Placement guide, math

Which level of Beast Academy should my child start?

How Beast Academy levels line up with school grades, how its placement test works, what to do if your child lands between two levels, and the mistakes parents most often make.

The short answer. Levels roughly track grades but are deliberately harder than grade level, so the publisher generally advises starting about one level behind the child's current grade (its example: an 8 or 9 year old should likely start with Level 2). Published age bands overlap: Level 2 ages 7-9, Level 3 ages 8-10, Level 4 ages 9-12, Level 5 ages 10-13. The placement result is shown as an AoPS course name, Honors Math N, which means Beast Academy Level N. Beast Academy stops at Level 5.

Use the publisher's own placement tool to choose the level (free, online). If you are not sure where your child really is, or the result surprises you, check the level first: it is quicker than a wrong book.

Check their level first, $9.99 →

Beast Academy levels and the grades they usually suit

Level	Usually suits grade	Main topics
Beast Academy Level 2 (books 2A-2D, or BA Online Level 2)	2	Place value, big numbers, comparing, expressions, addition and subtraction strategies and algorithms, measurement, odds and evens
Beast Academy Level 3 (books 3A-3D, or BA Online Level 3)	3	Shapes, multiplication, division, fractions, perimeter and area, estimation, measurement, early variables
Beast Academy Level 4 (books 4A-4D, or BA Online Level 4)	4	Shapes, counting, factors, multiplication and division, fractions, decimals, exponents, logic, integers, probability
Beast Academy Level 5 (books 5A-5D, or BA Online Level 5)	5	3D solids, statistics, sequences, percents, integers, factors and multiples, ratios and rates, square roots, expressions and equations
AoPS Prealgebra (next step after Level 5, separate AoPS product)	Not given by the publisher	Prealgebra; the publisher says completing BA Online Level 5 gives the background for it

Grades are the publisher's own guide. Many children sit a level above or below, especially after switching programs.

How Beast Academy placement works

The child enters a grade, then takes one adaptive online test (shared with AoPS courses) that starts at grade-level problems and adjusts to what the child shows.
There is no published cut-off score: the result names the placement directly (Honors Math N = Level N), and BA Online users are dropped into the placed level and chapter.
The test can be retaken at any time.

Open the publisher's placement page

If your child lands between two levels

Lean lower: the publisher's general advice is to start about a level behind the current grade because the problems are challenging. BA Online levels can be changed at any time, and retaking the test from the student profile moves the child to the new level and chapter. Book orders ship at the level chosen at checkout unless changed before shipping.

Problems parents often run into

Placing at the child's school grade often leads to frustration, and many families report dropping back a level or running Beast Academy about a year behind a main program.
The comic-style guide books need real reading stamina, which slows children whose math is ahead of their reading; some parents read the guides aloud.
Contest-style problems can leave a child stuck for long stretches, and parents report needing to step in or find outside help.
Children with math anxiety or a tendency to shut down at hard problems often do poorly with it as their only program.
Many families use it as a supplement next to a more traditional spine rather than as the whole curriculum.

Point of Progress in 20 seconds

Ready to see where your child stands?

See where they stand →

See where they stand →$9.99 · test and report, one payment

Switching to Beast Academy from another program

The publisher gives no specific transition guidance; take the adaptive test rather than going by grade.
It can be used on its own or alongside another program.
After Level 5, the next publisher step is AoPS Prealgebra.

Not just a score. Every skill, and every answer.

The score, with its honest range

Grade 4Grade 6 typicalGrade 9

744, likely range 702 to 787. A good or bad day stops looking like real movement.

Every strand, marked

Number senseStrong
FractionsWorth work
RatiosStrong
ExpressionsWorth work

Five to nine strands per subject, on one scale, so the gaps inside one score show.

Question by question

Add 2/3 and 1/4Answered 3/7. Added numerators and denominators separately, so the common denominator step is missing.

Wrong

Every wrong answer, with the most likely thinking behind it.

What to do next, in order

Common denominators
Simplifying fractions
Ratio as a comparison

Ranked by how much each skill holds the rest back, then practised in the workbook.

Get the report, $9.99 →or add the ten-week workbook built from the gaps, $19.99See the full eight-page sample report

When you don't need a whole level

A placement test answers one question: which book. If your child is mostly on track but shaky in one area, say fractions or paragraph writing, a full lower level means months of review they do not need. Practising just the gaps is faster, and keeps them in the book that fits the rest of their skills.

Questions parents ask

Is it bad if my child places below their grade?

No. Programs pace topics differently, so a lower level often reflects the order things were taught, not how able a child is. What matters is starting where the work makes sense.

Do I need a placement test at all?

If you are switching programs or your child has had a hard year, yes. Starting too high is the most common reason a new curriculum stalls in the first month.