Overview: This CTC Math review is not only from the homeschool parent perspective but also from a math teacher’s perspective — so you know it’s legit! Note: This review is sponsored by CTCMath but all opinions are definitely my own.
As always I’m going to be completely honest with you. Here is a statement you might not read anywhere else, especially on a sponsored review: I think that most math curriculum options out there can teach your kid math. Even the rigors of high school math, actually.
Truly, I don’t think the math content itself is usually in question when it comes to comparing math curriculum choices — and I’ve looked at a lot of them. That’s not really what we’re concerned about.
What we really want to know is if a particular math curriculum will work for us logistically. We want to know about whether it will meet our particular preferences or needs, how much time it will take from us moms — and whether our kid will maintain success and interest enough to keep going, hello.
I’ll give you the spoiler right now: As a former math teacher and as a homeschool mom whose kid has used the program, I recommend CTC Math as a quality math curriculum for all levels.
But you want to know why, obviously. Let’s dig in to the nitty gritty.
My CTC Math Review
I find that my math teacher self and my homeschool mom self are inextricably linked, LOL, so the following points are written from both perspectives simultaneously.
1) CTC Math is VERY reasonably priced.
Yes, I’m going there first. You know me; I look at price almost before anything else. I have always HAD to, and that is true for many homeschool families. Why pretend otherwise, or get you to fall in love with a curriculum that you then discover you can’t afford? I hate that.
Other math curriculum options can cost hundreds of dollars per student, and with a large family that gets impossible in a hurry. CTC Math has a subscription model which you can purchase for an entire homeschool family for a total of less than $150 per year (or less than $240 if you pay monthly, which is still a great price).
For an individual homeschool student, if you pay annually, it is less than $100.
Go here to verify this for yourself: CTC Math is Half Price for Homeschoolers.
At that rate, you could even just use it as a supplement to any other math curriculum — but why would you, when you consider the other nifty things about it which I will now elucidate for you?
(But first let me also mention the 12-month, no questions asked, money back guarantee. If you don’t like CTC Math, you don’t even have to explain why, and they will give you a full refund. So if money is your concern, there is no need to worry about it with CTC Math. You can rest easy!)
(OH, and did I mention the FREE TRIAL? Just sayin’…)
2) CTC Math is sequential, not spiral.
I know there are many Saxon lovers out there, and we used it for the mid-elementary levels, but I’m not a fan for high school, simply because of the spiral method.
For high school, the math teacher in me prefers sequential instruction. High school math gets quite detailed and can be complicated — it’s so much easier to figure out when one step is building on another in definite, logical increments.
It’s much more difficult when you’re skipping from one topic to another, never really certain what came immediately before. Spiral is supposed to be better for retention, but how can you retain what you never fully understood, because you received it piecemeal rather than building related concepts in close proximity?
Spiral instruction can lead to confusion at the high school level, even for a math-minded kid. I just can’t personally recommend it.
(So then if you’re gonna use CTC Math for your high schooler to get sequential instruction, you might as well use it for the rest of your kids, too, am I right? See #1.)
3) The lessons are designed to facilitate independent learning.
I am a huge fan of independent learning in high school, and math is one of the best subjects with which to make it happen.
CTC Math lessons have three main components to ensure your kid can learn well all on their own:
A video for EVERY lesson. The videos themselves are clear and easy to understand. In all honesty, I’m not going to claim that they are entertaining to watch, simply because teens are bored by just about everything, and it’s foolish to try to pretend otherwise. But the videos are taught by an award-winning teacher with a neato Australian accent, so there’s that.
Interactive onscreen questions that are adaptive. That means they are chosen via an algorithm based on your student’s progress, ability, and needs. In math teacher terms, this part of the lesson is called “guided practice,” which is the opportunity to try out a new concept a few times with immediate feedback, before being responsible for an entire assignment. Guided practice is very essential for learning math, but too often it gets overlooked. Not with CTC Math.
A printable worksheet. This is what math teachers call “independent practice.” I love that it is printable, to get kids away from the screen for awhile as they work with pencil and paper to solve the problems. Then they go back to the computer to input their answers, and one unique feature of CTC Math is that there is an answer bank to choose from. So if the student has calculated an answer that is not in the answer bank, they know they need to try again — before ever being graded on the assignment. It’s a form of non-intimidating feedback that helps them be more successful.
Here’s another distinctive detail: every question can be voiced by the computer. So if your kid has trouble reading, they don’t have to struggle with it during math time!
With clear instruction, guided practice, and independent practice, CTC Math enables your kid to do math completely without you. Talk about less stress in your homeschool day!
And of course it goes without saying that all grading is done by the people inside the computer, LOL, and you don’t need to mess with it at all. Weekly reports are sent to you via email.
Basically it’s hands-off math for you. And your kid gets all the benefits of learning independently. A win-win!
4) Every student gets access to every level at all times.
Why is this helpful? Let’s say your teen is in Geometry, but they’ve forgotten how to solve an equation. They can hop back to Algebra 1 to review that concept and then proceed with Geometry again.
In high school math this type of situation happens quite frequently. CTC Math makes it easy to get over the hurdle — no googling required. I don’t know of another math curriculum that offers this type of complete access.
5) The parent has control of the important things. Such as:
The passing grade. YOU decide what grade your kid needs to attain before moving on. It doesn’t have to be 100%. (I always chose 80. I’m not a my-kid-must-get-all-A’s person. I doubt any former-math-teacher-turned-homeschool-parent is.)
