Last year when the vendor interest form came open for the IXL.com review I missed it. I was so bummed about it after reading all the great reviews. So when the opportunity came for the vendor to be reviewed again I jumped at the chance. I was so excited when I found out we were chosen this year!
IXL offers a comprehensive Online Math Membership geared towards Kindergarten through 12th Graders. They also have a Preschool Math Skills component and they just recently added an Online Language Arts Membership section geared towards 2nd through 4th graders. The skills that IXL offers are based off of state standards if your state has that. Our state of VA does. With iXL you get the following benefits from its program:
~practice that feels like play: gain a whole new appreciation for how fun learning can be!
~ content for your right and left side of your brain: an abundance of questions for every learning style, students can't help but build lasting skills and confidence.
~ practice that keeps you within the zone: Free from gimmicks or distractions, IXL is a place where every minute is spent truly learning.
~ learning that sticks with you: practice environment that rewards hard work and encourages students to learn from their mistakes.
~ numbers that tell a story : progress reports emailed weekly
We received a one year membership in exchange for our review and I have been using the math and LA components with my three youngest children, Mikayla (10), Montana (7) & McKenzie (4). Mikayla is the only child who is using the LA arts component at the 4th grade level just for review. Memberships starts at $9.95 per month or $79.per year for one child. Each additional child is just $2.00 per month or $20.00 per year.
Membership benefits include:
- Comprehensive coverage of K–12 math curriculum. Your kids won't miss a thing!
- Interactive language arts exercises for grades 2–4.
- Unlimited questions in over 2,000 skills.
- Fun and colorful practice formats.
- Questions that adapt to your child's ability, increasing in difficulty as they improve.
- Immediate feedback and question-specific explanations to solidify understanding of each concept.
- Audio for all pre-K to first-grade math skills.
- Weekly e-mail updates on your child's progress.
- Informative, detailed reports pointing out successes and trouble spots.
- Awards and certificates for you and your children to print out as they reach important milestones.
- iPad app for mobile math practice.
Setting up the account was quick and easy. Just log on to the website and fill out the parent information to create a master account. Once that is done you have the opportunity to enroll your children. I created a profile for each of the girls and they picked their favorite picture to recognize their profile. I really liked this for McKenzie. She knows how to read and write her first name, which begins with an "F", but I thought the picture helped to reinforce that that was her special account.
For the math section because Mikayla and Montana are both currently working a year ahead in math I wanted them to do grade level math review. Our current math program is quite comprehensive in my view, so I just wanted to reinforce the skills that they already learned last year to make sure they were solid. For Mikayla that means really drilling her multiplication/division facts and for Montana working with addition facts and time. Because we have access to every level of math offered it has been great to have the girls practice a skill on something they are currently struggling with now.
IXL uses the "smart score" system for its program to help with mastery of skills. Basically, the child starts by answering easy problems for the skill being learned. The more answers they get correct and their "smart score" will rise. If you miss a problem your score will decrease a little but you have the opportunity to raise it back up. 100 points on the "smart score" meter means that the skill has been mastered and your child would then earn an award.
An awards board is available for every level of Math including preschool. It is an incentive system! similar to a sticker chart that is meant to motivate your child to keep practicing. Prizes are given out for mastering certain skills which is fun and you can also get an award for the amount of time you have been practicing a certain skill or the number of questions that have been answered. The award section is all about trying to keep the children engaged and learning. And who doesn't like stickers!
Mikayla used the LA section for review on the days when we missed using our own LA program because we ran out of time. I loved that I could have her log in on the iPad and she could get in 20-30 minutes of LA review on the way to the gym before practice. Initially I wanted to have Montana use the 2nd grade program but I quickly found that it was too much for her without me prodding and giving a lot of hints. She is only in 1st grade so we can save this for next year. 
Overall, we are all thrilled with the content of iXL and what the program has to offer. I am so glad to have been chosen for this review! I definitely think you should check it out for yourself and see if it is a fit for your family. I have not found anything with the program that I dislike and I know we will be continuing to use this subscription until it ends. I also hope to budget in membership fees for next school year so that the girls may continue to learn and get that extra practice! be sure to read the reviews of my fellow CrewMates by clicking on the banner below.
Company ~ IXL.com
Product ~ Online Math Membership & Online Language Arts Membership
Price ~ $9.95 per month or $79.per year for one child. Each additional child is just $2.00 per month or $20.00 per year.
Ages ~ PreK - 12th math, 2nd - 4th LA
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