CTCMath is The Best Online Math Curriculum for Teens

For homeschoolers, one of the best online math curriculum is CTCMath. We used it for middle school math and loved it.

This program has tons of video lessons, as well as practice and assessment materials that work well for teaching middle school math. It covers everything from basic skills to more complicated concepts like algebra, geometry and calculus.

CTCMath teaches in a friendly and engaging way so your teen won’t just be learning – they’ll actually enjoy it too! So if you’re looking for the best online math curriculum for your teen, then look no further than CTCMath.

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It took us a while to get to this program. While it was on my radar because of the positive reviews from other moms, I kept pushing it aside for other math courses.

But my tweens loved it so much that before our free trial was over, I had signed us up for a full year.

If you have older kids, you need to give this engaging online math program a try. CTCMath is a good fit for homeschool families.

BEST ONLINE MATH CURRICULUM

We tried so many math courses. In fact, our path to CTCMath was a long one, littered with discarded math books. I knew we needed to settle down and stick with something, and that’s why I’m glad we finally gave this program a try.

It’s an amazing online math curriculum for all ages, especially teens.

During math time, students have access to short, online video lessons, practice questions, and tests for math concepts from kindergarten through calculus (12th grade). It’s perfect for the entire family.

The way they format the lessons makes it simple for older kids to work independently.

Since they’re not relying on you to do the teaching, your kids can move at their own pace, so students who excel at math can blaze through the lessons as fast as they’d like and those who are happy doing a lesson at a time can work without feeling rushed.

Considering how much kids love playing online math games, don’t be surprised if your teens get excited about a virtual math curriculum.

CTCMath Online

For our family, one area where this program excels is helping kids “catch up” when they come from another math course.

Every time I changed our math curriculum, my girls had to take a step backward while they learned how each new program worked. I don’t even want to tell you how often we changed math curriculum between 4th and 7th grade, but let’s just say I feel bad about the number of times my oldest had to review fractions.

As you start this program for the first time, I would suggest moving your kids a little bit back in the lessons, maybe below grade level, especially if you’re coming from a traditional textbook course. For example, if they were working on exponents, let them work through a couple of the topics before that.

This will give them the chance to get used to an online program without the added burden of learning new material.

Luckily, with this curriculum, it won’t take them long to move through the lessons.

With CTCMath, each lesson is short and to the point, so they’re easy for kids to complete.

My advice is to do one of two things as you get started with the program, especially with topics you think your children may already know.

1. Encourage your older kids to watch the video tutorial (they’re short lessons – a bonus of CTCMath) and then answer the questions. If they get a grade you’re happy with, let them move on right away to the next topic. 
2. Or, have your teens take the short 20 question test before they watch the lesson. Again, if they get the correct answer on most of them, jump to the next session.

They will love the fact that they won’t be spending unnecessary time on random math lessons during the homeschool day.

Is CTCMath Flexible?

Yes!

As your kids move through the lessons, what if they don’t understand the material? What happens when they get caught up and have moved onto new topics? With this program, they have lots of options available at the click of a button.

They can:

• watch the lesson as many times as they need to grasp the material
• review the topic’s worksheet, which shows the answers to the problems
• work through the questions again – they’ll get new questions to try (a huge benefit of this online program)
• take all the tests available, which include 20, 30 and 40 problem exams

The built in flexibility is amazing for homeschoolers and one of the reasons this is one of the best online math programs. If your teens show they can do the work, keep moving. But if they need a bit more practice to learn a skill, encourage them to take the time to use the tools that are there for them. 

If you feel like your teen is behind, there is simply no better program. Both of my kids loved how quickly they could “catch up” and start on new material. And if your students excel at math, they’ll enjoy moving through the lessons at their own pace.

How does CTCMath Motivate Students? 

Junior high kids love to feel like they’re in control. And CTCMath has a few things built into their system to help motivate older kids.

First, they get to choose their own background colors for their screen. Under settings, tweens will find over 20 ready-made color themes, as well as the option to make their own.

I know it sounds simple, but Marianna loves working through math problems on a pink and purple screen.

Students also receive virtual badges when they score high on assignments. They can earn platinum, gold, silver, and bronze ribbons. 

The program shows kids their scores right away, so middle school students will often go back and redo problems to get a higher grade in order to earn a better award.

This has been a great external incentive for Marianna. She used to sigh and begrudgingly work on extra math problems, but with CTCMath, she often works through additional questions to earn the platinum badge.

And, because everything is short and concise, the added effort doesn’t take a lot of time.

SAT MATH PREP

When Abigail took a standardized test to start dual enrollment, we quickly realized that she had a few holes in her math knowledge from jumping between math programs. She didn’t pass the math portion right away, so she had to fill in some gaps before taking it again.

One of my favorite things about this full math curriculum is that no matter what standardized test your teen is taking, this online math program is a great way to get them ready.

If you are still working in a traditional math textbook, it would be hard to find the exact topics your child needs to master for the test. Not only would you have to search a bunch of textbooks to find the specific problems she needed to master, once you found them, she wouldn’t have a fresh set of questions to work on.

But with CTCMath, every single math subject, from basic math to higher math, including calculus, is readily available at the click of a button. 

On the main student page, just navigate to the category you want to work on, like algebra. You’ll see a long list of specific math topics that make up the subject. So, if your child is struggling with factoring, just click on that term and she’ll have 13 different lessons about factoring at her fingertips. 

And, unlike traditional math programs, there are always new problems to work through with this online course.

Had we not been using this curriculum when Abigail took the PERT test, I would have spent hours searching for the specific lessons she needed to review as well as additional practice problems for her to solve.

Instead, she went into her student portal, clicked on the math topic she didn’t understand, and worked through a bunch of additional problems and standard tests.

Simple.

Parent Portal

CTCMath is one of the best online math curriculum that helps students learn independently while still providing you, a busy homeschool mom, with detailed reports on your child’s progress.

The parent dashboard gives parents an overview, and the ongoing progress reports provide even more detailed information. The teacher portal includes a teacher section, where you can access additional online learning materials.

With the portal, parents are able to be involved while letting teens take more control of their lessons. The program is a great option for families who want to fostering independent learning but want to have tools available.

CTCMath Cost

Remember when I said that I had this program on my radar for a while, but kept pushing it aside? Want to know why? Cost. That’s the only reason. I looked at the basic price, freaked out, and bought something else.

And you know what?

All the math curricula I bought instead of this one actually cost me more in dollars and time. I know, without a doubt, that my teens would have been better off, math-wise if I had signed up for this complete online math curriculum years before I did.

If you’re a homeschooling parent on a budget, I have some amazing news for you.

As a homeschooler, you can receive a massive discount off of the regular price. It’s a great way to grab the 12 month membership.

They also have a free trial at CTCMath, and check out how great this math program is for older kids.

I may use a ton of math games and fun math activities in our home school, but I also know how important a quality math curriculum is for building a solid foundation.

And for us, without a doubt, that is one of the best online math curriculum, CTCMath.

Give it a try. I feel confident that your family will love this high quality homeschool math curriculum as much as we do. Especially for your older students.

What do you think of this online math curriculum?