ALEKS
by McGraw Hill
This app has not yet been evaluated against our instructional invariants. The analysis below is based on independent research.
ALEKS does not meet our data transparency standard. Its privacy policy does not reference COPPA and does not reference FERPA.
The Bottom Line
Partially. While The Learning Standard has not yet evaluated ALEKS, its core mechanics rely heavily on knowledge space theory and adaptive mastery-based progression. It accurately maps a student's current math knowledge and delivers targeted practice. However, its sparse instruction relies primarily on text-based worked examples, which can overwhelm students lacking foundational reading comprehension skills.
Pros
- Uses continuous adaptive assessments to pinpoint specific gaps in mathematical knowledge.
- Employs mastery-based progression to ensure foundational concepts are secured before introducing advanced topics.
- Provides immediate, step-by-step worked examples to support independent problem-solving.
- Utilizes spaced retrieval practice by periodically re-testing previously mastered topics.
Cons
- Lacks robust multimedia instruction, relying heavily on text-heavy explanations that frustrate struggling readers.
- The strict mastery requirements can cause fatigue if students repeatedly fail to pass specific knowledge checks.
- Offers limited contextual or real-world application problems, focusing primarily on procedural fluency.
Does ALEKS Actually Teach?
ALEKS is a highly effective tool for mathematical skill-building and gap identification, provided your child learns well from independent, text-based instruction. The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated ALEKS, but the platform operates on proven learning science principles, specifically adaptive assessment and mastery-based progression. Instead of moving your child through a standard curriculum based on grade level, ALEKS constantly assesses exactly what mathematical concepts they have mastered and what they are ready to learn next. This prevents your child from wasting time on concepts they already know or struggling with material they are not prepared to tackle. However, parents must understand that ALEKS is an assessment and practice tool rather than a traditional teacher. When your child makes a mistake, the system provides a written worked example detailing the correct steps. If your child struggles with reading comprehension or needs visual and auditory instruction to grasp new concepts, they will likely experience frustration. It requires self-direction and persistence. Use this program as a powerful supplement to classroom instruction or active tutoring rather than a standalone curriculum for struggling learners.
How Does ALEKS Help Students Learn?
ALEKS uses a personalized, mastery-based progression model driven by continuous adaptive assessment. The system begins with an initial diagnostic test to construct a detailed map of your child's current mathematical knowledge space. Based on this map, the platform generates a visual pie chart showing mastered topics and unlocking only the specific concepts your child is mathematically ready to learn next. Students select a topic from their pie chart and work through a series of practice problems. If they answer incorrectly, the system provides a detailed, step-by-step written explanation. To achieve mastery of a topic, your child must answer multiple questions correctly in a row without assistance. Once a topic is mastered, it is added to their knowledge pie. ALEKS also employs spaced retrieval practice by triggering periodic comprehensive assessments. These forced knowledge checks ensure that your child retains previously learned information over time, and if they fail to demonstrate retention, those topics are moved back into the learning queue for review.
Where Does ALEKS Excel and Fall Short?
The biggest strength of ALEKS is its hyper-accurate diagnostic engine, while its biggest weakness is the lack of multimodal instruction for introducing new concepts. Adaptive knowledge mapping is where ALEKS excels, utilizing a sophisticated algorithm to ensure students only encounter material they possess the prerequisite skills to solve. This eliminates cognitive overload and builds confidence through sequential success. The platform also successfully implements spaced retrieval practice via routine knowledge checks, a learning science strategy proven to interrupt the forgetting curve and transfer mathematical procedures into long-term memory. However, the instructional delivery mechanism presents a significant barrier. When introducing new material or correcting a misconception, ALEKS relies almost exclusively on text-based worked examples. While worked examples are a validated instructional scaffolding technique, the lack of audio, video, or interactive manipulatives means that students with lower reading proficiency or those who need dynamic visual representations often struggle to decipher the explanations. Furthermore, the strict mastery-based progression can lead to behavioral frustration; if a student makes a careless error during a periodic assessment, they can lose credit for previously mastered topics, forcing them to repeat drills.
