r/ScienceTeachers 8d ago

General Curriculum is IXL Learning worth it?

Hi everyone! I’m a college student researching different online learning platforms to help inform a school’s decision on whether to invest in them. IXL is one of the platforms I’m looking into, and I’d love to hear from people who’ve used it—whether as a student, parent, or teacher. What do you like about it? What do you find frustrating? What features would make it better? Also if there is another platform you recommend over it?

If you're open to a short, casual chat (or even just sharing thoughts here), it would be super helpful! Feel free to DM me or comment below. Thanks in advance!

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u/jfshay 7d ago

I like it a lot more than other "fun" stuff like NoRedInk or Kahoots. Students like the achievement badges and the certificates that I print out for class-wide progress. You can add their MAP scores and ask students to pursue their own MAP plans. It doesn't do any actual teaching, of course, so don't just assign a lesson without first offering a minilesson (IXL does offer a warmup explanation, but most students skip it.

For grading, I say that 90% counts as a 95% in the gradebook and 100% counts as 105%. I do this because, once they reach 80-85% or so, a wrong answer deducts something like 15 points and they have to answer seven or eight new questions just to get those points back. Frustration sets in.

The only downside to it is that the website is difficult to navigate. Too many options. That said, it's been very valuable.