Frax
Product by ExploreLearning
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
While The Learning Standard has not yet fully evaluated Frax, its mastery-based approach aligns with strong learning science principles for fraction comprehension. By placing students in a game-based galactic environment, it leverages gamification to sustain engagement, though the heavy reliance on external rewards may distract some learners from core mathematical concepts.
Pros
- Utilizes a mastery-based progression system that requires students to demonstrate conceptual understanding before advancing to new levels.
- Places fraction concepts into interactive, visual number lines rather than relying strictly on abstract numerical representation.
- Incorporates continuous personalized assessment to adjust the difficulty of fraction challenges in real time to prevent frustration.
Cons
- Heavy use of gamification and external rewards can shift student focus away from intrinsic mathematical learning.
- Relies primarily on school-based site licenses, making it largely inaccessible for individual parents seeking home practice solutions.
- Fast-paced game mechanics may frustrate students who require more time to process complex spatial and mathematical concepts.
What Do We Know About Frax?
Frax is an effective, game-based tool for teaching fractions to upper elementary students, though its reliance on a school-based licensing model makes it difficult for individual families to access. Your child will interact with fractions through a space-themed digital environment that emphasizes visual models and length-based representations over traditional rote memorization. This approach aligns well with learning science, as research shows students grasp fractions better when they understand them as numbers on a line rather than just parts of a whole. The platform uses mastery-based learning, meaning your child cannot simply guess their way through levels; they must demonstrate true understanding before the game allows them to progress. While the gamified elements, such as earning tokens and customizing avatars, provide strong short-term motivation, parents should monitor whether their child is focusing on the math or just clicking through to get the next reward. Because Frax adapts to your child's specific skill level, it prevents frustration by keeping the cognitive load manageable. However, since The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated this program, parents and educators must independently verify if the in-game progress translates to offline mathematical fluency.
How Does Frax Work?
Frax uses a personalized, game-based pedagogical approach built around visual fraction models and mastery-based progression. Students enter a galactic storyline where they must complete specific math missions to pilot ships and explore new sectors. Instead of presenting fractions as abstract equations, the platform requires students to manipulate digital blocks and number lines to solve problems. This leverages embodied cognition and visual-spatial processing, helping students build a concrete understanding of magnitude and equivalence. As your child plays, the system continuously assesses their performance in the background. If a student struggles with identifying equivalent fractions, the software adjusts the scaffolding, providing more explicit visual cues and simpler problems until the concept is mastered. Once mastery is achieved, the scaffolding fades, requiring the student to retrieve the information independently. This dynamic adjustment ensures that the learning stays within the student's zone of proximal development, preventing both boredom and cognitive overload while systematically building fraction fluency.
Strengths and tradeoffs of Frax
The biggest strength of Frax is its use of interactive visual models to build foundational fraction sense, while its biggest weakness is the potential for its heavy gamification to cause cognitive overload. Visual representation is critical in math education, and Frax excels by moving students away from memorizing abstract procedures and forcing them to interact with fractions as magnitudes on a number line. This builds strong conceptual schemas that students can transfer to more advanced mathematics. Furthermore, the platform utilizes mastery-based progression, ensuring that foundational gaps are closed before a student is introduced to complex operations like adding or subtracting fractions. On the downside, the immersive space theme and constant reward cycles can create a split-attention effect. Gamification often increases initial engagement, but excessive animations and token economies can distract from the actual learning task, demanding working memory resources that should be dedicated to processing mathematical concepts. Additionally, while the app provides excellent scaffolded practice, students who become overly reliant on the game's interactive hints may struggle to perform similar fraction operations on standard paper assessments without those digital supports.
Who Might Benefit From Frax?
Frax is best for third through fifth-grade students who struggle with abstract fraction concepts and need highly visual, interactive models to build comprehension. It serves as an excellent supplemental tool for classroom teachers looking to integrate mastery-based practice stations into their math blocks. Because it replaces rote memorization with conceptual number line manipulation, it is particularly effective for students experiencing math anxiety. However, due to its school-wide site license pricing structure, it is primarily suited for school districts and educators rather than individual parents seeking a standalone tutoring application for home use.
