By Anonymous
(USA)
ALEKS Online Math Visitor Review:
Last year my 6th grade son used Teaching Textbooks math. We were both very happy with it, and intended to use it again this year.
Over the summer, I spoke with a couple of other moms who had been very pleased with the ALEKS online math program. It had a one month free trial at the time (it usually does I think), so we decided to check it out. My son said that after comparing both programs, that although he liked Teaching Textbooks, he enjoyed ALEKS even more.
It has pie charts and graphics that clearly track the students progress in each area, and the student gets to choose which area they want to work on each day. There are periodic assessments to monitor the students grasp of the daily work that they have been doing, and until they show mastery on the assessment, they will continue to work on that element of the curriculum. I feel that by the time he finishes the pre-algebra that he is taking this year, that both he and I will be confident that he has mastered each element of the curriculum, and that pieces will not have fallen through the cracks, because the curriculum is designed to ensure mastery before moving on.
It is very independent on the part of the student, but both parent and student are at all times aware of exactly how much progress has been made toward the final goal. We will used ALEKS again next year for 8th grade! 🙂