Sparx maths, how is it for you?!

[MaffsMover]

DD is complaining about the new Sparx maths homework. Does anyone use it? Is it Hegarty with a deferent name? She used Hegarty before and I’m not sure why there was a change or what the difference is.

She seems to be taking hours to get to the 100 % correct answers as she finds the videos aren’t as helpful as the Hegarty ones.

Is Sparx problematic or does she just need to get used to the change?

We hate Sparx with a vengeance.

DD gets questions about topics and concepts that she's never been taught, and the videos that are supposed to explain it are rubbish.

She also hates that she gets difficult questions, spends ages trying to work them out, and then her 'reward' is to get questions that are even more difficult. 🙄

We hate Sparx! Dd is year 8 now and her school started using it last year, not sure what they used before she started but I know sparx was a new thing and school were really bigging it up, imagine it cost them a lot?

It was bad enough last year with 6 sections, for all the same reasons mentioned on this thread, but this school year they've also added in a section 7. We initially thought it was optional and there to earn more xp like some other things on sparx. Something about earning a token? Plus something to do with collecting virtual cards of cat pictures Not sure how many teens would be motivated by such a reward but there you go. Anyway, these cat card earning "games" that "unlock your token" are actually a compulsory part of the weekly homework now, and if we don't do them we end up with only 85% or something of the homework done. They're times table questions and dd hates them because they're "quick fire rounds" with a few seconds to answer them - and a big red ticking stopwatch animation sitting there stressing her out while she's trying to answer! The pressure has a negative effect on her, it actually makes her freeze and start to panic if she doesn't know the answer straight away, she feels even more demoralised and yet the program is set in stone and no way to tailor it to individual needs. I told her to leave it unfinished in the end, think she did 15 of the 30 times table rapid fire bloody questions and got in a right state, she'd spent all evening struggling and her friends were all saying how hard it was this week too

Actually having read this thread I think I'll email her 2 maths teachers and explain what's happening, and why I'm telling her to leave it unfinished at times in case she gets a sanction

My daughter has Sparx. Not seen other systems so can’t compare.

She struggles with confidence at maths.

I watch the videos with her to make sure I understand the way they explain that topic.
Then I explain it to her again, drawing it out on paper (same as they do in the video but checking she is following the reason for each step and asking for her input) then she works through the question herself.

Takes forever.

It is helpful to know that others think the videos are crap. Thought it was just us struggling.

without the joke sparx is actually so fucking annoying and sure it helps with revision on the off chance that the video is helpful but 9/10 it isnt it will tell me to do a 5 minute calculation for a differnt fucking question it isnt exactly help full either i cant concentrate with so many words or numbers infront of my face so when theres constant word after word number after number in this never ending loop theres only so much breathing focusing i can do, ill then calm down just to get the question ever so slightly wrong wether it be a missclick or a mistake i have to redo the whole fucking thing because its reset and then the fucking bookwork codes make me want to travel to the mariana trench to get some strange looking fish to slap me round the bollocks 60 million times over

Can anyone tell me if teachers can turn off Sparx automatically generating homework every week when it's the school holidays please?

I feel your pain

My Dcs find maths easy and usually enjoy the subject. They absolutely loathe Sparx. It's boring and repetitive.

DD now has the pleasure of Sparks reading, which apparently is also awful. She reads a lot normally.

@Thomascordingley I think you’ve summoned up the general feeling very well there.

@Ivyy there must be a way to turn that function off as DC school don’t use it-thank goodness

Both my DCs are very good at maths but hate Sparx.

@MaffsMover thanks, all through the Christmas break I was getting email reminders that dd hadn't started her homework and telling me to encourage her, I'm tempted to block the Sparx email address!

Ha! I just shout at the emails-it’s cathartic

DS1 went to a school without a sixth form and I was still getting emails about his Maths homework until at least 2 weeks after his last GCSE exam. When I ask DS2 about the latest email his response is to tell me it's not due in for several days.

Grr theyve changed how homework shows in My Activity
I used to be able to see what questions had been done. To choose different ones
Now i cannt even look back so last week there are 2 lots of 1/6 showing!

No further info.
Did she just give up and get them wrong.
I usually watch her ffs. She did say she struggled but istill thought she worked them out

When revising i dont want her to end up doing whats shes already done!?

I hate sparx reader I have dixlexia and alto I have changed the settings I still have trouble and if I don't do it I will get a detention :(