Online Math Practice for Kids

This site (http://www.ixl.com/) provides excellent supplemental math material and practice for pre-k up through eighth grade. It provides reports that show "which problems students missed, where students' trouble spots lie, how they've progressed over time, how much knowledge they truly understood and retained." They also show how long a student took to complete each problem. This is valuable information for a teacher. The site also provides feedback to students so that they understand why they got an answer wrong. For example, when I answered incorrectly that n = 8 in the equation n x 7 = 49, the site walks me through how to solve the problem using inverse equations. However, I do think it might be more valuable for a student to get a reminder about inverse equations then to be given the opportunity to attempt the problem again. Also, although I though so at first, after I had completed a bunch of problems, I got a message saying that I reached my maximum daily limit and that if I wanted to continue, I would have to become a member, which costs $9.95/month. I suppose this isn't horribly expensive, but these small costs certainly add up. I think that a school would have to make the decision about whether or not they want to invest in a technology such as this. It wouldn't be fair to ask parents as some would have the means and others most likely would not. This would create an unfair and uncomfortable situation.