Is ALEKS Right for Your Child?
ALEKS is best for self-directed students in grades 3 through 12 who need targeted math practice to fill specific knowledge gaps or accelerate past grade-level standards. Because it relies heavily on reading text-based explanations, it serves independent learners who possess strong reading comprehension skills and the persistence to work through frustration. It is highly effective for high school students preparing for standardized tests or college-level math courses. However, it is not recommended as a primary instructional tool for students who require hands-on manipulatives, engaging multimedia, or significant emotional support to push through mathematical anxiety.
Frequently Asked Questions About ALEKS
Is ALEKS free?
No, ALEKS is not free. It requires a paid subscription, which is typically purchased either by school districts for institutional use or by parents through individual consumer subscriptions. For families homeschooling or seeking supplemental tutoring, monthly or yearly access plans are available directly through the McGraw Hill website. Because it provides continuous adaptive assessment, many parents find the cost justified compared to traditional private tutoring, though it remains a significant investment compared to free alternatives.
Is ALEKS good for elementary students?
ALEKS is only appropriate for older elementary students in grades three and up who possess strong independent reading skills. Because the platform relies heavily on written explanations and text-based worked examples rather than video or audio instruction, younger learners often struggle to use the program independently. If your third or fourth grader is easily frustrated by dense text or requires dynamic visual models to understand abstract math concepts, they will likely find the platform overwhelming without active adult supervision.
What does ALEKS teach?
ALEKS teaches mathematics ranging from foundational third-grade arithmetic all the way through advanced high school courses like PreCalculus, Trigonometry, and Chemistry. The curriculum focuses heavily on computational fluency, procedural execution, and targeted algebraic operations. It excels at teaching specific, discrete mathematical rules and procedures through repeated practice. However, parents should note that it places far less emphasis on conceptual, open-ended problem solving or real-world application, making it better for skill drilling than deep conceptual exploration.
Is ALEKS safe for kids?
Yes, ALEKS is completely safe for children to use. It operates within a closed, secure educational platform with no social networking features, no direct messaging capabilities, and zero external advertising. The interface is strictly academic. All student data collected by the system is used exclusively to power the adaptive learning algorithm and to generate detailed progress reports for parents, teachers, and administrators, complying with standard educational data privacy regulations.
How does The Learning Standard rate ALEKS?
ALEKS is currently pending a full evaluation by The Learning Standard. Once formally reviewed, it will be assessed against our rigorous learning science methodology, which examines pedagogical effectiveness, cognitive engagement, and instructional scaffolding. Our experts will specifically look at how well its knowledge space theory translates to actual student retention. Parents and educators can check our methodology page to learn more about the specific criteria we use to determine if an app actually teaches.
ALEKS vs Khan Academy: Which is better?
Khan Academy provides better primary instruction through comprehensive video lessons, while ALEKS offers a far more precise adaptive diagnostic assessment. If your child needs mathematical concepts explained to them from scratch using visual aids, Khan Academy is the superior choice. Conversely, if your child needs a surgical assessment tool to identify specific missing math skills and enforce strict mastery through repeated drill practice, ALEKS is much more effective. Both are excellent tools, but they serve entirely different pedagogical purposes.
Is ALEKS COPPA compliant?
No — its privacy policy does not reference COPPA. The policy does not explicitly mention or reference COPPA.
Is ALEKS FERPA compliant?
No — its privacy policy does not reference FERPA. The policy defines education records similarly but does not explicitly reference FERPA by name.
Does ALEKS have a children's privacy policy?
No — it has no dedicated children's privacy section. There is no dedicated Children's Privacy section explicitly laid out in the provided text.
Does ALEKS sell student data?
