With resources for Pre-K to 8th grade, IXL Math is a good site for practice and drill. While the site also has a paid membership that includes comprehensive coverage of math skills, the free access provides plenty of interactive practice on a variety of skills arranged by age and topic. The coverage meets state standards and tracks your child’s progress.
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Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Doesn't really teach anything
Grades Used: 3rd
Since I wasn’t sure how comprehensive the school year was going to be this year I signed up for the IXL language arts curriculum. I like that it covers so many topics, but ultimately my child went down considerable in her standardized testing. We used this program every night covering a new topic each time until we reached 100%. We got through about 2/3 through the entire 3rd grade curriculum and there are ~300 topics! It seems like it would be really comprehensive but ultimately I think their curriculum is misaligned with what kids are being tested on. Don’t waste your time or money on this program.
Cons: Glitched Scoring System, Skill System
Grades Used: K,1,2,3,4,5,6
IXL did help me get A+ Grades on my Math Tests but the Scoring system is really bad, it punishes wrong answers, it’s not a very encouraging website to learn from, their 2017 motto, “Practice that feels like play” is an absolute lie, That motto would fit for a learning website like Prodigy. IXL is more of the Baldi Basics of learning
Cons: Scoring/Grading system is unfair
Grades Used: 6th
I enjoy the range of subjects that IXL offers and the amount of curriculum embedded in each subject. It allows my child to explore many different topics within the given subject. I appreciate the analytics and diagnostics that this program offers as it helps me to see what areas my child is having difficulty with and this program even gives recommendations for activities to help with the trouble areas.It also allows me to see an approximate grade level so I can ensure my child is staying on task. The only downfall to this program is the scoring/grading system seems unfair. My child gets so discouraged when one question is answered wrong and the score drops so dramatically. We really have to strive to just keep working ahead and try to disregard the scores so we don’t get discouraged and want to give up.
Cons: scores can drop suddenly and students can get unmotivated, need strong readers to figure out errors on their own
Grades Used: K-12 Math
I use IXL with my students. We use it for the repetition and immediate feedback.
I feel like it’s a great supplement for any curriculum.
The downside as others have said is the scoring system. If students are doing very well and then they get a problem wrong their school can drop dramatically.
This is not unlike ALEKS where if I recall the student has to complete 10 problems correctly after missing one question.
So to overcome that hurdle of accuracy, I have to work with each student’s needs. Sometime, I make it a game with IXL. Get 70 this time, then 80 next time, and then 90 or 100. It works well because it also provides time to go back and review topics.
Or, to build discipline in your students who have the motivation to not give up, challenge them to get 100 every time.
On other limitation of IXL is the variety of problems.
In conclusion, I think IXL is best used to reinforce learning, or to help a student who is constantly struggling with a basic concept overcome their issue by giving them immediate feedback and lots of repetition. I have students use IXL to prep for the SAT, work on multiplication issues, and focus on particular topics. It can be used to help student self-correct and learn how to analyze errors. Student can learn how to read the answer explanations to see what they did wrong, and this in turn helps them be better math learners.
Cons: Can be demoralizing
Grades Used: K, 4,5,
IXL is interactive and keeps a kid’s attention. The points system can be a great thing or a terrible thing. My youngest child loves getting points and that motivates him. My oldest child also loves getting points, and he enjoys the congratulations IXL gives when he gets a question right. But whenever he struggles with a concept, the continual negative feedback with a honking sound become very discouraging to him. We stopped using IXL for him because he was getting so overwhelmed and began thinking he was bad at math. I went back to paper and pencil without the immediate reprimand for being wrong. He’s doing much better now.
Cons: Punishment
Grades Used: 1,3, 6,7,8
IXL will punish students when they get one problem wrong after many correct answers. They will slip from an 86 to a 65 for one incorrect problem after 15 correct problems of various styles in one unit. Students with any learning disability or ADD/ADHD should avoid this software.