IXL works with students to create an individualized experience based on their progress with their skills. With thousands of skills available to practice at their fingertips, students can master math, English language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish from preschool to twelfth grade. This app works with it's user, adapting to each child's needs based on their academic levels. As a student myself, I appreciate how IXL doesn't just give an answer and move on; this app explains each answer so students can actually learn where they went wrong and understand the material which is such an important feature in one's learning experience.

I used IXL many years ago and they have upped their game since then, not only with new subjects (science, social studies, and Spanish), but with helpful new features. The handwriting recognitiion feature is awesome. Students can answer relatively complex math questions by simply writing on the screen with their fingers - even fractions and algebraic expressions are recognized! The scratchpad is also a very helpful feature with such a high-stakes adaptive system. Students can work out the answer without actually submitting anything.

IXL is designed for students to achieve mastery. Your smart score increases little by little, but if you get an answer wrong, it drops substantially. This adaptive approach angers some students, but it really helps students understand the subject matter as they are forced to answer more questions on the topic to build up their score. The questions aren't repeated and they get harder as you go so it requires grit and concentration. Granted, sometimes we click the wrong thing and get penalized, but with IXL you quickly learn to focus 100% as a result. The best part about the IXL app is that when you answer incorrectly, it shows the correct answer, and then goes on to explain the rule/principle behind the correct answer. Not only does it help you figure out what you did wrong, it also gives you tips and reminders for the next problem. With the IXL app you can't fake it and move on to the next skill/concept. The mastery oriented approach combined with the possibility of a drastic reduction in score means deep learning is happening, which is probably why this app has been downloaded 23 million times. It works and it's effective.

I love that the app shows you why the answer is wrong and offers a detailed explanation on how to get to the correct answer (helpful even for me!). In just a few weeks I've already seen improvement. My children are grasping new concepts faster and their math and language arts grades have all improved.