Science Shepherd: A Rubric Review

Science Shepherd is a Christian science publisher. Its central proposition is that the parent who cannot or does not want to teach high-school chemistry should not have to, the program puts a teacher on video and expects the parent to get out of the way.

Last updated: 2026-10-29 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist (science); video-taught with text, workbook, and lab work
Worldview	Christian-evangelical (young-earth creationist; biblical creation framing through high school)
Grades	1-12 (introductory science through high-school biology, chemistry, physics)
Formats	Streaming video plus print text, workbook, and lab kits
Cost tier	Standard to Premium
Parent intensity	2
ESA-common	Science Shepherd appears in the Arkansas Participating Service Providers finder (retrieved October 2026)
Accredited	No (curriculum only)
Established	Mid-2000s by Dr. Scott Hardin; current operations led by John and Lisa Falcioni (scienceshepherd.com/about-us)
Website	scienceshepherd.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Solid college-prep biology; chemistry and physics on the lighter end of homeschool science options
Ease of teaching	5	Video instructor handles primary teaching; parent role is accountability and grading
Content quality	4	Video instructors present clearly; text and workbook are well-aligned
Flexibility	3	Subject-modular at high school; video-text-workbook-lab integration locks the components
Value for money	3	Mid-tier pricing; comparable to Apologia video; not the cheapest YEC option
Worldview scope	1	Specifically Christian-evangelical young-earth-creationist throughout
Visual/design	4	Clean video production; modern by Christian science publisher standards
Support resources	4	Active customer service; co-op presence; growing community

Who the publisher is

Science Shepherd was founded by Dr. Scott Hardin, a board-certified pediatrician who began the company in the mid-2000s with the original Introductory Science curriculum for elementary students (scienceshepherd.com). The high-school-level catalog (biology, chemistry, physics) is built around video instruction, the program's signature feature.

The publisher's market positioning is the explicit alternative to text-only Christian science programs. Where Apologia was historically text-driven with optional DVDs added later, where Berean Builders / Wile is structurally text-and-solutions, and where Bob Jones University Press builds video into a broader curriculum offering, Science Shepherd was designed video-first from the high-school-level offerings forward. The video instructor is the primary teacher; the text and workbook are supports rather than the spine.

Theologically, Science Shepherd is explicitly young-earth creationist throughout. The high-school biology course treats evolution critically and presents creation science as the publisher's preferred position. The earth-science and origin-of-universe framing is YEC-compatible. Bible content and creation framing appear directly in the science content, this is not a worldview-light Christian science program but an actively-Christian one. Families in the YEC orbit will find the worldview fit straightforward; old-earth, theistic-evolutionary, or secular families will need to choose differently.

The core pedagogy

The pedagogical structure is video-plus-text-plus-workbook-plus-lab, run in tight integration. The student watches the day's video lesson (typically 20-40 minutes for high school), reads the corresponding text section, completes the workbook tasks tied to that lesson, and runs the lab experiment when scheduled (typically twice weekly). The video instructor presents the concept, walks through examples, and points to the text for deeper reading. The workbook reinforces retention through practice questions, vocabulary, and short essay prompts.

The pedagogical commitment is that the video should be the primary teaching surface, not a supplement. This is structurally different from Apologia's traditional model (text-driven with optional video) and from Wile/Berean Builders (text-driven with solutions). Science Shepherd designs the daily lesson around the video, and the text and workbook function as the post-lesson reinforcement layer.

Three signature mechanics define how the program runs day-to-day. (1) Streaming video access. Subscriptions to the video library are typically annual; families log in and stream lessons on demand. (2) Lab kit integration. Optional lab kits ship with the equipment and consumables for the year's experiments; families can also self-source materials using the publisher's published lab supply list. (3) Workbook-driven retention. The workbook is where most of the daily student work happens, and it is where the parent does most of the grading.

What they do exceptionally well

Video instruction quality. The video instructors present clearly and warmly on camera. The production quality is modern by Christian-publisher standards, clean lighting, clear audio, good visual support, and the cadence is appropriate for high-school students. For families whose constraint is that the parent cannot teach the subject, Science Shepherd's video tier delivers what families pay for.

