Abeka Book, LLC, known as A Beka Book until 2017, is an American

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

affiliated with

Pensacola Christian College Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is a private Independent Baptist college in Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1974 by Arlin and Beka Horton, it has been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools since 2013. H ...

(PCC) that produces K-12

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

materials that are used by

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

s and

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

families around the world. It is named after Rebekah Horton, wife of college president Arlin Horton. By the 1980s, Abeka and

BJU Press BJU Press is a publisher of textbooks for Christian schools and homeschools as well as trade and children's books. History Although Bob Jones University published its first trade book, ''A History of Fundamentalism in America'' by George W. Do ...

(formerly Bob Jones University Press) were the two major publishers of Christian-based educational materials in America.

History

The company started in 1972 as A Beka Book. In 2017, the company rebranded as Abeka. The video program Abeka Academy is on DVD and streams on the web. Its previous logo shows a book design from the current one that was optimized.

Accreditation

Abeka's video program (Abeka Academy) and the Traditional Parent-Directed program are accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) and by the

Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) is an organization that accredits Florida's Christian schools. It holds teachers conventions and annual competitions for its member schools. It is a member of the National Council f ...

(FACCS).

Criticism

Some Abeka textbooks have been criticized by educators as lacking

academic rigor The scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars and academics to make their claims about the subject as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public. It is the me ...

and taking contrary or reactive positions toward their subject matter. Experts from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in 2018 criticized the content of Abeka textbooks as being markedly more simple and less challenging than the content of comparable textbooks used in public schools. Science textbooks published by Abeka defy the

scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confe ...

regarding the origins of the universe,

origins of life In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothes ...

, and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. Abeka takes Biblical literalist and

young Earth creationist Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespr ...

positions in its science curriculum, teaching the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word ...

as a literal and factual account. An Abeka science book denounces evolution as a "retreat from science." In 2006 the

Association of Christian Schools International The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an association of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. History ACSI was founded in 1978 through the merger of three as ...

sued the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

after the university rejected school credits based on books published by Abeka and one similar publisher. In the case of '' Association of Christian Schools International v. Roman Stearns'', a judge upheld the University of California's finding that the books are "inconsistent with the viewpoints and knowledge generally accepted in the

scientific community The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...

Tax status ruling

Between 1988 and 1996, A Beka Book held

tax exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

status, because its profits were channeled into PCC as a tax-exempt religious organization or educational institution. In January 1995, the U.S.

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

ruled that the college's publishing arm was liable for taxes as a profit-making entity. The IRS further ruled that the profits of the publishing arm benefited the organization as a whole, because both A Beka Book and PCC were run under the same organization and that all of the profits of A Beka Book went directly to PCC, constituting 60% of the college's income. The effect of this ruling rendered the publishing company ineligible for future tax exempt status. Although PCC was ultimately cleared of any liability for back taxes, PCC paid the estimated $44.5 million, and A Beka Book paid another $3.5 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeka Book

Abeka Abeka Book, LLC, known as A Beka Book until 2017, is an American publisher affiliated with Pensacola Christian College (PCC) that produces K-12 curriculum materials that are used by Christian schools and homeschooling families around the world. ...

Christian publishing companies Companies based in Pensacola, Florida