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so, tell me more about ALEKS


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is this something that people use as their math program....or as a way to catch up to their math program...or a way to work on math during the summer months?

 

Please give me your experience with this program....and tell me why it's worth the money?

 

Could I use for the next 6 months for my son to prep him for pre-algebra next year.... (coming off a previous thread I started).

 

give me your selling points on this.

 

How long is the free trial? 

Edited by NEprairiemom
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ALEKS was designed to be used by college students (adults) who needed to review math that they had taken earlier in their lives.  It was not designed to be a primary program.

 

ALEKS is amazing at what it was designed to do.  I have used it myself before teaching my children algebra and geometry and it worked great.  I have also had my children use it for review.  They love it when they are quickly filling their pies, meaning that the work is so easy that they're flying through, but when it stops being easy, it stops being fun.  Then I end up having to explain everything because the program is so bad with teaching.  Which is ok in and of itself, but the whole point was for the thing to be independent review!

 

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We used it for 1 year - 8th grade, so Pre-Algebra. I think it worked well for my son. We both chose not to continue after a year, though - he was tired of all the work being done on the computer and I thought it was limiting and he needed to get back to working on paper. But it was a good year with a few pros -

 

1 - he needed to learn to work more independently. I had wanted to use Lials (I had uses it with my oldest) but I knew that he wasn't ready to be let loose with a textbook and we couldn't at that time afford an online class or tutor.

 

2 - he liked seeing his pie chart and knowing his strengths and watching his own improvement.

 

3 - I liked how it gave him extra practice where he needed it

 

4 - I liked that it was hands-off for me, beyond regularly checking to see if he had worked, how long he had worked, and how much he was accomplishing. I don't mind the monitoring, I just mind the math!

 

I think the trial lasted a month.

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I think it is better for older kids but once again it depends on the kid. Our experience was it was a good program. There are free trials so I would try it.

 

We used it because it was a way to get upper level math classes for University credit. You can also get ACE credit for College Algebra, statistics etc. With that in mind it's cheaper than CLEP with the same basic outcome. https://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/ace_credit

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I used Pre-calc for myself.  LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.  Was so so awesome for me.

 

BUT, I would never recommend it as a stand alone instructional program.  It's good for extra practice or review of stuff you already learned.  I actually did use it on stuff I never learned before.  I used some other resources to help me through learning various concepts because that doesn't seem to be the purpose of ALEKS.

 

I'm sad they don't offer Calc because I would use it for extra practice. 

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While I agree that it's usually best as review and supplement, dd is currently using it as her main program for algebra 2 with trig. Math was getting put on the back burner because she is out of the house so often this year, and splitting up lessons doesn't work well for her. The initial assessment and review did a great job of shoring up her base knowledge, and she is definitely making more progress. Usually I would just go with slower progress in the better format, but the ACT looms. 

 

I do know someone who uses it as the main program from early on, and so far she has 3 kids who have started with calculus at college and done fine. Also, textbook integration is available - if you choose this, ALEKS will generate a syllabus and put textbook references on the explanation pages.  

 

The free trial is only like 48 hours now, unless you can find a special code. 

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My oldest used ALEKS to repeat Pre-Algebra when she first came home for school in 7th grade, then continued with it to complete algebra that year. In 8th grade she completed both Geometry and Algebra 2 in ALEKS, then Pre-Calculus in 9th grade. Each year I tried to get her to try somethIng else, but she always fought me. She just liked ALEKS. This year I really thought that she would crash and burn as she went into an online college Calculus class. I thought that ALEKS could not have prepared her well enough for Calculus and that I would finally be proven right after all these years. Well, she got an A in that college calculus class. So, while I am loathe to admit it, ALEKS seems to have done a good job as a stand alone math program in this one example.

 

My younger DD hated ALEKS and we use a completely different math program for her.

 

Hope that helps!

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I used it as a catch up math program for a child who was very behind in math.  LD issues made it take years for him to learn addition and multiplication facts.  Without that fluency, math was an impossible grind.  I used another program (Mastering Mathematics) to get those done, and then used ALEKS as a catch up program.  He worked very hard and came up three grade levels in math over one summer.  I renew the subscription every year.  Since then he has used it as a supplement to Calvert math and now to the math classes he takes online with American School. 

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I do know someone who uses it as the main program from early on, and so far she has 3 kids who have started with calculus at college and done fine. Also, textbook integration is available - if you choose this, ALEKS will generate a syllabus and put textbook references on the explanation pages.  

 

The free trial is only like 48 hours now, unless you can find a special code. 

 

If you could get textbook references you could use it to drive a primary program. Student reads the textbook section, solves a few textbook problems and then uses ALEKS to show mastery. 

 

DS and I used ALEKS in an ASU College Algebra course

Personally I like pencil and paper versus web interfaces for math but your student may like it.

 

https://www.aleks.com/about_aleks

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