If you have read my articles for very long either here or on Pure Homeschooling you will know that I always recommend a math program called ALEKs math. ALEKs is very strong program that works well for homeschool families. If you want more information specifically about the program then you will want to read,
1. The initial assessment which is basically a placemnt test takes about ½ hour. Some students get frustrated because they can’t tell how long the test is. One question at a time pops up on the screen. If you see them struggling, just have them answer that they “haven’t learned that concept” yet. Or have them take the assessment over a 2-3 day period in smaller chunks. The program will automatically save everything they have done and go right back to that screen when they log back on.
2. Once the intial assement is complete, the student will be given a screen with a pie graph that shows them what they will need to complete to finish the course. The student then selects one area on the pie graph to work onn. They can ask for an explanation of a concept while working on ALEKs or simply try to solve the problem themselves first. If they go to the explanation, have them print out the page and keep a notebook to study from. For High School level student, these notes should be copied or summarized in the students own writing to be used for later study. Some parents allow their student to use handwritten notes for testing.
3. I personally, let my student use the measurement conversion table on the assessments. I have chosen to do this because I don’t want them to spend their time memorizing this information when it is readily available as an adult.
4. When you need a hard-copy work sample-go to the top bar and click on “worksheet”. This will generate a worksheet with several different types of problems similar to what your student has been working on in the program. An answer key will also be generated for you the next time they log into ALEKs.
5. When deciding how much to have your student complete each day…take the number of concepts they need to learn (look at the pie chart after the assessment is complete) and divide this be the number of school weeks you have left in the school year. My son does all of his review on Fridays. Review problems and prompts are generated by the program, And he usually has to complete about 3 items each day. This will vary for each child.
6. Plan on your student “losing” some of what they learned after each assessment. Assesments are given periodically. As a parent you can set the frequency of assessments. Let them know 5 steps forward, 2 steps back. This is expected and normal so tell them ahead of time that they won’t pass everything on the first try.
One Comment
Excellent points, especially 5 steps forward, 2 steps back. This really annoys some students, but ALEKS is for mastery, not learn and forget