Data Transparency
Does Not Meet Data Transparency Standard
Frax reaches Level 1 of 3 (Basic protections), below our data transparency standard. Reaching Level 2 needs the policy to document data export, named service providers and self-service deletion.
20 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated September 2026
Privacy Policy →Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Not documented: data export, named service providers, self-service deletion
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access7/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“We collect and process personal information from parents and guardians, teachers, school administrators, and students.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“For _Enterprise Platform Services_ and _Direct Platform Services_, we support access to, correction, and deletion of Student Data by our educational institution customer and/or teachers by cooperating and assisting the school and teachers to meet their requirements for access, correction, and deletion, or by responding to requests we receive from schools. If we receive such a request directly from a student or parent, we will advise the corresponding educational institution or teacher customer of the request and we will follow all lawful instructions from the institutions and teachers.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
“For _Enterprise Platform Services_ and _Direct Platform Services_, we support access to, correction, and deletion of Student Data by our educational institution customer and/or teachers by cooperating and assisting the school and teachers to meet their requirements for access, correction, and deletion, or by responding to requests we receive from schools. If we receive such a request directly from a student or parent, we will advise the corresponding educational institution or teacher customer of the request and we will follow all lawful instructions from the institutions and teachers.”
Can parents delete their child's account?
“For _Enterprise Platform Services_ and _Direct Platform Services_, we support access to, correction, and deletion of Student Data by our educational institution customer and/or teachers by cooperating and assisting the school and teachers to meet their requirements for access, correction, and deletion, or by responding to requests we receive from schools. If we receive such a request directly from a student or parent, we will advise the corresponding educational institution or teacher customer of the request and we will follow all lawful instructions from the institutions and teachers.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
The policy covers COPPA and children under 13 in paragraphs near the top, but none of them sits under a heading of its own about children.
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“This Privacy Policy and our Services are designed to comply with COPPA.”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“We provide the Learning Application Services as a “School Official” under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“When a parent or guardian signs up to provide our _Learning Platform Services at Home_ to a child under 13, we will seek the appropriate consent directly from the parent or guardian before collecting any personal information from the child.”
Data Portability1/5
Can users access their personal data?
“The right to know what personal information we process about you, including categories of data, sources of it, the business purposes for collecting, selling, or sharing it, and the categories of third-party service providers to which it may be disclosed.”
Can users download/export their data?
The policy does not address downloading or exporting data.
Is there a self-service data access tool?
The policy describes only request-based rights handled through contact channels or schools, with no self-service tool.
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy does not mention any export format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy lists "Student API Calls" only as collected data and does not offer an API for users to retrieve their data.
Data Minimization3/6
Is data collection itemized?
“We may collect and process the following types of student personal information as part of the Services:”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy lists student first and last name as optional but required for autorostered students, so real names can be collected.
Can the app be used without an email?
“Student First and Last Name ; (Optional; only required for Autorostered students); - Student Username; - Student Password;”
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“In providing our Services we strive to only collect and process data elements which are reasonably necessary, proportionate, and not excessive for the uses for which we need to process that data.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says IP addresses are collected but does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy does not explicitly rule out location tracking.
Third-Party Protection4/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“We do not sell or process personal information of students arising from the use of our Services to target marketing or advertising to them.”
Are third-party providers named?
The policy only links to external sub-processor pages and does not name any providers itself.
Are providers contractually restricted?
The policy only suggests indirectly that service providers are under agreements and never explicitly states contractual restrictions on them.
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“We do not sell or process personal information of students arising from the use of our Services to target marketing or advertising to them.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning data sharing.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“We will not provide Student Data to these third parties without express consent of the educational institution, parent, or guardian.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“We automatically receive and record certain technical information from children's browsers as they use our products, including their IP address, using technologies such as cookies. We collect and use this information only within our company in order to operate and improve our products.”
