TenMarks is an on-line math program designed to supplement any math curriculum you are using or you can use it as your main math program. It is designed for grades 3 through high school. In addition, when you sign up, you tell them what state you are in so the program is based on your state standards in math.
Your child is given worksheets they need to complete on a weekly basis. The default setting is 4 worksheets per week, however, you can change that number up or down. Also, if you have a child who works fast, they have the option to fast track the program themselves and work ahead on their own. Before completing the worksheets, your child can watch videos explaining the concept they are working on and they can also choose to do practice worksheets.
The worksheets for grades 3 and 5 are multiple choice questions. For the more difficult problems, be sure your child has paper and pencil to work out the problems. Each worksheet contains 10 questions. If your child gets stuck on a problem they have two on-line ways to get help. They can watch a video explaining the concept they are learning or they can click on the hint button that simply gives them a hint towards the right answer. There are only 3 hints allowed per problem.
Once your child is finished with the worksheet, they are graded. They are also given the chance to go over the problems they got wrong one time and correct them. After they have completed a concept, your child is assigned a test.
As the parent, you have an account that keeps track of your child's assignments and progress. You can go in and choose the order that the math worksheets are given. For example, in grade three, a couple of the math concepts your child would do are time and place value. If my current math curriculum has my child working on time, followed by place value, then I would go in and set up the worksheets so that my child would do time first, followed by place value.
The parent account also includes a summary of your child's work. It shows what has been assigned and what has been completed. In addition, there is a report card for you to check. The report card shows the number of answers they got correct on each worksheet, how many times they used a hint and watched a video and shows their concept strength. If your child used too many hints or gets too many problems wrong, their concept strength is low and they are re-assigned a new worksheet on that concept.
You also have the option to set up rewards. As the parent, you choose how many worksheets they must complete before getting the reward and you choose what the reward is-that means you are responsible for delivering the reward too. :-) I chose not to use this feature.
There is a built in reward system as well. After completing a certain number of worksheets, your child unlocks a game that they can go in and play at any time. The games are quick and reinforce math concepts.
One more thing I almost forgot to mention. There is a pause button available so you can pause the program at any time. I found this useful for the week after Christmas when we were moving into our house. (Yup, my kids worked on school all the way until Christmas Eve this year.)
How we used TenMarks:
I decided to make TenMarks our primary math during this review period so I had the kids do basically one worksheet per day with the exception of our busiest day each week, which varied. Precise Prince absolutely loves math of all kinds. He will occasionally do math in his spare time-for fun. He loved the TenMarks program and used the fast track staying several concepts ahead. He has unlocked all the available games.
Creative Princess would much rather draw, write or do a craft. I had to stay on top of her to make sure she got her worksheets done by the time they were due. Although she wasn't thrilled with having to do math on-line, she did pretty well and she is learning from this program which is really what matters.
PROS:
-The program is on-line and simple to use.
-You do not need to do the grading.
-TenMarks keeps track of your student's progress. Your student can even print out certificates showing they mastered each skill they completed well.
-You and your child set the pace.
-The program is based on your own state's standards.
-The worksheets are short enough to not be overwhelming and if your child needs to do more, you simply add more worksheets to their weekly assignments.
CONS:
-The questions are multiple choice. It is easier for a child to just guess based on the answers and still get a high concept score.
-Since the questions are multiple choice, it would be best to supplement with some problems that are not multiple choice.
TenMarks is only $10 per month per child with discounts if you sign up for 6 months (at $49) and 12 months (at $89). When you sign up for TenMarks, you can ask for an assessment to determine the best grade to start your child in.
(I was given a free 6 month subscription to TenMarks for both of my children in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received.)
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