Adaptive Math Curriculum by A+ Interactive Math ~ A New TOS Review!

Math is one of those subjects you either like or don't care for (I'm not going to say the "H" word because my husband is a mathematician), so I like to keep abreast of all that is out there. So when we were asked to review the Adaptive Math Curriculum Online by A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft, Inc.) I knew we'd be able to use it to identify some of the learning gaps in both my two younger children and then work to fill in the gaps with this program.

So, what is Adaptive Math Curriculum Online (which I will for the remainder of this post call Adaptive Math) and how is it different? Well let me tell you a little about the program. First off you will have a parent log-in and then you can create student log-ins. You will choose a grade level to start with and then the program will generate mini tests on a variety of subjects that 'should' be covered for that year. Since I knew there were some gaps for my daughter we chose 5th for her and 3rd for my son, which is the grade he's in currently.

Parent Dashboard

In the Parent Dashboard so you can track progress.

The next step is to take the mini tests. For both of them there were about 14 to 17 tests covering different areas like Number Sense, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, Decimals, and some others that differed from each other - like my 3rd grader has Elementary Algebra while my 5th grader has Algebra 1 (variables) and then she had Word Problems while my son only had Measurement.

Summary Report - green if at grade level and pink if has gaps.

These mini tests take about 30-45 minutes to complete and then my kids were wiped. There did not seem to be a particular number of problems for the tests, just there was a 'goal' Adaptive Math wants the student to hit or exceed. Once you get there, within the allotted time (which there is a time for each problem as well as the test itself) then the program grades the test and produces a test report. They look like this:

The child gets a report that looks exactly like this after a mini-test. 

If you pass the goal you can go on to the next mini test. If not, it will automatically generate a plan that includes lessons on the specified areas that are needing to be worked on (aka GAPS). 

Did not hit the Goal so now there's an "individualized" lesson plan in place.

There are online video lessons that are a recorded voice teaching the "lesson" while work and examples are being done on a whiteboard of sorts. Once the video is done there are some interactive questions. You MUST hit the FROG to SUBMIT your answer before you hit next otherwise you have "missed" the answer even if it is right. This is one issue we REALLY did not like. My daughter would have to go back and rewatch the video lesson and go through the questions again so she could hit the frog. 

Interactive lesson - but only for the ares that need help (gaps).

Then once these lessons are complete you had to go in and tell the system that the lesson was complete to enter the date and click that it was completed. I ended up doing this for both of my children. I'm not sure why it didn't do it automatically, but without this being done it seemed on my parent report that my child hadn't done the days work. 

See the score of 0/7 -- forgot to hit the Frog to Submit her answers.

This one she genuinely missed one.

We decided for my daughter that we were going to work on some of the skills that she seemed to be lacking in and focus on that for a little bit instead of continuing through all the tests to get a full overview of where all her gaps are. She did not enjoy the video lessons and said that the teacher seemed not very excited about teaching. She also became very frustrated when she would not hit the frog and had to redo the entire lesson so that she could get the problems correct. She also has test anxiety of sorts and did not do well when taking the timed tests ... she would let herself get flustered and nervous over taking too long to answer a question and then mess up the question anyways. So for most of the tests we did them together where I sat next to her and I was her hands typing out the answers and ensuring she clicked the answer she intended ... and reminding her on the lesson to hit the frog before clicking next. 

My son really wants to just complete all the mini tests, especially when the last one says elementary algebra. We've been working through them, but since they take us about 45 minutes to get through we are working on them every other day. He seems to be doing fairly well ... although I know some of the areas will give him trouble like dividing, rounding, decimals and possibly geometry. He does the tests mostly on his own, but I do sit next to him to make sure on my Chromebook he doesn't hit the wrong buttons.

I do not think this has been a great fit for us, but I do see how that knowing the gaps of your child that you could definitely focus on those areas and this program could help them get back up to speed. It does have some "fun aspects" with little drawings and the big smiley face at the end of a test on the report, but not many. My son also liked the ability to "test out" of an area. My children felt that the teaching was very dry and boring (which math can be to some). I did notice that anytime I mentioned it was time for math they were not running to start on the program ... that saddens me since all my children are really blessed with a 'math-minded brain'.

I do feel that  Adaptive Math Curriculum Online is a solid program that covers all the areas within the grades covered (1st - Pre-Algebra) and is to the point with little fluff. I also really enjoyed the parent reports. And having immediate feedback on both the tests and lessons is great for the child who needs to know the why right then. Once you pick where the student should begin the computer progress the child through the program in a systematic way while making individualized assessments based on the test results therefore being able to come up with an individualized plan that can help fill in the gaps of your student.

There is another program that others on the Crew reviewed called the Family Math Package. It covers your whole family from 1st through 8th/9th (Algebra) for up to 10 students and you have access to all of it and you just have to assign a grade level. The online worksheets and tests are still graded for you.

There's even a Refer-A-Friend program you can check out as well as Free Stuff (you know I like FREEBIES!) So click below to find out more about the Family Math Package or the Adaptive Math Curriculum Online. And you can find A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft, Inc.) on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.