Online Tool Store
Curriculum Pacing Guide
Calculate a realistic homeschool pacing guide: enter units, teaching weeks, review and catch-up reserves and days per week for weekly and daily pace.
This works right here on your device — nothing gets sent out.
Education
Curriculum Pacing Guide
How the Curriculum Pacing Guide works
- Enter total units or chapters and the teaching weeks actually available, excluding holidays and anything already committed.
- Set weeks reserved for review & assessment and weeks reserved for catch-up separately — the guide subtracts both before dividing. This is the step that makes a plan survive contact with the year.
- Set the real teaching days per week so the daily target, not just the weekly one, matches your schedule.
- Check the resulting pace and reserve percentage against the guideline below. If it exceeds what a normal week supports, the curriculum needs trimming rather than the plan needing optimism. Copy or download the plan once it looks right.
The method
Realistic pace is content divided by the weeks that remain after reserves, not by the calendar.
pace = units / (teaching weeks - review - assessment - contingency)
Plans built on the full calendar are behind by half term, which is when a curriculum starts being rushed rather than taught.
FAQ
How much contingency should I reserve?
Enough to absorb illness, travel and the weeks that simply do not go to plan — commonly around 10% of teaching weeks. Every year has some, and a plan with none is behind from the first one.
What if the pace comes out too fast?
Trim the curriculum rather than the reserves. A plan that covers everything by rushing produces coverage without learning, and the reserves are what let you slow down where a topic needs it.
Should every subject pace the same?
No. Subjects that build cumulatively need more review time than those that do not, and a subject where a gap blocks everything after it deserves a larger contingency.
How do I calculate homeschool pacing?
Divide total units or lessons by the teaching weeks that remain after subtracting review and catch-up reserves, then divide again by teaching days per week for a daily target. This guide runs that calculation as you type.
How does days per week change the pace?
The same weekly pace is easier to hit on a 5-day schedule than a 3-day one, since the units are spread across fewer teaching days. Enter your actual schooling days per week so the daily figure reflects reality.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | Pen and paper | A classroom platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserves before pacing | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Realistic week count | ✓ | Calendar weeks | ✓ |
| No sign-up | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Separate review & catch-up reserves | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Instant weekly & daily pace | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Nothing uploaded | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Curriculum Pacing Guide subtracts the reserves before dividing, which is the difference between a plan that holds and one that is behind by half term.