Ezra Learning vs Rod and Staff
Rod and Staff is a print textbook curriculum for preschool to Grade 10 from Rod and Staff Publishers of Crockett, Kentucky, sold through dealers and taught by the parent; Ezra is a Grades 1–9 online curriculum priced for the household. Here is how they compare, line by line. Facts checked October 14, 2026; sources at the end.
What each one is
Rod and Staff is a print curriculum from Rod and Staff Publishers of Crockett, Kentucky, which does not sell on a website; families buy it from dealers such as Milestone Books, whose pages and prices we use here. It runs from preschool through Grade 10 and covers Reading, English, Math, Spelling, Penmanship, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, Health and Bible, in hardcover textbooks, workbooks and teacher's manuals that the parent teaches from. The Grade 1–4 readers are Bible stories: the Grade 3 reader, "God Leads His People", retells Old Testament history from David through the captivity and stories from the Gospel of Luke. A Grade 3 Complete Program Set — every subject, 36 items — is $370.60 at the dealer, and a Basic Program Set is $328.65.
Ezra Learning covers Grades 1–9 in Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography, with about 6,900 hands-on practice skills and 1,220 narrated lessons, each with a printable sheet. Scripture (Berean Standard Bible) is read word for word in every strand of every subject; there are no cartoons, games or characters. The Family plan is $15 a month per household, up to six children, and the first two sections of every subject and grade are free.
Rod and Staff fits best when…
Choose Rod and Staff if you want paper and no screen at all, you want a plain, orderly textbook course in every subject including Science and Social Studies, you want readers that are Bible stories from the first grade, you like teaching from a teacher's manual and marking the work yourself, you want books that last — hardcover texts and manuals passed to the next child, only the workbooks bought again — and you want the whole year for one child for a few hundred dollars with nothing to renew.
Ezra fits best when…
Choose Ezra if your children are in Grades 1–9, you want the lesson taught by a narrated voice with a drawing rather than by you from a manual, you want practice the child does with his hands that grades itself and a report that shows where he needs help, you want a Bible verse read aloud in every strand of every subject, and you have several children — Rod and Staff needs a set of workbooks for each child, and the price is for the household with Ezra.
The facts, line by line
 | Rod and Staff | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | Grades 1–9 | Preschool–Grade 10 |
| Subjects | Math, English, Spelling, Bible, Geography | Reading, English, Math, Spelling, Penmanship, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, Health, Bible |
| Price | $15 USD a month for the household (up to six children) | $370.60 for a Grade 3 Complete Program Set, per child (dealer price); Basic set $328.65 |
| Free to start | Two sections of every subject and grade, always free | Sample lessons viewable on the dealer's site; no free trial |
| How a lesson is taught | Narrated by a voice, drawings only, watch-only | The parent teaches from a teacher's manual; the child reads the textbook and writes in a workbook |
| Practice | Hands-on: drag, tap, sort, build, drop a pin | Workbook pages, speed drills, worksheets and tests; the parent grades with the answer key |
| Scripture | A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud | Readers are Bible stories (Grades 1–4); "Bible-based" textbooks; Bible courses in the upper grades |
| Printables | A PDF sheet for every lesson + a library of 147 books and packs | Printed workbooks, tear-out drills and reproducible practice sheets |
| High school | No | Grades 9–10 only |
| Science | No | Yes |
| History | No | Social Studies (community, history, geography) |
| Parent reports | Per child: minutes, mastery, needs-a-hand, PDF report | The parent's own grading with the answer keys and chapter tests |
| Screen time | Online, any device with a browser | None — paper only |
| Where to buy | ezralearning.com | Dealers only (no publisher website) |
| Cartoons, games, characters | None | None stated; textbooks with illustrations and photographs, Social Studies lessons in story form |
Facts checked October 14, 2026 on the two sites. Prices and plans change; the links at the end go to Rod and Staff's own pages, and we correct this table when we are told it is out of date.
What it costs your family
The biggest practical difference is how the price is counted. Rod and Staff is priced per student. Ezra is priced per household, so a second, third or fourth child costs nothing more.
Ezra: $15 × 12 at the introductory price (normally $19 a month). Rod and Staff: $370.60 a year per child, dealer price for the Grade 3 Complete Program Set (Reading, English, Math, Spelling, Penmanship, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art — 36 items); the chart multiplies by the number of children. Dealer prices from milestonebooks.com; Rod and Staff Publishers does not sell on a website. The Grade 3 Basic Program Set (31 items, without the charts, practice sheets, tablet, music and art) is $328.65. Teacher's manuals and hardcover textbooks can be kept for the next child; workbooks, tests and worksheets are bought again.
How a lesson is taught
A Rod and Staff lesson is taught by the parent from the teacher's manual, which reproduces the pupil's page with the answers filled in and gives instructions for preparation, practice sheets and drill time. The child reads the textbook or reader, then writes the exercises in a workbook or on notebook paper — in Grade 3 math there are 170 lessons across four workbooks, with a separate booklet of tear-out speed drills and another of chapter tests; in reading, 150 lessons across five units with a workbook of recall, matching, time-order, outlining and map exercises after each story. The parent marks the work with the answer keys. There is no screen and nothing to renew: the hardcover textbooks and manuals serve the next child, and only the consumable workbooks are bought again.
