CTCMath ~ A New TOS Review!!

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have everyone's math curriculum in one location? Would you like to be able to not have to explain the harder concepts of algebra, geometry or even calculus, but still allow your child to get math help in these areas? Well that is exactly what you will receive with a subscription to CTCmath. And as homeschoolers we can get a special promotion with a 6 month bonus through November 15, 2017! After this date the 60% off will still apply.
We've had the opportunity for a Family Membership to CTCMath which allowed my son (3rd), one daughter (6th), and ME (I started with Algebra to get refreshed since my eldest daughter is currently in the throws of Algebra 1) to all work on math at our own level and on our own pace over the last few weeks. We have really enjoyed it and the math videos have been a lifesaver for my younger daughter. She had been fearing math and felt she was "behind", but that has all passed and she is doing fantastic!

About the Product:
Since I had the Family Membership I currently have 3 students working on it ... one of those students being myself! So I am going to give you an overview and then speak to each of the levels we've used over the time we've had the product.

Overview ~~
This is an online math curriculum for K - 12. You can use this for catching up or reviewing, keeping up with your grade, or for moving on since your student can go at their own pace. Each lesson is taught with a short, concise video spoken with clear language (even though the speaker does have a slight Australian accent). You are hearing the information as well as seeing the lesson with diagrams and many examples.

The questions that follow the video tutorial are to test how well the information was retained. You get instant feedback with a red X for wrong questions and a green check for right answers. The variety of the questions is great for making sure all concepts have been fully learned. In some of the higher math areas (like Algebra 1) you will get a worksheet that you can view in the site, as a separate PDF, or even print out and use 'traditionally'. Then you will answer your questions on a separate spot, but you can save your answers and load them when you are ready to submit if you can't do them all at the same time.

There are also reports that keep track of your students progress. You can clearly see where your child might be struggling due to the use of the color-coded grading. Every lesson is recorded and you can see just how long it took your student to complete the lessons, what their grade was, and the date they completed the lesson. These reports are emailed to you weekly and stored on their servers for 3 months.

You can also set tasks that tell the student exactly what you would like them to complete. This would be great if you saw on the report that your student was a bit deficient in an area and you could tell them to do that section again. Or you could use it to schedule when they do their diagnostic tests. There are also checklists (under Tools in parent view) for each grade up through 6th grade and then the math is separated into subject areas (like Elementary Geography, Algebra 1, Trigonometry, and Calculus). You can also browse all the lessons and search for particular lessons in this screen.

When you first login you come to the dashboard and on the left you can see all your students at a  glance. This will tell you how many lessons your child has completed, their last date and time of login and their overall grade. You can also change their profile info here.

Once your student logs in they will go to the main section where they have been working. The check marks show you what they've accomplished and on the right is their grade. On the far right is their little award medallion and it tells you what level they are working on. The student can also rate their understanding of the lessons after they've completed the lesson. At the top of the section there are choices for 3 levels of diagnostic testing. If you are using this as a cumulative test I'd suggest the 20 question. If you are using diagnostics to "test" your child out of an area or to help pinpoint their weaknesses, you'd probably use the standard (30 questions) or comprehensive (40 questions) diagnostic tests.

In the student section you can click on Results and get detailed reports, summary reports, diagnostic test scores, see their awards or tasks, and even access speed skills. One thing I do want to mention is that if your child gets a low score (we have ours set to 80% as passing, so anything under 80 for us is low) if they do not let you see the detailed report of the exact questions they got wrong you can't seem them ever again. You will see the grade, but not the actual questions they were given with their answer and the correct answer. So now if our children get less then 80% they know to bring the computer to mom or dad to see what their issues were.

Now on to how my students felt about CTCMath.

What Seanan thought --- You first listen to the video for about 5 minutes and then you have questions to answer. Each of the 10 questions is different, but on the same topic you that you listened to. Once you are done if you pass (for me it has to be more then 80%) then you can go onto the next section. I like to do 1-2 sections each day. But Friday's are Fun School days so sometimes I don't do 'regular' school on those days.

