Rose Academy: IXL Learning Review

To say that I have enjoyed reviewing IXL Learning would be a huge understatement. I have LOVED adding this simple tool into our homeschool day. I really appreciate that I can go into the dashboard after the kids have completed their work for the day and check up on what they are practicing. I think that's my favorite part. IXL Learning offers practice in reading, math, social studies for grades 2-8, and science for grades 2-8. There is even a Spanish option. For this review I received the full annual membership, in all IXL subjects (math, language arts, grades 2-8 science, grades 2-8 social studies, and intro Spanish).

This has been the most simple product to incorporate into our homeschool day. I simply asked my kids to log in and work on IXL subjects for about 20 minutes per day. The first week, I had them do diagnostic questions. After that they could choose to work in the recommendations section or click on a topic at their appropriate learning level and practice concepts they need help with. For reference my children are in grades 8, 10, and 11. I'm so glad that IXL includes high school level language arts and math. I am also glad for the adaptive learning aspect. As students work through topics and master skills, the accuracy of their skill placement narrows.

Every week, I get emails that show how much the kids have practiced and what skills they have mastered. The kids earn certificates after they have mastered so many questions. I was surprised one day, when we weren't that far into using IXL, to receive an email that one of my children had answered 250 questions. That was pretty impressive to me!

Do you want reports? You can find all sorts of reports if data tracking is your thing. I really never used to be super concerned about data tracking, but this is really actually fascinating to me to watch the data change and grow. It's almost instantaneous as they master skills. The reports show how long they have practiced in IXL and include all of the necessary skills they have practiced, even including the types of questions that the student worked on. I could probably assign skills, but for now my kids enjoy the personalized learning aspect and so I let them work on what skills they think they need help with. My son actually just came up to me while I was writing this review and made sure I knew how much he really enjoys working in IXL. It's fun and challenging but not overwhelming.

Here's what it looks like if your student practices a skill long enough to master it. The questions start out easy. If the student gets the answer correct, they earn points and move on to the next question. If they get an answer incorrect, they lose points and an explanation is given for how to work the problem. They continue answering questions until they reach 100 points. At the 90 point mark, the student enters the challenge zone with questions that really make them think and apply the skills they are mastering. I am super impressed with IXL and highly recommend it as an easy addition to your school day without adding a lot of stress. It's practice that feels like playing a game. It's not a game, but that would be an accurate description because of the point tracking.

I have had all three of my children working in IXL. The requirement that I gave each one was that they need to work in IXL for 20 minutes per day. I am including screen shots for each one so you can see what the reports look like for each one. They show what skills they have been working on and how long they have spent practicing questions as well as how many questions they have answered and how many skills they are progressing in. I really like this simple tool. It shows their progress and gives them confidence. At first the grade levels always showed, but I switched it to hide the grade levels. I leave the practice open for them to choose, but you can always go in and assign skills or tell them to work in a specific area.