Last December, I reviewed Aleks online math program, and how it worked for my 13 year old daughter. (You can read that review HERE.) As a member of the Homeschool Crew, I was asked to take a look at the changes Aleks has made to their master account system and how parents can use that in homeschooling. I didn't really cover the master account at all in my last review, so this follow-up will focus solely on the master account.
In the master account, you can change your student's course levels, create quizzes for them, and view their quiz results. The quiz feature is a new option that allows you to either create a customized quiz where you select each type of problem that will be included, or let Aleks create a quiz from recently learned material. You can set a date for the quiz, edit the questions, and choose how many problems will be on the quiz. After your student takes the quiz, you can view their results.
There are progress reports you can view (and print) that show the hours per week your student is spending on Aleks, the items they are learning per hour, and the hours or weeks expected before they reach their goal. You can also receive your student's progress report by email. Printing the progress report provides proof of the grade your student is earning, their progress, and their completion of the math course.
The master account also allows you to view their pie chart which shows the topics they should be learning and what percentage of each topic they have mastered. It also shows what percentage of the total course they have mastered, and how many hours they have spent on the course. This is the same pie chart that your students can view while they're working in Aleks. My daughter loved seeing her progress on her pie chart!
The attendance chart is great for tracking the time spent working on Aleks each day, the topics they've attempted that day, and the topics they've mastered. For those who are required to track hours or days of school, and especially for those required to turn in paperwork -- this is a helpful feature. You can print a monthly attendance sheet for each child.
The Quick Tables feature is a great resource for students in grades 3 and up. It is a tool for basic math facts mastery: addition facts, subtraction facts, multiplication facts, and division facts. When students master another 20% of their table, they earn an interactive math game to play. Parents can set the level of facts they want presented to their child, and assign a new assessment or worksheet. The Quick Tables chart shows you the hours they spend on each section of math facts, and their progress.
The costs of an Aleks subscription vary, based on subscription length, and the number of students. The cost for one student is $19.95/month, or $99.95 for 6 months (one month free), or $179.95 for 12 months (saves the most money). There are family discounts available if you have more than one student.
If you'd like to try out Aleks with your student, or see how the master account works for you, you can sign up for a one-month free trial of Aleks. While my daughter enjoys Aleks, and I'm impressed with the new features they've given to the parents in the master account, it is still not an affordable option for our family.
Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.
Trusting in Him,
April
