About IXL
Practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math practice fun! IXL motivates students through interactive games and exercises while keeping teachers and parents informed and involved.
With more than 4,000 skills spanning pre-school through high school, IXL offers a dynamic and enjoyable environment suitable for any learning style. Students who use IXL are succeeding like never before.
With more than 4,000 skills spanning pre-school through high school, IXL offers a dynamic and enjoyable environment suitable for any learning style. Students who use IXL are succeeding like never before.
Showing your thinking
Being online doesn't mean students should forget what they know about being a good mathematician. To get the most out of this useful tool, students need to set themselves up for success! This means getting out a small white board or using paper and a pencil to do any figuring. (This does NOT mean using a calculator or getting a friend or relative to give you the answers.) IXL is great because if you do make a mistake, it will walk you through the steps need to get to the right answer. Read these steps carefully, identify where you went wrong, and fix it for the next question.
Keep in mind...
Just like you didn't learn to ride a bike perfectly the first time you took your training wheels off, I don't expect your child to master every skill with ease the first time around. I do not expect 100% mastery on every skill, every time. I care more about your EFFORT and PRACTICE than how quickly you worked or your Mastery Score. Ignore the timer, ignore the mastery score, and use IXL to practice until YOU feel confident with a skill. Remember it may take more than one (or two or three) tries to really learn something... so keep practicing and try your best!
I also like to make kids and families aware that IXL takes points away for wrong answers. This is something I really don't like about the program. Mistakes are an important part of learning, so I think it's wrong to punish a child for not knowing something the first time. The questions also become more challenging the closer you come to a score of 100, and sometimes those questions exceed grade level expectations. Productive struggle is an important part of learning, but if your child is struggling so much that they are shutting down, please reach out and I will find another way to help your child practice this particular skill.
I also like to make kids and families aware that IXL takes points away for wrong answers. This is something I really don't like about the program. Mistakes are an important part of learning, so I think it's wrong to punish a child for not knowing something the first time. The questions also become more challenging the closer you come to a score of 100, and sometimes those questions exceed grade level expectations. Productive struggle is an important part of learning, but if your child is struggling so much that they are shutting down, please reach out and I will find another way to help your child practice this particular skill.