I admit it – I was VERY skeptical going into the review that I’m sharing today. When you’ve been around online homeschooler circles for a while, you come to realize, there are some products that are polarizing. People either love them or hate them – there’s precious little lukewarm middle ground.

ALEKS math is definitely one of those.

My initial impression was not much better, after looking over the website and extra information we were sent. The website appears very public-school oriented, ultra-businesslike, full of all those catchphrases that educational administrators love to throw around… all in all, not something that’s going to appeal to most homeschoolers.

So I thought, well, no harm in seeing what the kids think. Had to work that day, so I left them a list of user names and passwords, and showed them the web address and where to log in.

Told them all to try it out for a half hour or so each, fully expecting to return to complaints.

And I was so wrong.

They absolutely LOVED it.

I’m still sort of dumbfounded. I sincerely didn’t think it would appeal to them at all – and instead, they like it nearly as much as our regular math curriculum. Two want to switch, and the other two want it in addition.

Me, well… the visuals and public school double-talk still turn me off, but the software itself? It’s growing on me.

It works like this: one master account, plus however many student accounts. Before the student starts, the parent will need to set up the initial course level. This can be changed, but be aware that changing the level will reset all information on the level already in progress.

Each student has their own individual user name and passcode. On their first session, an assessment will be done. This gives the program a place to start – what they know, and what they need to learn.

The main curriculum topics are displayed via a pie chart. This is something that I thought would puzzle or frustrate my kids, but instead, they didn’t think it was odd at all, and were quite happy to work at “completing their pies”.

The secondary Quicktables math facts practice was a hit – my 9th grader found the games “a little cheesy”, but even he had to admit they were fun and challenging. The very easy-to-understand table completion, plus doling out new games for achieving better scores, has the kids excited and asking to work on ALEKS.

The math courses range from 3rd grade to high school level, and even include some college mathematics. The “3rd grade” designation is flexible – a more important determinant is whether or not the child in question is reading and comprehending sufficiently to enable solo work. Yes, I suppose this could be used with a parent reading each and every question and example – but that isn’t going to be the most effective or efficient way to use ALEKS.

ALEKS is perfect for students who can work on their own. If your situation needs a high level of hands on or person-to-person learning, ALEKS may not work for you. But ALEKS does have a few tricks in reserve. One very nice feature is the measurement tools. These “input tools”, as ALEKS calls them, are conveniently located right where they’re needed. When we discussed likes and dislikes, these tools were mentioned more then once as favorites – no hunting the house for rulers, let alone protractors!

“Protractors?” I asked. “There are protractors in there?”

“Yes”, my 5th grader informed me. “You know, Mom. The half-circle ones, like in the drawer.”

Yes, Mom knew. But she didn’t realize that 5th grader did.

He learned from ALEKS. And yes, the skills were transferable to physical paper and protractor… I checked.

Very little teacher preparation is required for ALEKS. Set it up, make sure the internet connection works, and turn them loose. It’s required little input from me, other then the typical “Have you done ALEKS yet today?” and checking in on scores.

Simple, easy to use – that I can most certainly love. With something like ALEKS, there’s no excuse, no “but I’m not good at math, I can’t teach it”. With ALEKS, yes, you could.

The examples are strong and presented simply. There’s just enough repetition and review of topics to retain skills, yet not be drilled to death. My freshman, doing algebra, appreciates the fact that he would be given similar questions after an error – not beating his head against the same question yet again.

When it comes right down to it, my biggest concern is the cost. We’re homeschoolers on the very-low-income end of the spectrum, and every dollar counts. For us, efficient use of curriculum means that it needs to be reusable through multiple children, and then when we’re done with it, sold as used curriculum. Our current math satisfies both of those requirements.

ALEKS is a subscription service. Pricing starts at $19.99 /month for one student. Price varies based on number of students and months subscribed, discounting applies for family packages.

Now that we’ve spent a month with ALEKS, my feelings are mixed. The kids want to continue. I like the flexibility and low-time-requirements. I’m not ready to make a full-scale change in our main curriculum that we’ve been happy with. I’d be strongly tempted to continue with it as a supplement – but then I run into the price. For us, the price may be the deal-breaker. It’s reasonable for a full curriculum – but hard to justify as a supplement.

I strongly recommend that you take advantage of the ALEKS 1-month trial offer to determine if it will work for your family. It’s not for everyone – but don’t let the main website fool you – it surprised me, and might just be something you’d like, too.

For us – we’ll be experimenting a bit longer. Late last week, the kids had just asked me again how many more days they had left – and I checked my email to find a pleasant discovery. Our trial was extended by an additional two months. We’ll be taking advantage of their generosity, and as time goes by, I’ll share our further adventures with ALEKS.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, ALEKS Math.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2010-11 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**