Because I have a child that doesn't enjoy math, we have tried a number of different math programs, including several online math programs, in an attempt to find a good match for her. I admit I had never heard of MathandAlgebra.com before we were given a one-year subscription to review the program. I was pleasantly surprised by what we found.
What is MathandAlgebra.com
MathandAlgebra.com is an online math program based on the Mastering Essential Math Skills books by Richard Fisher. Mr. Fisher was a math instructor for a California school district for more than 31 years and was the recipient of several awards, including the Intel Innovations in Teaching Award. Using his math program, thousands of students have improved several grade levels of math in a single year!
If you have a student that struggles with math, this program may be the help you've been looking for.
There are two subscription plans offered:
- $15 per month
- $99 per year
Both plans give you access to all four courses for up to three students. There is even a generous 30-day free trial to help you determine whether the program would be a good fit for your family.
The four courses offered are as follows:
Basic Math
The Basic Math course offers 85 lessons, 10 quizzes, and 1 final quiz.
Advanced Math
The Advanced Math course offers 65 lessons, 8 quizzes, and 1 final quiz.
Pre-Algebra
The Pre-Algebra course offers 44 lessons, 11 quizzes, and 1 final quiz.
Algebra
The Algebra course offers 90 lessons, 10 quizzes, and 1 final quiz.
How Does This Online Math Program Work?
MathandAlgebra.com is incredibly simple to use, but also a powerful learning system.
For each lesson, students begin by watching a short but informative video, during which the teacher works through the teaching and examples. There are no distractions in the video, just the whiteboard and the work.
After watching the video, students will complete a printed worksheet. I love that it's printed and not on screen. I prefer paper for math problems!
Every worksheet has four sections:
- Review Exercises- a short review of previous concepts taught
- Helpful Hints - a very concise summary of the lesson and at least one example problem
- Lesson Problems - several problems to practice the concepts learned in the lesson
- Problem Solving - a single word problem to practice the lesson concept
When the worksheet has been completed, the student or the parent/teacher can use the provided answer key to check the problems.
There is a quiz at the end of each chapter and a final quiz at the end of the course. Quizzes are very short, with only five questions that are answered online and automatically graded.
What We Thought About MathandAlgebra.com
My daughter has been working through the Advanced Math course, focusing on the Geometry section. She has previously used the Mastering Essential Math Skills books that this program is based on, which she sort of liked, but for whatever reason, this online format has been so much better for her. With the online program, everything is right there on the page - the video, instructions, worksheet, and answer key. She doesn't have to hunt for anything. That keeps her focused and relaxed.
I love that it's a mixture of video teaching, which she prefers, and written work on paper.
I only really have two things that I wish were different.
- I love that the worksheets are concise and don't include a lot of busywork. However, there are some concepts that my daughter needed a little extra help with and would have benefitted from additional practice problems. Unfortunately, there are none available with the program. I had to search for worksheets from another source that covered the topics.
- While I can appreciate the automatic grading for the quizzes, I do wish that the quizzes had a printed paper option. I also wish that they were a bit longer than 5 questions. There are some chapters that cover well over 5 topics, so some concepts aren't touched on in the quiz.
Don't Just Take My Word For It
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