The PACE
PACE has taken the conventional textbook and divided it into bite-sized, achievable work books called Packets of Accelerated Christian Education. Each PACE is more or less equivalent to a unit in a textbook. Each level consists of 12 PACEs in each subject.
Each PACE contains the following educational opportunities for every student:
Critical Thinking Skills: The capacity for the student to develop all six levels of the higher order thinking skills. These skills are also also known as Blooms Taxonomy. These skills are: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation and design.
Direct Instruction: The ACE Educational resources have inbuilt tools to support student’s learning. The consistent instructional language is written at each student’s level of understanding. There are regular learning activities, reviews and quizzes that support the learning process.
Responsible learning: Students begin their PACE work by noting their goals, the concepts they will learn, a Bible verse, and a corresponding character trait. From the very beginning of each PACE they know what is expected and assume responsibility for their own learning.
Character Emphasis
Character counts: The ACE Educational Resources encourage the development of sixty character traits. Some of these are courage, honesty, compassion, concerned, creativity and resourcefulness.
Creativity: Students are encouraged to think creatively and critically while engaging with ACE Educational resources. Learning is enhanced by discussion, research and follow-up activities associated with the resources or the student’s interests.
Complete package: The information, texts, learning activities, assessment tasks are inclusive of the content in every PACE.
Go at your own PACE: Students can work at their own rate of learning according to their individual abilities and learning styles.
Continuity of Learning: The educational resources provide students with a continual educational pathway that is well defined from the lower levels through to year 12.
Australian Content: History, Geography and Maths content is integrated and sequenced throughout the Australian ACE Educational resources.
Motivating: ACE educational resources provide academic rigour that challenges, motivates and rewards each student as they progress through the sequence of learning activities and tasks.
Role models: ACE cartoon characters provide appropriate role models for students to develop personal values and Biblical principles.
Core Curriculum
The core curriculum includes basic academic disciplines that focus on essential educational needs including English, Maths, Literature and Creative Writing, Science, Social Studies, Word Building (spelling) and Bible Reading.
Each core subject consists of 12 PACEs per level.Typically students work on one PACE in each subject and may be performing at varying levels according to the diagnostic test results. Most complete at least 70 PACEs per year, maintaining academic balance by completing about the same amount of PACEs in each subject. All students should be encouraged to work at their level of proficiency and proceed as they are capable.
Diagnostic testing
Diagnostic testing determines the appropriate level for a student to commence in their educational program. The diagnostic testing assists the parent to determine their child’s academic needs in each subject.
After the student completes the diagnostic tests, they are then given the appropriate level course materials in their core subjects. The parent can have confidence that their child is working at their appropriate level that will meet and challenge them.
Four academic areas are tested: English levels 1 – 8, Maths levels 1 – 9, Reading levels 1 – 8, (Science, Social Studies, Literature and Creative Writing) and Spelling (Word Building). These cover basic skills normally mastered before high school. Preparatory and Year 1 students do not need to undertake the diagnostic tests.