Every grade. Every next step.
Caveat Academic Services is a secondary and post-secondary education company for students in grades 6 to 12 and their families. We cover the whole path in one place: getting ready for high school, every core class and elective, college credit earned in high school, the college list, applications and aid, and the first semester of college. Families in any state work with us online.
Special education is our specialty. Caveat was founded by a special education teacher, and families of students with IEPs, 504 plans, learning disabilities and autism are at the center of what we build.
What families use Caveat for
Courses and free tools
Practice courses for every core high school class, 34 electives from psychology to computer science, High School Ready for grades 6 to 8, and SAT Prep. Free readiness checks, college pathways, planners and calculators, with no sign-up.
See the Caveat shop →Special education and autism
Help reading and improving an IEP or 504 plan, a partner for meetings, transition planning, autism support, and evaluation help: a free checklist of common signs, guidance on who can evaluate, and a reading and writing evaluation with standardized tests. We don't diagnose; licensed clinicians do.
Special education at Caveat →Credit, admissions and aid
Real college courses taken online in high school with weekly support, a balanced college list with net prices, applications and essays the student writes, the FAFSA and aid offers compared line by line. Each college decides how credit counts.
Explore college pathways →Your Caveat advisor and Spotter
Monthly plans add a weekly check-in with your Caveat advisor, a plan for every class, and a weekly update for parents in Spotter, the family app. Every self-paced course is included.
See plans and prices →Why Caveat exists
Capable students rarely struggle because the material is too hard. They struggle when the structure disappears.
Caveat was founded in Phoenix by Marcus Shaw. He finished high school at 16 and started college expecting more of the same, then left at 19 when nobody was checking in. Years later he came back through an online, competency-based university with a plan and a reason to keep going, and finished four degrees in two and a half years.
That gap between the first try and the second is why Caveat exists. Self-paced and online learning work when someone puts the structure back: a plan, a weekly check-in and an adult who notices. Years in special education taught him the same lesson from the other side: when the plan fits the student, students do things nobody expected.
Founder background
Marcus Shaw, Founder. Arizona educator since 2012, from one-on-one student support to running a high school program.
Where he has worked
Roles held
Courses taught
Assessments administered
Four degrees
- Special Education
Bachelor of Arts in Special Education (B.A.) - Curriculum and Instruction
Master of Science in Education (MS.Ed) - Business Administration
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Management and Leadership
Master of Science in Management and Leadership (MSML)
All four earned online at Western Governors University in two and a half years.
How we work
Students do their own work. Always.
We plan, explain and keep things on track; we don't tutor and we don't do coursework. We help break big projects into steps and help students recover when they fall behind. The thinking, writing, studying and submitting, and the results, belong to the student.
Everything is online, and parents stay in the loop
Check-ins happen by video, and much of Caveat is self-serve. Parents are copied on messages to students, and ongoing plans include a weekly update in Spotter.
Why online learning
Online and self-paced courses let students take ownership of when, where and how quickly they learn. Acceleration works best with structure, and Caveat provides that structure without taking away the independence that makes online learning valuable.
Honest about what we can promise
We never promise grades, admission or credit transfer: each college decides how credit counts and whom to admit. We show the published policies and the real numbers so your family can decide.
A caveat is the detail you need to understand before you make an important decision.
From the Latin for "let them beware": look closely before you commit. Every grade brings those decisions, from the math track in 7th grade to the first college course and the aid offer. Our job is to make sure no detail gets missed, so your family can decide with confidence and your student can get from "I could do this" to "I did it."
And because every good name deserves a backronym: College, Approached with Vision, Effort And Thought.
About Caveat.
A secondary and post-secondary education company for students in grades 6 to 12, built by a special education teacher. Self-paced courses, free tools and your Caveat advisor for every grade and every next step, for families in any state.
Founded by Marcus Shaw, MS.Ed, MBA, MSML · in education since 2012
