We received a free copy of Honors Algebra 1 High School Math from Thinkwell in exchange for our review. All opinions are based on our family’s use of this product.
Thinkwell – High School Math
It all started with me asking my daughter if she thought it would help to try another math curriculum….again.
You see, my daughter has used so many different math curricula trying to find a good fit. High school math is difficult and we’ve found that changing programs doesn’t make it any easier. It’s still math. It’s still hard.
So when we agreed to try Thinkwell – Algebra 1 Highschool Math. I wasn’t sure what to expect. From the online curriculum or from my daughter. Thankfully, Thinkwell has provided an excellent learning experience that has boosted my daughter’s math ability and moral.
Thinkwell High School Math: Placement Assessment
The first thing Thinkwell is concerned about is making sure the online course you choose is a good fit for your child. They offer a free math placement assessment that helps pinpoint the self-paced online math class that will best fit your child. Upon completing the assessment, my daughter was so encouraged (shocked really) that she was eligible for Honours Algebra! While other programs have felt like a struggle for her, this placement test alone proved that she was doing really well in high school math. We were both so encouraged by the outcome of the placement exam.
Thinkwell High School Math: Daily Work
Having used a variety of different math curricula over the years, we are familiar with many different approaches to teaching high school math. However, one of the missing pieces for us has been a teacher/tutor that actually works out the problems where you can see it in a variety of ways. The layout of the video lesson & digital ‘chalkboard’ to refer to while completing the exercises is EXACTLY what we have been missing in our high school math studies.
High school math seems more challenging – for everyone. Once you embark on Algebra, Geometry and higher math, being able to see the steps taken while you are learning is invaluable. I’ve been known to say ‘ Use a whiteboard! Even Einstein had to write the problems out to find a solution!’
What We Like About Thinkwell
While many textbooks and online courses have large amounts of problems to complete before mastery of a topic is achieved, Thinkwell takes a slightly different approach. Thinkwell offers practice problems with each section, quizzes, practice tests and finally chapter tests. The assessments section keeps track of the grades, so you and your child can see exactly what the current grade is. We really like that!
Maths mastery is important in many areas, but it can be difficult for parents creating transcripts to give an actual grade. Thinkwell helps you do that by keeping track of all the scores given for completed work. It is easy to see where your student’s weak points are so you can address them with extra practice when needed.
We also really appreciate the approach of seeing a person work the problems in the video and see how the steps build in the digital ‘chalkboard’ style window that doesn’t close while working the practice problems for the section. For us, that was a BIG win.
There are loads of features of the Thinkwell platform to explore and utilize. The sidebar menu makes it easy to access the different sections in an organized manner. Kids and parents are able to easily move through the units, check grades, and print extra practice problems.
We really like having a digital math tutor, online textbook, and printable workbook all in one place. We truly appreciate all the effort on the part of Thinkwell to create such a useful, online high school math curriculum that even struggling math students can succeed in.
Don’t take my word for it. Read what others are saying about 6th to 8th Grade Math and High School Math courses from Thinkwell.