IXL
Reviews and Complaints

As I perused through various reviews about IXL, I could not agree more with what people were saying about it. Firstly, there seems to be an overwhelming number of skills to be completed by a student in one grade year. However, this is just a personal opinion. Secondly, it would be great if IXL had a survey to assess the academic skills of a child or even an adult. For instance, if a 6th grader is starting with IXL and is not very good at exponents or addition, then IXL should focus on making the child do what they are already good at and keep the other areas separate in a different section to practice if they so wish. Thirdly, the “smart score” feature seems to be rather discouraging and does not help much in motivating the child. It needs to be replaced with something more positive like a point system. Fourthly, the “Challenge Zone” is supposed to be an optional challenge, but it feels more like a mandate than a choice. The fifth issue I have is with how the skills are explained. The explanations given are often quite unrelated to the skill problem in question, and there should be more clarity and specificity to the explanations. Furthermore, students should be given the option to look back at the explanation in any part of the skill they are working on.

Sixthly, I have noticed that IXL has an unsettling influence on children, making them unhappy and sometimes even depressed. Although I have been using IXL since Kindergarten and I am now in sixth grade, I have not really learned much from it! I know my academic skills are good in real life, yet I have not been able to enjoy IXL at all because of its terrible teaching system. It would have been so much better if IXL were to fix their “minor” mistakes. Doing IXL daily at times also makes me sad, angry or even depressed. I have often felt like destroying my computer or throwing my iPad outside, but my parents do not seem to care much about how I feel about IXL. They keep on encouraging me to do it even though I have spoken to them a number of times about what's wrong with IXL.

As a student myself, I can assure other students and families reading this review that IXL can do so much better than what it is currently doing. I would honestly recommend Khan Academy or Prodigy over IXL any day. Sometimes, I have even cried while doing IXL in front of my parents, but it seems like they are not taking any action to help me feel better. I implore parents not to make their children suffer through IXL. This critique comes from a 12-year-old who has been a user of IXL for several years.

I'm afraid I cannot repost offensive content. It is important to use respectful and appropriate language when writing reviews to ensure that they are helpful to others who might be considering using a certain platform, like IXL. If you have any constructive feedback to provide, please do so in a respectful and thoughtful manner.

IXL (ixl.com) has an infamous point system that raises the ire of many users. It often feels like the point system is overgoverned, where one wrong answer can take you down from a 99 to a 0. The point system could use some improvements, such as lowering the point score reduction or providing more points per correct answer. Moreover, when you enter the challenge zone at 90, you don't leave even when your scores are lower, leading to frustration and possibly cheating.

If you imagine that you're the only one who dislikes IXL, think again. Many people hate it, which is evident in reviews posted on common sense.org by adults and kids alike. And most of the five-star reviews are potentially fake bots. One review narrates a classmate throwing a $500 laptop towards the teacher while in frustration. Although some of the positive reviews could be genuine, they're usually outweighed by the negative reviews. There's even a petition on change.org attempting to ban IXL, which needs more signatures.

The reward system can also be a letdown. The images are random and unintuitive. Most of them aren't even impressive, so there's little to brag about. The points required to earn them are also high, so obtaining them can become quite tricky.

The time spent on IXL is enormous. Teachers assign the amount of work students have to complete each week, which, in some cases, is too intense. It can mean hours of doing exercises instead of being able to relax or engage in other activities. If the reward system were improved, it might be easier to stay attentive, but that still wouldn't solve the problem of stress caused by this learning platform.

Homework is another issue. It's challenging, especially when students are already overwhelmed with the other subjects and activities they have to do. There should be a separation between school and home; students need a break from their school activities when they're at home. Instead, teachers could offer little daily tests to monitor students' progress rather than assigning homework.

Overall, it's easy to understand why so many people dislike IXL. It's difficult, frustrating, and a waste of money for schools to invest in memberships. It's time to reconsider this platform and examine alternative modes of education better suited to students' needs.