Are you on the hunt for an effective, comprehensive online math program for your children? Look no further than CTCMath! In this post, we’ll explore seven compelling reasons why CTCMath might be the perfect online math solution for your homeschool. I’ll also share our personal experience with the program, giving you an insider’s view of its features and benefits. Let’s dive in and discover why CTCMath could be a game-changer for your child’s math journey!
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What is CTCMath?
CTCMath is an online mathematics program designed for students from elementary school through high school. Founded by Australian teacher Pat Murray, CTCMath offers a comprehensive curriculum that covers all major math topics. It is an incredibly popular curriculum in the homeschool world because it is so effective, flexible, and affordable.
The program uses a combination of video lessons, interactive questions, and various practice tools to teach and reinforce mathematical concepts. It’s designed to be flexible, allowing students to work at their own pace and focus on areas where they need the most help.
CTCMath can be used as a primary math curriculum or as a supplement to other math programs, making it suitable for homeschoolers, after-school support, or anyone looking to improve their math skills.
7 Reasons to Try CTCMath
- Flexible and Cost-Effective: CTCMath offers a complete math education from elementary through high school levels. And the best part? A family membership gives ALL of your kids access to ALL levels in the program for a full year! It’s an incredible pricing structure and a huge blessing for families with multiple children. (Plus 50% off for homeschoolers!)
- Step-by-Step Video Tutorials: Each lesson begins with a clear, concise video tutorial. These videos break down complex concepts into easily digestible steps, making even the most challenging math topics approachable. Students can re-watch the video any time.
- Interactive Questions & Immediate Feedback: Following each video lesson, students engage with interactive questions. The immediate feedback feature allows learners to understand their mistakes and correct them on the spot, reinforcing learning in real-time.
- Progress Tracking: CTCMath provides detailed progress reports for both parents and students. This feature helps identify areas that need more attention and celebrates achievements, keeping everyone informed and motivated.
- Help & Support: The tutorial videos and program support are also excellent. I highly recommend going through the Parent User Guide (accessed by clicking the “Need Help?” button when logged into your parent account) before diving into the program with your kiddos. It won’t take long!
- Adaptive Learning: The program tailors the learning experience to each student’s needs. It analyzes their performance as they answer the questions and makes adjustments to the difficulty level and which questions are presented. Students can focus their time more on areas that need improvement instead of ones they’ve already mastered.
- Focus on Understanding and Mastery: Lessons build upon each other and various measures of understanding are provided. Not only does it note when they’ve passed it (parents can indicate what percentage is required to pass) but it also challenges students to really demonstrate mastery, encouraging them to go through the question set a few times and using stars to show their level of mastery.
Our Experience with CTCMath
This past year, my 6th grader hit a wall with math that nearly tanked her motivation and confidence. CTCMath was just right for her and really saved the year. She no longer dreads math and is making good progress with it. I’m so thankful for homeschool resources that are a win for my kiddos’ needs!
Here are the features of CTCMath that have been highlights for both of us:
- Videos and Questions – We found the video tutorials to be clear, concise, and engaging. (The cool Australian accent doesn’t hurt, either!) If my daughter ran into a difficult lesson, she would re-watch a video or have me come along and watch it with her to get another perspective on it. So far we haven’t had any need to supplement with outside resources.
- Ratings / Measures of Success – There are several ways that the program indicates lesson success. (See screenshot below.) I find them all helpful and my daughter really seems to be motivated and encouraged by them:
- Grade – the percentage they’ve achieved correct on the lesson
- Passed – a checkmark on the left that displays when they’ve passed, based on your settings
- Mastery – star rating showing her level of mastery of that lesson topic
- Self-Rating – she can even indicate her level of satisfaction with her lesson performance!
- Levels – a prize ribbon showing her average lesson score and and tips for how to get to the next level
- Parent Reports – I get a weekly report of her activity and can go in and see a more full report of all her work across the course. It’s a super helpful way to get a quick view of where she is with her math.
- Review & Evaluation Tools – Diagnostic tests can help you determine areas of lower levels that your child needs more review on. Some use them as unit completion tests, too. Weekly revision sheets are built-in to the program for up to grade 6. They are helpful ways for students to review concepts as they go. My daughter needed review, and this helped with that. When she “lost” a concept, we could go back and review it. The Question Banks are similar to weekly reviews except you as the parent build them yourself and have control over what is covered, difficulty level, order, etc. These can be useful for custom review sheets or for any review sheets after 6th grade. You can also set up exams for evaluations.
- Other features – CTCMath has several other features that we’ve enjoyed. Speed drills and multiplication games help them build their math skills. There are also some skills we haven’t really used or needed yet, but you might! Printable checklists are available for parents to track lessons and grades. You can assign tasks to kids and specify completion dates. We haven’t used it much but occasionally do for assigning question banks or diagnostics. There is also a course planner available to set up more complete courses for each kid using the lessons.
A Few Power Tips to Remember
- Smart Search Feature – CTCMath makes it easy for us to look up past skills and topics to review with their smart search features!
- Hiding grade level on question bank questions – If you have a kiddo who is struggling or perhaps started a level down to catch up with some skills, this is a nice feature.
- Use of diagnostics – Do grade lessons in order and provide practice sheets and exams. If you need to move over in the middle and aren’t sure if you should start a grade over or where to place them, use the diagnostic exams. Diagnositcs can also be used as end-of-term or end-of-year exams.
- Print worksheets – Do you want your kids to write out their math problems? It is a good approach! The interactive questions that come after the video lessons are not available as worksheets (because the questions change based on your student’s input) but there are several other ways to get printable worksheet practice and then input the worked out answers into the online system:
- From Kindergarten through to Grade 6, the Printable Worksheets are available in the form of the Weekly Revision Tasks.
- From Grade 7 up to Grade 12, you will start to notice that each lesson offers a printable worksheet. CTCMath says “This is because you will come across topics like Geometry, Calculus etc and these topics go beyond what can be input via a keyboard. You are also required to draw diagrams, examples and ‘working out’ needs to be shown.”
- For any grade level, you can create a Question Bank and print a worksheet from it. There’s also an option to add the answers and print that, too, so you have it for corrections.
- Get support! – There are actually several features in CTCMath and it can be easy to get lost or have questions. Don’t flounder! Here are ways to get help:
- I highly recommend going through the Parent User Guide (accessed by clicking the “Need Help?” button when logged into your parent account) before diving into the program with your kiddos. It won’t take long!
- Email or call them if you have questions, need help coming up with a plan for getting started, or have a child stuck on a math problem. You can find their contact info when you log into your parent account. We haven’t had need for this yet but I have heard they are very helpful and responsive!
- Join the CTCMath Parent FB group. If you have a question, it’s likely someone else has, too, and asked it in the CTCMath Parent FB group. Search the group to find quick tips and answers! CTCMath often replies to those questions directly, so look for their answers.
Bottom Line on CTCMath
CTCMath has been a fantastic addition to our 6th grader’s homeschool curriculum. It’s wonderful to see progress and her confidence improving with this program. The price and convenience can’t be beat, either! If you’re looking for a new math program, I recommend giving CTCMath a try! With its free trial option, you can explore the features and see if it’s the right fit for your family.
Remember, every child learns differently, so what works for one might not work for another. However, with its adaptable approach and comprehensive coverage, CTCMath offers a solid foundation for mathematical success.
And did I mention it’s 50% OFF FOR HOMESCHOOLERS and one family account covers ALL kids and ALL grades? ❤️ Such a great deal!
by Stephanie, The Multi Taskin' Mom