child — the price is for the household.
The facts, line by line
 | Kirkwood Education Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | Grades 1–9 | Preschool–Grade 5 |
| Subjects | Math, English, Spelling, Bible, Geography | Math, Reading, Language Arts, Spelling, Phonics, Writing, Bible, American History, Science |
| Price | $15 USD a month for the household (up to six children) | $50 a month for one student, + $40 a month each additional student |
| Free to start | Two sections of every subject and grade, always free | Sample lessons on their site; 30-day money-back guarantee; free Bible discipleship lessons with an account |
| How a lesson is taught | Narrated by a voice, drawings only, watch-only | An instructional video, then interactive lessons and practice exercises |
| Practice | Hands-on: drag, tap, sort, build, drop a pin | Practice exercises on screen with automatic feedback, plus workbook pages |
| Scripture | A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud | Bible Lessons as a subject; reading stories that "reinforce spiritual values" |
| Printables | A PDF sheet for every lesson + a library of 147 books and packs | All workbooks as free PDFs; printed copies sold in their bookstore |
| High school | No | No |
| Science | No | Yes |
| History | No | American History |
| Parent reports | Per child: minutes, mastery, needs-a-hand, PDF report | Student summary reports: work units earned, mastery per concept; weekly progress reports |
| Awards and rewards | Certificates per subject and grade; no rewards shop | Weekly award certificates at seven character levels; work-unit credit for effort |
| Accredited school | No — a curriculum | No — a curriculum; the Kirkwood day schools are accredited (ACSI, WASC) |
| Cartoons, games, characters | None | None that we know of; reading books are illustrated stories |
Facts checked October 14, 2026 on the two sites. Prices and plans change; the links at the end go to Kirkwood Education Online's own pages, and we correct this table when we are told it is out of date.
What it costs your family
The biggest practical difference is how the price is counted. Kirkwood Education Online is priced per student. Ezra is priced per household, so a second, third or fourth child costs nothing more.
Ezra: $15 × 12 at the introductory price (normally $19 a month). Kirkwood Education Online: $600 a year for one child, $50 a month for one student, plus $40 a month for each additional student; the chart counts each additional child as their site prices it. No yearly price is listed on their site; a full refund is offered on request within 30 days of payment. Their pricing page is headed "Base Plan, will change on the 1st of July, 2023", so check the current figure there.
How a lesson is taught
In Kirkwood, a concept is "first taught by an instructional video", and then the child works through interactive lessons and practice exercises on the screen, which give automatic feedback, and does the matching pages in the workbook — viewed in the program, printed from the free PDF, or bought as a printed book. The child moves on when he has mastered the concept, and the program keeps student records: work units earned and a mastery percentage for each concept, reported to the family weekly. A "Time with my Parent" session lets the parent find and drill the places where the child is struggling, and a weekly award certificate marks progress through seven character levels.
An Ezra lesson is a short narrated slideshow: one voice reads every word while a simple line drawing builds up on the slide — no cartoons, no characters, no questions asked of the child inside the lesson. The lesson ends with a Bible verse read aloud, and every lesson has a printable sheet for the child to do on paper. Then the child goes to the practice skills of that strand, which are hands-on: drag the pieces, tap the picture, build the number, sort the words, drop a pin on the map.
Where the Bible sits
Both programs are Christian. Kirkwood is a Christian program with a published faith statement ("one God, eternally existent in three persons"). Bible Lessons are one of its subjects — "engaging Bible lessons" that "bring Scripture to life" — and its stated first objective is that children "grow spiritually, loving God and actively loving others"; its reading stories and history are written to reinforce Christian values. The Bible translation used is not stated on their site. In Ezra, Scripture is not a subject on the side. Every strand of Mathematics, English, Spelling and Geography closes with a verse from the Berean Standard Bible, read aloud word for word, and a Scripture practice skill sits at the end of every strand. Bible is also a subject of its own in every grade, with a character strand (obey right away, tell the truth, no quarrelling) in each. The verses are never paraphrased.
What Kirkwood Education Online has that Ezra does not
Preschool and kindergarten, with hands-on early-learning activities. Science and American History as subjects. A video teacher for every concept. Workbooks for every subject, so much of the work is done on paper. A weekly award system and a seven-stage character program. Weekly progress reports to the family, a "Time with my Parent" drill tool, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. And a Christian day school of more than forty years behind the curriculum.
What Ezra has that Kirkwood Education Online does not
A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud word for word from the Berean Standard Bible. Practice the child does with his hands — dragging, sorting, building, dropping a pin on a map — rather than ticking boxes. One calm narrated voice with a simple drawing on every slide, and no cartoons, games, characters or rewards shops. A printable sheet for every lesson and a library of 147 books and packs (copywork, handwriting, grammar, spelling, Bible, maps, a year planner). One price for the household, however many children. And two free sections of every subject and grade, so a family can see all of it before paying anything.
Questions families ask
Is Kirkwood cheaper than Ezra Learning?
For one child, Kirkwood is $50 a month and Ezra is $15 USD a month at the introductory price. Kirkwood adds $40 a month for each additional student, so two children are $90 a month and three are $130; Ezra is one price for the household, so two or three children are still $15 USD a month. Kirkwood lists no yearly price.
Does Ezra Learning cover high school?
No. Ezra covers Grades 1–9. Kirkwood covers preschool through Grade 5, so neither program covers high school.
Does Ezra have Science or History?
No, on purpose. Ezra teaches Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography. Kirkwood includes Science and American History.
Is Kirkwood Christian?
Yes. Kirkwood Educational Center supplies the program to Kirkwood Christian Schools, publishes a faith statement, and teaches Bible Lessons as a subject. Ezra is also Christian, and reads a verse from the Berean Standard Bible in every strand of every subject.
Does either program use rewards?
Kirkwood gives weekly award certificates at each of seven character levels and credits work units for effort. Ezra has no rewards shop, no points to spend and no characters; a child earns a certificate when he has mastered every skill of a subject and grade.
Can I try either one for free?
Kirkwood shows sample lessons on its site, gives its Bible discipleship lessons free with an account, and refunds the tuition on request within 30 days of payment. Ezra keeps the first two sections of every subject and grade free, with no time limit and no card.
Are these facts current?
They were checked on October 14, 2026 on kirkwoodeducationonline.com and ezralearning.com. Kirkwood's pricing page is headed with a note that the base plan would change in July 2023, so check it before you decide. The links under Sources go to Kirkwood's own pages, and we correct this page when we are told it is out of date.
Where the facts come from
- Plans and pricing — kirkwoodeducationonline.com
- FAQ — kirkwoodeducationonline.com
- Curriculum — kirkwoodeducationonline.com
- Kirkwood Education Online — home page
- Ezra Learning: pricing and curriculum pages, October 14, 2026.
Kirkwood Education Online and Kirkwood Educational Center are names of their owners, used here only to identify their products. If you represent Kirkwood Education Online and a fact here is wrong, write to hello@ezralearning.com and we will correct it.
See Ezra for yourself
Two sections of every subject and grade are free. No card, nothing to install.
Start free