Deletion & Retention4/5
Can users delete their account?
“The right to request that we delete personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
The policy offers deletion only by request, with no self-service mechanism.
Specific data retention timeline?
“For _Direct Platform Services_, student data is processed during the term an active licensing agreement is in place and is deleted within 45 days after the end of that licensing agreement; however, depending upon our back-up systems retention times such information may be maintained in backups for up to 180 days after termination of the Learning Platform Services.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
“If educational institutions do not instruct us to delete data, or our contracts do not specify time periods for retention, we reserve the right to delete inactive account information, including Student Data, in a reasonable period of time, which will not exceed one year from the last activity in an account.”
Post-deletion handling described?
“however, depending upon our back-up systems retention times such information may be maintained in backups for up to 180 days after termination of the Learning Platform Services.”
Advertising1/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
The policy does not say whether the product shows advertising.
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy does not say whether the product is free of third-party ads.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“We do not sell or process personal information of students arising from the use of our Services to target marketing or advertising to them.”
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not mention an ad-free option or say the product has no ads.
What This Means
The policy review did not meet our data transparency standard. The checks above show the documented findings and unknowns. A missing statement does not establish how the app handles data in practice.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of Privacy Policy against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how Frax works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About Frax
Is Frax free?
No, Frax is not free. ExploreLearning sells the educational platform exclusively through school-wide site licenses and volume purchasing agreements, meaning individual parents cannot purchase a single subscription for home use. Families interested in using the software must petition their local school district or classroom teacher to adopt the program as part of their formal mathematics curriculum. Pricing scales based on the size of the school or district implementing the tool.
Is Frax good for elementary students?
Yes, it is specifically designed for students in grades three through five. The game mechanics and visual models are developmentally appropriate for this age group, helping them transition from whole numbers to complex fraction concepts. By using a space exploration theme, the platform maintains the attention of younger learners who might otherwise disengage from abstract mathematical procedures. The pacing and cognitive load are carefully managed to suit elementary working memory capacities.
What does Frax teach?
Frax teaches foundational fraction concepts, including magnitude, equivalence, and basic arithmetic operations. It heavily emphasizes understanding fractions as precise numbers on a continuous number line rather than just shaded parts of a circle. This pedagogical shift builds a much stronger mathematical foundation, allowing students to visually comprehend how different fractions relate to one another. The curriculum ensures students can accurately estimate and compare fractional values before moving on to standardized testing formats.
How does Frax compare to traditional fraction worksheets?
Frax provides immediate corrective feedback and adaptive scaffolding, whereas traditional paper worksheets offer severely delayed feedback. This real-time correction is crucial because it prevents students from practicing and internalizing mathematical errors over long periods. Additionally, the digital platform forces students to physically manipulate visual models, engaging embodied cognition in a way that static paper assignments simply cannot replicate. This interactive approach builds much stronger mental schemas for complex mathematical rules.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated Frax?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well Frax teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 1, Basic protections.
Is Frax COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy states it is designed to comply with COPPA.
Is Frax FERPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references FERPA. A policy reference alone does not establish FERPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy says the vendor acts as a School Official under FERPA.
Does Frax have a children's privacy policy?
No dedicated children's privacy section was found in the reviewed policy. Policy review note: The policy covers COPPA and children under 13 in paragraphs near the top, but none of them sits under a heading of its own about children.
Does Frax sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: The policy states the vendor does not sell student personal information.
Can you delete your data from Frax?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can request deletion of their personal information.
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- Pricing
- ExploreLearning offers site license pricing models for Frax. Site license offers access to an entire school for one annual price. Volume discounts also available.
- Platforms
- Web Browser, iPadOS (Apple tablet), Android (Google mobile), Windows (Microsoft), macOS (Apple), Chrome OS (Google)
- Grade Levels
- 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade
- Website
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