Any experience is ALEKS math programs?

[whatsnextmom]

DS 10 came home from his first day of middle school and told me he would be using the online ALEKS program. He is supposed to be in pre-algebra which is a grade advanced in our district. There are always about twenty 6th graders a year that go this route so not really that unusual. My eldest did this at the same school. However, instead of being in a regular pre-algebra class he's in all "advanced math" class. There are about 20 kids grades 6 through 8th (though only three 6th graders.) They are all considered advanced and doing ALEKS starting at their own level. The class range will be pre-algebra, algebra, algebra II and "possibly" geometry (our county has real issues with middle schoolers taking geometry... sort of annoying.) He has home access and apparantly can go at his own rate.

It sounds good for him. He enjoyed the online 6th grade math program he did this summer that allowed him to skip but it's sort of a curiosity. I guess if he hates it he can move to the regular pre-algebra classes where most of the advanced 6th and regular 7th graders are. There is a real teacher in the class so personal support is there.

Any experience with the ALEKS program specifically? Any experience with any online math program used exclusively within an actual school setting?

[Geofizz]

I spit blood over that awful program. It's nothing but a headache in our house.

In principle it's great. Kids are motivated to fill in their pie, they can decide what to learn next, it provides extra practice for weaknesses, and you can zip through stuff you know.

DD is assigned a fixed time each week (60 min). She can sit there and work hard and spin her brain to the max, or she can sit there and spin on the chair and pick her nose. What do you think she does? There is no way for the student or parent to monitor the time they've spent, so DD lost several points last year because she thought they'd gotten 20 minutes in the week at school, but it was actually just ten.

There is no need to show your work, just get the right answer. This led to some bad habits in a variety of problems of the algebra sort.

If you read the explanation, you do extra problems on a topic. DD interprets this as punishment, so she avoids the explanations at all costs. She can get enough right often by guessing to fake her way through. Taken together with not showing your work, and DD has some odd misconceptions about a variety of topics, all of which she's currently unlearning now that her formal math instruction is catching up to where she is in ALEKS.

To deal with the time, we now assume that she does none in school.
To deal with the diddling, we now require she complete a certain number of topics each week (over the objections of the otherwise very reasonable teacher)
To deal with the reading explanations, for every explanation she prints she gets a Tic Tac.

I'd rather just have extra homework. Better yet, give her toys that do spatial sense type work (relative weakness) or have her play a game of chess.

[whatsnextmom]

So I take it you don't like it? lol. Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's good to hear a perspective from someone it hasn't worked for.

I'm not sure we'll have the same problems though. It seems the program is being used very differently from what you described. Plus, DS is pretty motivated in math, very independant worker and not one to need outside encouragement (at least in that area lol.) He really loved the online program he used this summer. On top of that, the time requirement is a very low percentage of the grade and "A" level equals the the amount of time they'll be using it in class per day. He'll only need to do it at home to make up sick time or if he's not mastering topics within the class period.

We know the teacher in charge is excellent. DD had her when she was in middle school. She knows her stuff. With her overseeing this group of kids, it should work out. If not, there are plenty of regular pre-algebra classes he could transfer into. This one was just going to allow him to move faster.

[Geofizz]

It's interesting, DD is very motivated in math, and now that we're into the dreaded year of sitting in the back of the room with a textbook, she's really into it. We evidently needed a year of "repair work" for her, in which she had to learn that school is a place you can learn. Last year was a subject acceleration in the math into a gifted compressed program, so she's now got a two-year acceleration. On the book, she knows if she finishes her year's assignments before the end of the year, she'll get to do a unit on fractals. So she's motivated to work through the textbook assignments - often doing extra in the evening. ALEKs offers no such motivation for her. When she finishes a grade level, she just gets the next one.

Every year some teachers report that kids race through the curriculum several grade levels in a school year. So it must be motivating to some. I do question how well these kids are learning the material, or if they're developing poor mathematician habits.

We're one week in, and the modifications seem to be working ok. We'll see.

[zebra15]

ALEKS is the math program offered at a new gifted school that J was considering attending next year.  ALEKS is the sole reason (right now) that he will not be applying.

J is currently taking math with CTY and loves it. ALEKS would be nothing but a nightmare for him.  The gifted school would be wonderful, on a college campus, very unschooly (except for ALEKS), tons of enrichment but we are passing until they fix the math portion.

[whatsnextmom]

Originally Posted by zebra15 

ALEKS is the math program offered at a new gifted school that J was considering attending next year.  ALEKS is the sole reason (right now) that he will not be applying.

J is currently taking math with CTY and loves it. ALEKS would be nothing but a nightmare for him.  The gifted school would be wonderful, on a college campus, very unschooly (except for ALEKS), tons of enrichment but we are passing until they fix the math portion.

DS loves it so far. Absolutely loves it.