Co-op compatibility. The video-plus-workbook-plus-lab structure adapts well to homeschool co-ops, where the video can be watched together as the lesson, the workbook completed independently, and lab work done as the co-op group activity.

What they do poorly

Chemistry and physics rigor ceiling. General Chemistry and Physics are competent but on the lighter end of homeschool chemistry and physics options, meaningfully less mathematically demanding than Novare's Chemistry or Wile's Discovering Design with Chemistry. Science Shepherd is a good fit for the average college-bound homeschool student in chemistry; it is less optimal for aspiring STEM-major students who need maximum mathematical rigor before college.

Worldview saturation in subjects where it shifts the content. This is descriptive rather than evaluative, the publisher is upfront about the worldview commitment, but it is structurally meaningful. The biology course presents young-earth creationism as the scientific account of origins; the earth-science framing is YEC-compatible. Families who want a Christian frame in Bible and a methodologically-mainstream treatment in science will find Science Shepherd's framing visible across the content.

Cost stack with lab kits and video. All-in cost for a Science Shepherd high-school course with video access and lab kit runs $300-$500 per year per student. This is in the same range as Apologia's video tier and meaningfully more than text-only programs like Berean Builders.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Science Shepherd if: you are a Christian-evangelical young-earth-creationist household; the parent cannot or does not want to teach high-school science; you want a single integrated video-text-workbook-lab program rather than assembling components yourself; you are part of a homeschool co-op that uses Science Shepherd as its science spine; your student is heading to college but not necessarily into a STEM major requiring maximum rigor.

• Skip Science Shepherd if: you are old-earth-creationist, theistic-evolutionary, classical-Christian (in the open-earth sense), Catholic, Orthodox, secular, Jewish, or LDS; you have a STEM-track student needing maximum chemistry and physics rigor (Novare or AP-prep texts are the better fits); you prefer text-only instruction (Berean Builders is cheaper for similar worldview); budget is the binding constraint and a less expensive YEC option (Apologia text-only) suffices.

Cost honest assessment

Science Shepherd high-school course bundles as of April 2026 run approximately $200-$400 per course depending on whether the lab kit is included, with the typical Biology full bundle (text, student notebook, video access, quiz/test pack, and lab kit) clustering around $300-$400 (scienceshepherd.com/products). Streaming video access is typically priced separately for families purchasing only video and self-sourcing lab materials, in the $150-$250 range per course per year.

Compared to Apologia high-school science with video and lab kit (roughly $300-$500 per course), Science Shepherd is comparable. Compared to Berean Builders / Discovering Design with text and lab kit but no video (roughly $200-$350 per course), Science Shepherd is meaningfully more expensive but provides the video instruction Berean Builders does not. Compared to Novare with text, lab kit, and Novare Academy video (roughly $450-$700 per course), Science Shepherd is meaningfully cheaper but materially less mathematically rigorous.

ESA eligibility notes

Science Shepherd appears in the Arkansas Participating Service Providers finder (retrieved October 2026). We found no publisher page that names another state program or marketplace. Each program describes eligible expenses in its own terms: Arizona's statute lists curricula and supplementary materials among allowed expenses; Step Up For Students' PEP Family Handbook lists "Curriculum and curriculum materials" as eligible expenses; Utah's statute includes textbooks, curricula, or other instructional materials; Arkansas's service provider page lists curricula among eligible expenses. ESA-funded families should search the specific state marketplace by "Science Shepherd" and verify each component (text, video, lab kit) before assuming approval.

Alternatives

• Apologia Science, a YEC household would choose Apologia over Science Shepherd because Apologia has an extensive co-op community, a broad convention presence, and a large backlist; the trade is video is less integrated than Science Shepherd's video-first design and the program's pedagogy is more text-driven.
• Berean Builders / Discovering Design (Jay Wile), a YEC household with a confident parent or strong reader would choose Berean Builders over Science Shepherd because, in our assessment, Wile's text-only program suits self-directed learners at lower cost; the trade is no video, which is the central feature of Science Shepherd.
• Novare Science, an open-earth or theistic-evolutionary Christian household would choose Novare over Science Shepherd because Novare presents mainstream-science dating without requiring YEC; the trade is significantly higher mathematical rigor (which is appropriate for STEM-track students but punitive for average ones) and a fundamentally different worldview posture in the science content.