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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Review of IXL Math


As a member of the TOS Review Crew, I received a six-month subscription to IXL Math.  I have long wanted to try this site replete with math practice at all levels, but I have always been somewhat anxious about the price.  I can safely say that I am no longer anxious about the price at all.  It is well worth what I now consider to be a nominal charge!

What is IXL? Used in more than 150 countries, IXL is a full complement of practice math problems from Pre-K through Algebra (with plans for even higher levels of math!).  


IXL is aligned to state standards, so you can always be sure that your child is on-level for math skills acquisition.  Of course, if your children are like mine, it is wonderful to have the option to be able to work on higher levels of math.  When gifted kids skip levels of math, or complete them in about half the time, having access to a practice site like IXL is invaluable.  You, the parent, can make sure that your child really has mastered the skills at a particular level of math! How can you be certain, though, that your child is doing what she says she is doing on IXL? Thorough reports are emailed to you weekly and, with your parent account, you can keep up with all of your children's progress.

Reports tell you the amount of time your child spent on IXL altogether, along with a breakdown of individual skills attempted and mastered.  Finally, you are shown a "SmartScore." Using a proprietary algorithm, IXL gives your child a numerical rating for each skill.  They are even color coded so you can see where your child stands at a glance! Green means your child has mastered the skill in question.  Blue is good.  Orange is satisfactory.  Red is better get more practice! Finally, the report gives you a pie graph so you can see at a glance which skills your child spent the most time on.

So parents get reports...what's in it for kids? Awards!




Students earn achievements and certificates for completing levels and skills.  Kids who like some visual element to a reward will love this feature!  Also, for kids who like instant feedback, the SmartScore is continually updating on the right side of the screen.  Seeing that number edge up is a huge incentive to keep practicing! (The picture below is of a problem from a grade level my children are not studying, but it does illustrate the feedback instantly available to your kids.)


What do you pay for 2,000 practice problems at all levels?

I'm not ready to make a final decision, but I strongly suspect that we will be purchasing IXL when our complimentary subscription ends.  There is just so much here!


My kids love IXL; to see how other kids responded, have a look at the Crew blog!


Disclaimer: I received a subscription to IXL math free in exchange for my honest review.  Honestly, I don't love math, but I do love IXL! The subscription was free, but that is my honest opinion!

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. "IXL has math exercises, but not for free. Based on our experience, we prefer to use Beestar, which also offers math exercises as you want. Better than IXL, math program on Beestar is always free to use. At the same time, the quality of math questions is much better than you think. Most students like its honor roll, which gives them more motivation. This website is recommended by my kid's school.
    Besides math program, there are many other accessible exercises related to core subjects such as reading, writing. science and social studies. If you keep using, there's a big chance for you to make huge progress.
    My son's teacher said that many math questions on Beestar come from real life so young children would feel math is interesting. This actually gives children more experience in solving real life problems. I remember my son asked me for $10 to spend in supermarket after he solved the ""money"" questions in math exercise."

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