Math and Algebra Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

MathandAlgebra.com is an online learning website intended to provide a comprehensive math education for four levels, Elementary, Intermediate, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. Our oldest child is currently working beyond the scope of these courses, so we tried using the program with our next-oldest child.

With materials based on the Math Essentials books, the creators of this program clearly had a solid foundation off of which to base their work. The interface is very user-friendly and easy to navigate, with the dashboard showing clear evidence of progress for students. The difficulty for us lay in the fact that this program really seemed to be more of a review of prior knowledge, rather than an appropriate introduction of new skills. A 5-minute video lesson was completely inadequate for teaching my 9-year-old how to divide using the MathandAlgebra method, considering this is something her current math book has been working up towards for the past twenty lessons.

There were tears. There was frustration. I couldn't figure out how to instruct my daughter in a concept that she didn't have the proper background knowledge for. So in the end, we realized this was not a good fit for our family at this time. 

I believe this would have worked fine for my oldest child when he was at a lower level in his math. He tends to need just a quick introduction to a new concept, a little bit of practice, and he's good to go. But my daughter needs significantly more practice, becomes frustrated easily, and shuts down emotionally when she's challenged beyond her current skill level with no tools for success. 

She was very excited to be working on an online course, and was always very eager to get started until she reached her breaking point. The lessons were quick and engaging, and she loved the success she achieved in the earlier lessons. Had we been able to progress farther in the course, I think she would have enjoyed the "badges" she would have earned after each quiz. Unfortunately, this was just too advanced for her.

"Basic Math" at the elementary level consists of units on whole numbers (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), fractions, ratios, decimals and percents, geometry, number theory, algebra, and more. Each of these units had anywhere from four to sixteen lessons - perfect for a student who has an easy grasp of new concepts, not right for a student who needs more practice before mastering a skill and moving on. Interestingly, "Advanced Math" doesn't cover as many topics, and has fewer lessons in most of the topics (though it covers much of the same material again) so it was confusing to me to see that "Basic Math" seemed a lot more advanced than "Advanced Math."

I think this would be a very helpful refresher course for an elementary student moving on to pre-algebra or algebra, but it just wasn't right for our needs. Too much prior knowledge was assumed, when what we needed was an introduction, rather than a review. Watching the videos on my own, the instructor really blows through problems without really explaining, which will leave a student terribly confused! Definitely not a program that can be used as a standalone teaching tool. Thankfully there is a free 30-day trial so you can see if this would work for your family or not! At the current sale price it would make a nice supplement for an older student who has finished their current level of math and needs a little refresher before moving on. The first unit for Algebra especially, "Tools for Algebra," would be useful for an older child.

 

 

 

 

 

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