An Ezra lesson is a short narrated slideshow: one voice reads every word while a simple line drawing builds up on the slide — no cartoons, no characters, no questions asked of the child inside the lesson. The lesson ends with a Bible verse read aloud, and every lesson has a printable sheet for the child to do on paper. Then the child goes to the practice skills of that strand, which are hands-on: drag the pieces, tap the picture, build the number, sort the words, drop a pin on the map.
Where the Bible sits
Both programs are Christian. Rod and Staff's dealer describes the material as "Bible-based textbooks and curriculum courses". The Grade 1–4 reading program is the Bible Nurture and Reader Series — "all the lessons are based on Bible stories" — the science course aims that pupils "recognize God as the Creator", and Bible is a subject of its own in the upper grades. The dealer's pages do not name the Bible translation used or state a church affiliation. In Ezra, Scripture is not a subject on the side. Every strand of Mathematics, English, Spelling and Geography closes with a verse from the Berean Standard Bible, read aloud word for word, and a Scripture practice skill sits at the end of every strand. Bible is also a subject of its own in every grade, with a character strand (obey right away, tell the truth, no quarrelling) in each. The verses are never paraphrased.
What Rod and Staff has that Ezra does not
Preschool, Kindergarten and Grades 9–10. Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, Health and Penmanship as courses of their own. Readers that are Bible stories from the first grade, in hardcover books a family keeps. A teacher's manual for every subject with the pupil's page and answers side by side. Chapter tests, speed drills and worksheets on paper. No screen, no account, no subscription, and a low price for a whole year of every subject: one child's complete Grade 3 for $370.60 at the dealer.
What Ezra has that Rod and Staff does not
A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud word for word from the Berean Standard Bible, and a Bible subject in every grade from Grade 1. A lesson that teaches itself: the child presses play and a calm voice walks him through it with a simple line drawing on every slide, so the parent is not the teacher of every lesson in every subject. Practice the child does with his hands — dragging, sorting, building, dropping a pin on a map — generated endlessly and graded on the spot, with a parent report that shows mastery, minutes and where he needs a hand. Geography as a subject of its own with maps the child touches. A printable sheet for every lesson and a library of 147 books and packs. One price for the household, with nothing to buy again for the next child. And two free sections of every subject and grade, so a family can see all of it before paying anything.
Questions families ask
Is Rod and Staff cheaper than Ezra Learning?
For one child in Grade 3, a Rod and Staff Complete Program Set is $370.60 at the dealer (Milestone Books) and Ezra is $180 a year at the introductory price. Rod and Staff is bought per child, though the textbooks and teacher's manuals can be reused for a younger child and only the workbooks bought again; Ezra is one price for the household, so two children are still $180.
Where do I buy Rod and Staff?
Rod and Staff Publishers of Crockett, Kentucky does not sell on a website. Families order from dealers such as Milestone Books (milestonebooks.com), whose pages and prices this comparison uses, or by phone and mail from the publisher.
Does Ezra Learning cover high school?
No. Ezra covers Grades 1–9. Rod and Staff runs to Grade 10, so neither program carries a student through Grade 12.
Does Rod and Staff have Science or History?
Yes. Rod and Staff has Science and Social Studies textbooks, as well as Music, Art, Health and Penmanship. Ezra teaches Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography, and leaves out Science and History on purpose.
Is Rod and Staff Christian?
Yes. Its dealer describes the books as Bible-based, the Grade 1–4 readers are Bible stories, and the science course sets out to show God as Creator. Ezra is Christian as well, with a Bible subject in every grade and a verse from the Berean Standard Bible read aloud in every strand of every subject.
Which one needs more of the parent's time?
Rod and Staff is parent-led: the parent teaches each lesson from the teacher's manual and grades the work with the answer key. Ezra's lessons are narrated and its practice grades itself, so the parent reads the report and helps where it says the child needs a hand.
Are these facts current?
They were checked on October 14, 2026 on milestonebooks.com, a Rod and Staff dealer, and on ezralearning.com. Rod and Staff has no website of its own, so dealer prices may differ from the publisher's; the links under Sources go to the dealer's pages, and we correct this page when we are told it is out of date.
Where the facts come from
- Rod and Staff Grade 3 Complete Program Set — milestonebooks.com (dealer)
- Rod and Staff Grade 3 sets and items — milestonebooks.com (dealer)
- Rod and Staff curriculum information — info.milestonebooks.com
- Grade 3 Reading "God Leads His People" set — milestonebooks.com
- Ezra Learning: pricing and curriculum pages, October 14, 2026.
Rod and Staff is the name of its owner, used here only to identify the product. If you represent Rod and Staff and a fact here is wrong, write to hello@ezralearning.com and we will correct it.
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