I was dead wrong about Khan Academy for my kid's math help

My son has been struggling with algebra since September, and I kept saying free online resources are garbage compared to a real tutor. Last week his teacher showed me the progress report from him using the Algebra 1 section on Khan Academy, and he went from failing to a 74% on the unit test. I spent $45 on gas driving him to tutoring twice a week for nothing, when he could have just used their practice problems at the kitchen table. Has anyone else seen better results with free stuff over paid tutoring?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_mitchell8310d ago

I mean, I get where you're coming from for sure, but honestly I see it a little different. Khan Academy is great for drilling problems and getting that practice in, but it doesn't replace the back-and-forth you get with a real tutor. My kid used Khan for a bit and it helped them pass tests, but they still didn't really understand the concepts until they had someone sitting next to them explaining why the steps worked. Idk, maybe it's just me but that one-on-one time catches little gaps in understanding that videos just can't. Also, the tutor is probably doing more than just covering algebra problems, like showing different ways to think about the same thing or catching when your kid is getting frustrated. So I wouldn't totally write off paid help just yet.

the_dylan10d ago

Did you catch that study from a few years back that showed students using interactive tools like Khan still didn't retain the material as well as those who had live feedback? I remember reading some education blog that broke it down, basically the brain learns better when someone is there to ask "why" in real time. My nephew is the same way, he can crank through those Khan modules and pass a quiz but ask him to explain what a variable actually means and he just stares at you. So I agree with you, the human element still matters a lot, even if the free stuff is getting better.