Parents' Guide to IXL

Website https://www.ixl.com/
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Common Sense Media Review

Erin Brereton By Erin Brereton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 5+

Hundreds of learning activities build skills and confidence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 5+?

Any Positive Content?

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Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1,592 parent reviews

Parents say the website is more of a source of stress than an educational tool, with users reporting feelings of frustration and humiliation due to its harsh scoring system. Many reviews emphasize that rather than facilitating learning, it often leads to anxiety and negative emotions, leaving students feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

  • stressful experience
  • harsh scoring
  • negative emotions
  • discouraging learning
  • not educational
Summarized with AI
 

 

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age 11+

Based on 6,342 kid reviews

Kids say this website is a source of immense frustration and stress, often describing it as torturous due to its punishing scoring system that penalizes minor mistakes harshly. Many students report feelings of anxiety, dissatisfaction with learning, and even physical symptoms like tears or damage to personal property as a result of the required assignments, urging teachers to stop using it in classrooms.

  • stressful experience
  • punitive scoring system
  • detrimental to mental health
  • not effective learning
  • widespread dissatisfaction
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 6342 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Data are sold or rented to third parties.
  • Data are shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
  • Data are collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
  • Data are used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
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What's It About?

IXL offers more than 7,000 practice modules on Common Core pre-K through high school math and language skills. It also features language arts, science, and social studies for second- through eighth-graders. Kids repetitively practice one lesson at a time, earning certificates and virtual awards that reflect their favorite animals, foods, places, and hobbies for completing work, and they get step-by-step explanations for incorrect answers. After registering, parents can access progress reports to evaluate kids' strengths and weaknesses. Kids can write their responses, which is especially good for younger kids. There are also audio supports and on-demand Spanish translation.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1,592 ):
Kids say ( 6,342 ):

This academic skill-building site/app provides independent practice and focus on areas where they need to improve, but be aware that some kids don't love it. In terms of practice, for example, at the sixth-grade level IXL presents 320 math skills practice activities. Parents can view kids' scores for various skill exercises, the questions they answered, and other specific information to differentiate instruction for their child. The "Trouble Spot" report can be very useful in quickly identifying where kids are having a hard time and where they need extra help.

IXL's practice-and-drill approach may not thrill some kids, and some could feel they need to focus on getting the answer right every time, instead of viewing each exercise as a learning experience. But the questions -- which range from basics such as counting to geometry's perpendicular bisector theorem, as well as a range of grammar and vocabulary items -- offer consistent progression. They increase in difficulty once kids reach the challenge mode. Kids also get detailed feedback if they answer incorrectly, along with the chance to continue with the same skill to try to apply what they've learned. This can greatly improve their comprehension of difficult concepts. Adding tools like a virtual sketchpad would be great, and the subscription cost, which kids will need for full access, may be a deterrent for some parents. But overall, IXL is a comprehensive learning resource.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how practicing skills with IXL leads to confidence and accuracy. What's a skill you struggled to learn that you possibly could have studied with the help of a site like IXL? How did you feel when you improved? What other skills would you like to improve?

  • How can you use the math skills you're practicing in the real world? When do we use addition in everyday life? How about algebra?

  • Kids can see an explanation if they enter an incorrect answer. Does your child feel stressed out if that happens? Talk about why it's OK to not get things right sometimes when you're learning something new.

Website Details

  • Subjects : Language & Reading : reading , vocabulary , writing clearly , Math : addition , algebra , arithmetic , counting , division , equations , fractions , functions , geometry , graphing , grouping , measurement , money , multiplication , numbers , patterns , probability , ratio , sequences , shapes , statistics , subtraction , Science : astronomy , biology , chemistry , ecosystems and the environment , energy , plants , weather , Social Studies : geography , government , historical figures , the economy , timelines
  • Skills : Self-Direction : work to achieve goals
  • Genre : Educational
  • Topics : STEM , Numbers and Letters
  • Pricing structure : Free to try (Kids can access 10 free questions in each overall subject area per day. A core subjects subscription is $19.95/month or $159/year; a pre-K to 12th-grade math and language arts subscription is $15.95/month or $129/year; an individual math, language arts, or Spanish subscription is $9.95/month or $79/year; and Spanish exercises can be added to any other package for $5/month.)
  • Last updated : December 11, 2025

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

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