IXL Learning Review

I am excited to share with you today our review of IXL by IXL Learning.  I received a full annual membership to this online program for both my Kindergartner and my 9th grader.  I used this adaptive learning program many years ago with my 9th grader when he was much younger and I REALLY liked it.  It was such a help to me in evaluating and keeping him on task in his math.  Yes, that was back when it was only math.  They had started to introduce the language arts just as I was moving him on to other things.

Little Bug enjoying her lesson

I am so happy to be able to try this program out again with both my kids.  It has grown so much!  They now include not only math and language arts but have added in science, social studies, AND Spanish.  You have access to the following subjects for the following grades:

• Math - PreK through 12th grade
• Language Arts - PreK through 12th grade
• Social Studies - 2nd through 8th grade
• Science - 2nd - 8th grade
• Intro to Spanish - all ages

Please be aware that when they state that it is a comprehensive K-12 program, it is not a full curriculum.  It is truly a phenomenal review type program.  You can use it as a curriculum with help from you.  For instance, when my son was younger, I used it to see where he needed help and then we used other curriculum or resources to fill in the gaps where he needed more learning.  I used the program to continually quiz him on the subject.  Currently, I am using it with both he and his sister as a review program to again determine where their weaknesses lie and where they need more help in both language arts and math.  It helps me to evaluate their progress quickly and easily.  We generally only use it for less than 15 minutes a day and I have instructed my 9th grader to keep it to no more than 30 minutes.  This keeps their mind fresh and allows them to have positive reinforcement.  They both use it daily.

screenshots of sample subheadings within subjects

It was easy to sign up and register our accounts.  You also get a parent account so you can review and test questions out yourself without messing up the stats for your kids.  I REALLY like that each account has access to ALL grade levels.  This is SO important when you are dealing with weaknesses and trying to evaluate where your child is.  If you need to drop down a grade level or move up in certain areas you can do that!

our accounts

When you begin the program there is an option to complete a diagnostic section.  This can help you to place your child in the appropriate grade levels and subjects.  I did not use this for either of my children since I knew where I wanted them to begin and then just used the troubleshooting area to adjust their learning.  Also, when they log on to their accounts it comes up to a recommendation page that recommends areas for them to pursue based on what they have been working on.  I like to have Little Bug play in this a bit but then I switch over to where her lessons are listed to be sure we are covering all the areas I want her to be covering.

9th grade level recommendations

Recommendations for Kindergarten level

There are an unlimited number of questions in the subject areas and each subject area is broken down into MANY subareas so you can really drill down to specifically what topic they need help on.  As they answer their questions, they are rewarded with good job type phrases.  They earn points as they go through the questions and get them right and lose points if they are wrong.  This can be frustrating when they reach a high score and are then bumped back due to a wrong answer, but it also challenges them to acquire the coveted award at the end.  The award area is more encouraging for younger kids, but my 9th grader still hates to lose and challenges himself to do better in scoring.

Good job phrases for positive reinforcement

You can see from your student's dashboard what they have accomplished so far (there are little awards next to subject completed successfully). For more information, there is an "Analytics" section that also shows you how long they used the program, what subjects were covered, what days they were active, how many questions they have answered, etc. The areas covered under analytics are usage, troubles spots, scores, questions, and progress.  This area is so helpful in determining if they are completing their work, how long they are spending, and what you can do to help them progress (areas of weakness).

Analytics

Troubleshooting

Finally, be aware that this is aligned to Common Core Standards (within your own state nonetheless!).  We do not use Common Core, but that being said, I still find the curriculum very useful to us.  You can pick and choose what you want to cover with your child(ren).  There are direct links to the skills listed in this section so it is very user-friendly.  I find this program so flexible and useful to us for our needs.  I honestly can't say enough about it.  Perhaps it is because I have a history with it, but I have also seen the positive results that this program can produce.  I really like the way it quizzes the students and I find it to personally be very efficient for us and the way we do things.  

If you are looking for extra practice or need a program that helps you to fill in any gaps then I highly suggest you check out IXL by IXL Learning.  I really like it for those two reasons and recommend that you check it out yourself.  You can access sample questions for free on the site or sign up for a FREE 30 day trial.  Bonus:  Check out their printables page for award certificates and other fun printouts.  You can connect with IXL on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, and YOUTUBE.

Be sure to check out the other reviews from my fellow Crew members.