Parents' Guide to

ExploreLearning Reflex

By Emily Pohlonski, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Fun games, friendly guides help kids build math fluency.

Website https://www.reflexmath.com
ExploreLearning Reflex Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

Community Reviews

See all
age 9+

Based on 36 parent reviews

Alliewolf268
Alliewolf268 Adult
September 21, 2022
age 2+
Did schools really spend $3,000 on a bad game? Really? Seriously? Wow just wow.
2 people found this helpful.
Hilary P.
Hilary P. Parent of 7-year-old
March 11, 2023
age 7+

Anxiety-inducing & teaches kids to hate math

My daughter loves to be challenged and used to love math. Then she started using Reflex & only has negative feelings about it. I've looked at the games and they are just ok, but the focus on speed makes both my kids anxious and they don't really understand why they have to do speed drills at the age of 7. They school also doesn't teach math in the same way Reflex is teaching so there's a disconnect. They are left nervous and unhappy. Maybe real math taught by real teachers is the way to go.
1 person found this helpful.
See all 36 parent reviews

What’s It About?

A character named Crabby walks kids through the set-up. Kids then answer a set of questions to determine their starting fluency. Each game starts with Coach Penny giving them some rules like "Subtracting a number from itself equals 0." Kids practice that rule, and once they demonstrate understanding, they get to play the game to build their speed. As they progress, they earn tokens to redeem for online "prizes." Kids track their growth using the Progress Tree, and parents can view individual reports showing usage and fluency gained.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (36):
Kids say (52):

REFLEX: MATH FACT FLUENCY makes practicing and mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division a lot of fun. The program is adaptive, removing the facts kids already know as they play, which keeps them challenged and wards off boredom. For some math rules, kids may "discover" the math rule simply by playing the game. If not, there's always Coach Penny's tutorial to offer help and support. With Reflex's game-based structure, kids are empowered to own their learning.

The idea behind Reflex is that kids need math fact fluency in order to succeed in more advanced math classes like geometry and algebra. The program doesn't take the math any further than the four operations. However, Reflex provides kids with a foundation for all math learning to come.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about ways we use math facts every day. If you eat 3 of your 5 carrots how many do you have left?

  • Families can also discuss reasons it's helpful to learn math facts. Why is practice important in math, music, sports, and other areas?

  • Even though a site is educational, still be aware of how much time kids spend in front of the computer. Check out our advice for setting computer time limits for your kids.

Website Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended website lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate