CTCMath

For the last couple of months, our boys have been completing math lessons with the Homeshool Membership from CTCMath.

$CTC Math$

CTCMath is a complete online math curriculum for kindergarten through high school with courses that include algebra one and two, geometry, pre-calculus, calculus and trigonometry. It is an online program that can be accessed on a computer, iPhone, iPod and Android devices. It is a great online maths program that allows kids to work independently.

The website is quite easy to navigate and the video lessons are presented in a way that really helps the student to understand the concept that is being taught. It is a mastery based program, so the students learn and practice a particular concept until they are able to master it before moving to a totally different concept.

As a parent, you are able to set the passing grade in the parent area, though I left our boys passing grade at 80%. If your child doesn’t reach the passing grade, they have to redo the practice problems until they do. Children are motivated to complete with a passing grade, by receiving an award based on their total average – bronze, silver, gold or platinum.

Parents also have the ability to assign tasks if you want your child to work on a particular math concept. This is very handy, as when your child completes the diagnostic test, you are able see which concepts your child needs to work on and assign those concepts to them.

How did we go?

Firstly, being Australian, we used the Australian version of CTCMath which is called Maths Online. This is exactly the same as CTCMath, only it covers math concepts that are in the Australian curriculum. There are 1,664 animated and narrated math lessons and over 50,000 interactive questions as well as diagnostic tests and reports for the parents.

For this review, we have concentrated on grades 4 and 6, with both of our boys starting with a diagnostic test.

Our boys then moved onto the topics, starting in order. The first thing to do is to watch the video of the concept that was being taught. In this program, there are over 1,400 online tutorials that last around 4 – 9 minutes. The concepts were taught with step-by-step instructions using audio and animation to help your child understand the concept.

Under the video, you can see the Lesson Summary which gives examples on what is being taught in the video which you also have the option of downloading as a pdf file to print.

The video is then followed by about 10 interactive questions which need to be answered with a passing score. Immediately after answering each question, your child receives feedback on their answers, whether they are answered correctly or not.

Once they had completed all of the questions for that concept, they were shown their results.

Extras!

Down the bottom of the page, you will find 3 games that your kids will enjoy while working on their math skills.

Speed Skills – Is great for memorising basic facts. Allows students to practice basic math operations and try to get faster.

Times Tables Shoot ‘Em Up – Is a game that helps kids practice multiplication facts.

Swap Pieces – A thinking game that involves swapping coloured pieces from one side of the board to the other with different rules about how each piece moves.

Overall, we have found this to be a solid maths program that our boys have really enjoyed using. It is great to see one that is Australian based! I really like how the boys can work at their own pace, going back to review a concept if they are having trouble with it. I also love that they are able to work independently on their own. For the price you pay, it is a very thorough maths curriculum that will have your child improving their math skills in no time.

To find out more about the Australian version of CTCMath, check out this video of Maths Online. For the pricing for the Australian Version, check out this page.

For pricing for the US Version, check out this page.