No — its privacy policy states it does not sell student data. "We will not sell end user PII or use information from educational records for marketing purposes."
Can you delete your data from ALEKS?
Yes — its privacy policy describes how to delete your account or data. "You may request erasure of a) PII that has been processed unlawfully; b) PII whose retention is unnecessary"
Data Transparency
ALEKS does not meet our data transparency standard. Its privacy policy does not reference COPPA and does not reference FERPA.
11 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated April 2026
View privacy policy →View all 35 checks
Parent Access1/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“"For Customers For End Users For Parents For Candidates" indicates a specific parent section.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“The policy directs data subject requests to the institution; parents viewing child data is not explicitly mentioned.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
“The policy does not mention parents having the ability to modify their child's data.”
Can parents delete their child's account?
“The policy does not state that parents can delete their child's account.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“There is no dedicated Children's Privacy section explicitly laid out in the provided text.”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“The policy does not explicitly mention or reference COPPA.”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“The policy defines education records similarly but does not explicitly reference FERPA by name.”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“The policy does not explicitly state a requirement for parental consent for child accounts.”
Data Portability2/5
Can users access their personal data?
“"You have the rights to access, export, be informed about, rectify... your PII."”
Can users download/export their data?
“"Data portability: You have the right to export your PII from our systems in a readily accessible file type."”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
“Users must use a Data Request Form or contact a privacy official, rather than a self-service tool.”
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
“States "in a readily accessible file type" but does not name a specific data format for export.”
Is there an API for data access?
“The policy does not mention API access for personal data.”
Data Minimization2/6
Is data collection itemized?
“"we collect your name, school, instructor, class, and login information."”
Can the app be used without a real name?
“Does not explicitly state that the app can be used without providing a real name.”
Can the app be used without an email?
“Does not explicitly state that the app can be used without an email address.”
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“"limiting the collection of personal information to only what is required to help individuals"”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
“Mentions collecting IP address but does not state that it is anonymized or truncated.”
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
“The policy does not explicitly exclude location tracking.”
Third-Party Protection4/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“"We will not sell end user PII or use information from educational records for marketing purposes."”
Are third-party providers named?
“"Third-party service providers we use include: AddThis Adobe Baidu DoubleClick Eloqua Google..."”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“"we will require that such third parties follow the same privacy and security practices as McGraw Hill."”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“The policy mentions sending targeted advertising: "send you targeted advertising during your visits to other web sites".”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
“The policy does not explicitly address AI or machine learning data sharing.”
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“There is no explicit restriction on sharing data specifically limited to children.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“"If you wish to opt out of the use of data collected on our site to send you targeted advertising..."”
Deletion & Retention1/5
Can users delete their account?
“"You may request erasure of a) PII that has been processed unlawfully; b) PII whose retention is unnecessary"”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
“Users must use a Data Request Form or contact a privacy official for erasure, not a self-service mechanism.”
Specific data retention timeline?
“States retention for "the minimum amount of time necessary" without specifying an exact timeline.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
“The policy does not mention the automatic deletion of inactive accounts.”
Post-deletion handling described?
“The policy does not describe how data is handled after a deletion request is processed.”
Advertising1/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“The policy mentions targeted advertising but does not explicitly disclose a formal advertising model.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
“The policy does not state the service is free from third-party ads.”
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“"We will not sell PII to other organizations, nor will we market to students using the information from their educational records"”
Ad-free option available?
“The policy does not mention an ad-free subscription or option.”
What This Means
This app does not provide adequate data transparency for parents. This may mean you cannot easily access your child's data, understand what information is collected, or request deletion of personal information. We recommend considering alternatives that provide better data transparency, or using our template letters to request your data rights be honored.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of ALEKS's privacy policy using the Common Sense Privacy Program framework. Evaluation covers 35 binary checks across 6 dimensions. Privacy policies can change — this evaluation reflects the most recent version we analyzed.
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- 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
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