MathXL, introduced three years ago to help math teachers with lessons, allows students to practice certain math skills.

Teachers assign MathXL work as homework or students use it as a means of studying for a test. There is a tutoring component on the homework assignments, so students can get help with problems and redo similar problems until they understand the process.

“[Repeating problems] can help you understand it more if you don’t quite get what you are doing,” Nick Houy (11) said.

In a poll of WSHS students, 64 percent of 368 students said MathXL does help, mainly because it teaches them how to do the problem as opposed to marking their answer wrong then moving on to the next question. In the same poll, it was found that 50 percent  of 368 students prefer MathXL homework over textbook work.

While MathXL does have its advantages, some students find it frustrating.

“[MathXL was] very time-consuming,” James Donlon (11) said.  “Sometimes teachers made me show my work on a separate sheet of paper, but it did reinforce the lesson.”

Susan Campbell, who teaches traditional Algebra II, AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB, assigns homework on MathXL and gets positive reactions from her students.

“My students seem to like it because they get immediate feedback, and they know they’ll get a grade for it,” Campbell said. “Also, it is convenient for me because the homework is already graded, and I don’t have to use class time to check homework.”

Luis Herrera, who teaches traditional Algebra II and Intro to College Math, assigns quizzes and homework on MathXL to his traditional Algebra II class.

“This way, not everything comes from one teacher,” Herrera said. “They have a chance to explore different options of learning at home or anywhere outside the classroom.”

Although MathXL does have its advantages, students face drawbacks such as formatting issues or glitches within the program. The user is given multiple tries when answering a question, and the answer has to be formatted specifically. The student may put the correct answer in fraction form and get it wrong for not putting it in decimal form. Points are also taken off for every failed attempt.

“I would improve MathXL by including an avenue within the program that lets students text or video chat another person to provide multiple avenues for information input,” Herrera said.

MathXL has made a great impact on the way students learn math skills. Nowadays, most students are attracted to anything having to do with technology, and MathXL combines the use of technology and vital Math skills needed to succeed in school.