Your student’s password. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe in having access to my student’s account at all times. Even in high school.
The number of attempts that must be made before solutions become available. You know what? I think my kid should try more than once! But I don’t want to frustrate them by having to keep trying umpteen times on a problem they just don’t understand at all. So I always choose 2 for this setting. But many other math curriculums don’t even give you an option for this.
The parent can also plan the schedule and assign lessons/tasks to the student on certain days, if that works better than just letting the student work through them sequentially at their own pace. Your choice! Definitely more flexible in this regard than other options out there.
You may know that I’ve written about CTC Math before, in an article that compares it to another online curriculum called Aleks. In that article I shared a video that shows the student portal for CTC Math.
Now I’d like to show you the parent portal, so you can have a complete picture of all the wondermous-ness that is CTC Math. In this video you’ll see behind the scenes; I’ll take you through every feature so you can see the extensive reports and the control you have over all the important details. Take a look:
Head over to CTC Math to sign up for the free trial — and be prepared to love it!
You can also find CTC Math on Facebook and Instagram.
Ann has written Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Manual for Research and Planning, Save Your Sanity While Homeschooling High School: Practical Principles for a Firm Foundation, and recently Taming the Transcript: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Teen's Homeschool Transcript from Scratch (without overwhelm). She also founded the popular Facebook groups It's Not that Hard to Homeschool High School and It's Not Hard to Homeschool K-8, and in addition she voices the It's Not That Hard to Homeschool High School Podcast.
- Planning for a Fun Summer Break - May 25, 2023
- Episode 95: An Announcement and an Introduction - February 17, 2023
- Episode 94: Help! I’m a Failure as a Homeschool Mom! - February 3, 2023
Hi Ann,
Thank you for this thorough review. I appreciate the perspective of both homeschooler and math teacher. I’ve been trying to decide between Teaching Textbooks and CTC, as I have a student starting high school next year. We’re currently using Kahn Academy, and while it seems okay, I’m wondering what we might be missing out on. Looking forward to the free trial to test it out!
Thank you for this review! I’ve been using CTC Math this year in our elementary homeschool and was wondering how well it would carry through to high school. This is very encouraging! I find that even if I need to sit with a child through some lessons, it is so much easier to let the video do the teaching and I can simply reinforce what is in the video. (I need a refresher too and the video helps me teach the kids.)
Hi Ann,
Thanks so much for the review! I’m trying to map out our year, and pretty much base that on number of math lessons. Do you know how we can find the number of lessons in CTC math levels?
I think you’re just going to have to look in each course, then each section, and add them up. Sorry there doesn’t seem to be an easier way to see them all at once. But it doesn’t look too difficult.
From the Parent home page, you can go to one of your student’s pages and there is a summary tab, it shows the number of lessons in the top right corner of that summary tab. Make sure you have the correct grade selected.
Hi Ann,
Thanks for the review! I have teens currently using the program and it’s worked well for them. I was wondering if you’d recommend it for a 3rd and 5th grader? I’m thinking of switching them over as well.
Thanks!
I am curious if there are any review options in Ctc math? Or quizzes or tests that test the last few concepts? I get nervous my daughters will forget what they’ve learned (7th and 4th grade).
I actually have question about this program. The student is me and right now. I am using Learn Math Fast and enjoy very much. I have dyscalculia and never knew it was possible. To like math or be very good at it. Do you think this program would work well for student like myself ?
I am looking at different Math curricula for my son’s geometry next year. He has done BJU from elementary to Algebra 1. I am considering continuing that into geometry, but just wanted to be sure, since I have heard that it can be rather abstract and difficult. I saw you recommended both Mr. D math and CTC math for high school and I read both those reviews, which were very helpful. It looks as though you have used both in high school. How do you feel those compare to each other? Which is a more solid or college prep of math curriculum? Is one more difficult/rigorous? Is one easier to understand? Do they both require the student to do more work on paper rather than just accidentally guessing the right multiple choice answer? I tried to email you, but it came back undeliverable, so feel free to delete this comment and just email me directly. Thanks so much for any help!
I need your opinion about high school credits since you are a former maths teacher. My daughter (just starting 7th grade) used CTC last year (6th grade). From October to May she finished most of the 7/8 curriculum (they just adjusted the grade scheme and now have it as grades 7 and 8 instead of elementary geometry, pre algebra etc.) The plan is to finish the 7/8 lessons by the end of the year and do Algebra 1 from January to June. Because she is going through the lessons so quickly, I am concerned about high school maths credit. She’ll probably do geometry in 8th grade – but that’s still just 145 lessons – she usually does at least 2 and most often 3 lessons per day. Which then leads me to think she may at least start Algebra 2 in 8th grade and perhaps finish it. So, then she’ll have pre calculus and calculus to actually do in high school. She isn’t particularly interested in math fields, so her need to go beyond Calculus (precalc even) isn’t there. But we find that we’d rather not “lose” the math that she learned by taking long breaks from it. This summer we supplemented with the level 5 Beast Academy books, and will continue with CTC starting in October. Do you think that I should supplement the CTC programs so she has more depth in each discipline (esp. geometry) or just stick with the CTC as is. And then if she does two programs in a year, should I give her 2 credits?
I think CTC is a fine program. If she finishes early, she can go on to take College Algebra as DE and complete her Math Gen Ed while still in high school (saving time and money).
If she does 2 programs in one year, definitely give her both credits!