Has any one tried study island particularly in Missouri? We are testing for math accelleration and they reccomended she might need a stronger technology base and suggested study island. She has Geometry the Easy way which was reccommended by some website or another specializing in gifted children. They also said her Foresters Algebra 1 was too old for them to accept. Any experiences with any of them?

They are offering my son study island also as a way to let him accelerate at his own pace. I am curious about the program though because I know they are using it to raise test scores which makes me feel like it is not a great program for gifted/acceleration.

I'm volunteering with a group of 1st graders who are doing Study Island for half an hour every day. They're on the 2nd grade level so it's giving them an opportunity for some subject acceleration. When they have trouble with a new concept, I can give them a quick explanation. The kids seem to love it and are able to work at their own pace. This also gives the teachers time to work with the other students on more basic concepts. So far, so good!

P.S. I'd ask your son about the level of difficulty. If it seems too easy for him, I'd ask to have his level raised.

Thanks Inky. I will be interested to see how he likes it.

Study Island can be good for acceleration, but the progress serves more as an assessment tool, rather than instructional tool.

I use Study Island for Kindergarten prep/acceleration (along with other programs). Students are provided with links and resources to learn the content, then they play the games on Study Island.

The kids seem to like Study Island, especially being able to skip around to different topics.

Study Island has a pretest & posttest, so you may want to test your son to see if he already knows the content. I set the mastery level at 90% for all courses, but that can be modified to fit your situation.