As an educator and a parent, I did not learn about IXL until I began teaching at my current school. One of my schools math teachers, who first introduced me to IXL, explained to me that the purpose is to give student's additional instruction in the areas of English and mathematics. What I also found out was that IXL was not restricted to teacher's and student's but parents can also setup IXL accounts to monitor and assist his or her child in their academic growth in these subject areas. 

IXL offers more than 4,000 practice modules on Common Core pre-K through precalculus math skills and on language arts skills for second- through 10th-graders. Kids repetitively practice one at a time, earning points, ribbons, and praise for correct answers, and they get step-by-step explanations for incorrect ones. Once kids reach 100 points for a skill, they earn a medal and a gameboard square. After registering on the developer's site, parents can access progress reports to evaluate kids' strengths and problem areas (commonsensemedia.org).

Parents must first understand that IXL is a comprehensive designed learning course in math and English. There is also fees that come along with using this program. Parents are allowed to partake in a couple of free practice quesitons but if they choose to use purchase the program the cost is $79.95 for an annual subscription or $9.95 for monthly fees. Parents must also be aware that certain devices such as Kindle's and Android devices will only have the math curriculum so they should check first before purchasing. 

IXL site gives kids a chance to partake in independent practice and focus on areas where they need or want to improve. For example, at the sixth-grade level there are 292 types of math-skills-practice activities. Individual reports with item analysis, usage, and other information let parents get specific information to differentiate instruction for their child. The "Trouble Spot" report can be very useful in quickly identifying where kids are having a hard time and where they need extra help.

IXL's practice-and-drill approach may not thrill some kids. But the questions -- which range from basics such as counting to geometry's perpendicular bisector theorem and a range of grammar and vocabulary items -- offer a consistent progression; they increase in difficulty once kids reach the challenge mode. Kids also get detailed feedback if they answer incorrectly, along with the chance to continue with the same skill to try to apply what they've learned, which can greatly improve their comprehension of difficult concepts. Adding a virtual sketchpad and the ability to create student rosters directly in the app would be great. But overall, IXL is an impressive, comprehensive learning resource.