sparx maths

[SomersetBrie]

I'm a parent of a Y10 who has recently started using sparx maths with school.
I am wondering what other parents/teachers think of it.
DS is good at maths but is struggling with the homework style in general and the difficulty in getting 100%.
I assumed it was a him problem (he has plenty of those!) but I came across some very negative comments online about sparx (mainly from students) and just wondered what others thought.
I thought it sounded great from the email we got from school, but getting more questions in your areas of difficulty and minimal help with these areas has been very frustrating for him.

My kids loathe it, some of the explanation videos don't match with what they need to do, or they get impatient and don't want to watch a video when they don't get something.

Youngest will always prefer her elder sister explaining something to her, rather than working through the system - she also expressed frustration at having to show her workings and ,if I really want to push it, reminding her that I get the Sparx alerts and her maths is due in X days will send her into paradoxical rage!

Overall, I think it is frustration at maths as a subject and micromanaging Vs left to own devices - rather than Sparx in particular.

Dd hates it too. They used to do Hegarty which was similar in that it had questions and links to videos to watch if you needed help but with Hegarty you can get things wrong and move on. Dd gets really frustrated with sparks that you can't finish the work with a wrong question so at times she has ended up endlessly circling a question and getting more and more pissed off. She's a good student too, top sets etc.

It's not loved in this house.
The random "what was your answer to question 17c?" gets my very chaotic y10 child.
My y8 mathematician just writes the answer down, and still doesn't do any working out.

Oh gosh yes keeping an answer book. And showing working. My year 10 dd who hates it will at least show her working because she's a swot and will do what she's been told to do. My year 7 ds who magically manipulates numbers in his head and comes out with the right answer? Getting him to show his working is a right nightmare. I'm just so glad that maths avoiding ds1 finished his exams before sparks and that he never has to do it because bloody hell doing maths with that child was hard. We would never have completed the work at all with him!

It is shit.

I think it'll cause a decline in take up of Maths A-level, it ruins any enjoyment of the subject.

This is a worry for me. DS is good at maths but hates sparx so much he doesn't want to do A levels at all!

It's very stressful. DS16 has been doing Sparx for the past two years and although he's a whizz at maths and on target for a 9 at GCSE, the thing where you have to get 100% to move on and complete the thing is really frustrating for him and he can get really bogged down on one question. And then the harder questions you can get through, the harder the questions become! I think with a few tweaks it could be good, but the way it works now isn't great.

That's exactly what's happening with my Y10 DS. At one point he was really keen on the idea of A level maths. Now he hates maths.

I advise you to report this to school - and to senior leaders not the maths department.

It's such a shame. It's a fad and they'll move on to something different soon, but those using it are having a crap time.

As I said above, this should be reported to senior leaders, it is a really big concern.

Sparx wrecks the subject for those who like maths.

The school will not listen. They never seem to. Sparx sparked a hatred of maths in my DS2. He wanted to be an accountant, now he hates it.

DS y9 also hates it. The random checks and note keeping is particularly frustrating.

To be honest, I don't think the school would care massively if he didn't do A levels.
I've asked a few parents and no one really wants to say it's terrible in case it looks like they are saying their kids aren't good at maths.

I am interested to know if any teachers, especially maths teachers think it's good.
If I could spin the pros to my DS, it would be easier. Hopefully it will be less of a thing in Y11? Hopefully.....

My MN thread about Sparx Maths

It is still hated here but causing fewer tears. Never wants to see maths again after GCSE. Sad as she did a Mathsnasium summer course and loved it.

Don't know a single child that likes it

I've not gotten past the first page but I echo everyone else. Weekly tears here. And that's just me, trying to help/supervise!

Look up the Trust pilot reviews.
Definitely not a your DS problem

My DS doesn't actually mind maths but he hates the thing. Much preferred Mathswatch (which he still uses)

It’s rubbish. My dd is a very good mathematician but finds it so frustrating. I sit with her each week as she does it and can see she’s getting the questions answered correctly and quickly but still she gets the same questions again and again, so I don’t even believe it is as responsive as it claims to be (or responsive at all).

Causes weekly tantrums here.

All the explanations are also incredibly procedural and don’t support making links or efficiency at all.

My child hates it too. Her maths teacher is obsessed with them doing it as well.

We hate it here, the school knows everyone hates it and now they've decided to use it for English. This is also horrendous and removes any joy from reading.

My DS loves it and I have to say he’s gone from being on the cusp of exceeding the standard (109)in year 6 to one of the best in set 1, I’m sure it’s the repeated practice and focus on perfection has helped him knuckle down.

I wonder if it's better when kids are younger and topics need to be mastered completely to give a good groundwork?

My DS is a skilful mathematician but a little bit sloppy and is constantly having to repeat stuff and get it right rather than explore more difficult maths.
He told me that his teacher told them last year that you could get (I think) a 6 in GCSE maths without getting a question right. Not according to sparx!

(Note: I am not a supporter of sloppy, just saying there is more to maths than just getting everything right)

Same here. So then she gets her sister to help and then of course the system thinks she can do it and sets harder questions next time.

I am really sorry that so many young people are being put off maths by Sparx. I have a year 10 who has gone from getting very distressed at having to do any maths homework to cheerfully sitting down and trundling through his compulsory, Target and XP every week. It seems to work for him because the questions are aimed at exactly his level.

Sparx Maths is bad (yes to the frustration and tears). Sparx Science is riddled with errors, conceptually shit (I.e. teaches them to recite facts by rote rather than understand the scientific principles) and has utterly impossible open questions. As an English teacher, Sparx Reader is a fucking abomination.
The issue is that schools are struggling for teachers and the company peddles this as magical 'adaptive teaching'. My son's school has just advertised for parent helpers to be paid for a Sparx project (which I think involves parents acting as supervisors while kids learn on Sparx). They've suggested this might somehow lead to a teaching qualification down the line. It's horrendous. But unless school funding and conditions is sorted out, schools without teachers will have to buy into this commercial shit.