What Audrie thought --- When we first started I had to do a diagnostic test to see where I was. Mom and Dad checked the results and said I could start at the beginning of 6th grade. I didn't like the program at first because I thought it was too hard for me. I was concerned I wouldn't do good at it. The videos take about 5 minutes for each lesson, If I don't understand the lesson I usually ask my dad for help -- he's a math professor and sometimes I understand his explanation better. Sometimes, if he's not home or available, I listen to the video again.

Then once the video is done there are usually 10 questions covering the lesson. Some of them are hard and others are easier. Like the ones on square numbers were easy for me, but the ones for triangular numbers were harder. If I get lower then 80 I have to do the lesson again (mom and dad have it set to 80% as passing). As you finish the lessons and you have the grades you get a little medal on the right side ... like silver level or gold level.  Then after all of the sections in a particular 'chapter' dad says I have to take a diagnostic test of     questions. These questions cover all the areas and if I get an 80% or higher I can move on.

I feel like I am learning some topics and concepts I haven't learned before. I feel this fits me better then some of the other math programs I've tried. I like that I'm not timed and can go at my own pace, but it keeps track of how long I took for a lesson. I can also do multiple lessons if I feel that I have time in the day and so I could finish a 'year' of work in less time.

What I thought as a student ---
I decided that I would be the "high schooler" and retake Algebra 1. CTCMath does state that after the grade that the curriculum becomes supplemental, rather then a full curriculum. So I made sure to let my husband know that as I started using the Algebra to 'brush up on' my skills. I figured this would be a great time to start that since my eldest is also in Algebra and it's been a while since I was "in school" so it would help me get reacquainted with the subject matter and then maybe even progress further. I'd like to really know my skills and terms better then I do, especially since math is my husband's "thing". As many of you probably already know, he is a math professor and has as Master's in Mathematics and teaches everything from pre-algebra through Calculus 3 and studies other math concepts just for fun.

So I started at the beginning of their Algebra 1 course and I am almost complete with Part 1 (there are 4 parts). Right now I am in the section called Algebra review and I was going over positive indices, negative indices, and fractional indices. What are indices? Powers ... like 3 to the power of 3 is 3 cubed. I was doing well until I got to the fractional indices/powers. The video lesson was only about 5 minutes long and even though I could go back rewind the lesson and pause it, I still felt like it wasn't a complete lesson on the subject. I had to ask my husband to help explain some of it to me. This clearly showed that this was more supplemental and could help give a student extra help in their areas of weaknesses. Most of the other areas I've been working on were the "pre-Algebra" stage. I could have taken a diagnostic and tried to "skip" past the areas I knew, but I wanted to progress as a regular student.

All in all I believe this is a great program and a great price, especially for homeschoolers. Don't forget to check out the free trial and the discount for homeschoolers that comes with an extra 6 bonus months if you purchase by November 15th! BUT this is not just for homeschoolers. This is for anyone needing math help - to get ahead, to work on weaknesses, to catch up ... it will really help you and your student. You can choose from an individual membership or family and either monthly or yearly. The family plan is up to 10 students ... which is A.MA.ZING!!! I know that I will be continuing with CTCMath throughout the next year and hopefully I can progress through the upper level math (even though it is at a supplemental level)f and get a little ahead of my eldest daughter. That way when dad isn't around and she needs help I can be of some assistance. ;)


Want to check it out before you commit? Then click here to the free trial which will allow you to access the first lessons of each section. So check out the free trial, but don't wait long so you don't miss the 60% off + 6 free months! Also be sure to check out CTCMath on Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, Pinterest, AND YouTube. They'd love to hear from you! Also make sure to check out all of our Crew members reviews by clicking the link below! I know we all used it for different areas of math so if you are looking for a particular grade this would be the best way to do it, by reading all the reviews!