iMath - Practice and Excel

What is iMath app?

iMath is a practice app for math which has content simple enough for young kids through to more advanced topics.

Its educational content occupies three sections:

Basic Practice

This section covers math at a level appropriate to pre-K through to grade 6. It also includes a section showing the player's most recently practised skills and what the app has determined needs more practice.

Fast calculation practice

This section provides more advanced math practice, including statistics, polynomials, geometry and more.

Both of the practice sections feature similar question styles.

Math Games

There are four number-based games to play in this section.

Sudoku: a puzzle which is not a math challenge but uses numbers to provide a reasoning and logic exercise.

Matching: a game where users match cards depending on the math/numbers shown.

Math for Speed is a slow-paced multiple-choice arithmetic challenge where players choose answers with a car.

24 Points: challenges players to make 24 using single digits and plus, minus, multiply, and divide operations.

What we love about iMath app.

iMath allows just about the right amount of leeway for accuracy. Players start the exercises in the practice sections with three stars; each incorrect answer removes a star. When no more are left, the exercise ends, and the player knows they must practice some more. Relevant activities will then appear in the 'need to practice' section.

This app provides many options for how the player can engage with the activities, such as setting a time duration or a fixed number of questions. This makes it easy for players to fit in a session to match where they are and the time they have available.

What skills does it teach?

iMath provides test-style question practice for math.

What age is it appropriate for?

The exercises within this app use similar question styles throughout, which will be accessible to most kids. The level of the questions ranges between kindergarten and grade 12.

Is iMath app easy to use?

The app does not use speech, which could make some questions aimed at younger users difficult as they might not recognise all of the information on the screen.

The app has an inconsistent approach to explanations for how to play. The Math for Speed game has instructions, while being easy to work out what to do. The 24 Points game does not indicate its purpose or how to play and takes some working out. You have to get the provided cards and operations to equal 24.

How will students benefit?

iMath's wide-ranging difficulty level makes it easy for students to choose practise exercises that provide the right level of challenge. If their current attainment is above their current grade level, they can easily move on by selecting the appropriate option.

How will parents benefit?

iMath is low-priced compared to many similar apps, and its multi-format coverage increases the chance of it working with the devices available at home. The app allows multiple users and, combined with its broad scope, this provides extra value for parents of children of different ages.

How will teachers benefit?

The easy access to each topic and level lets teachers set challenges based on their current lesson but also set them to match each individual's capability. It provides practice that saves teachers marking and lets students immediately know whether they need to seek extra guidance from their teachers.

The statistics recorded by the app let teachers view their students' achievements.

What can iMath app improve on?

A math app needs to appear just right for kids to want to use it, but the overall look and feel of the iMath activities is a little dated. Its text needs its font updated and some attention given to its formatting to avoid it being clipped in places. It also has quite a few typos scattered among its text.

The games are basic and limited compared to those found in competing apps. They need a more stimulating presentation and a faster pace to stand in comparison against other apps of this type.

The links to the app's supporting website, app support page, and privacy policy did not work.

How much does iMath app cost?

iMath is available on multiple devices, and the exact terms and conditions for each subscription might vary slightly in line with the platform's policies. In general, it offers various subscription terms with longer durations offering a discount over the same time covered by shorter ones.

iMath supports Family Sharing on iOS devices allowing you to use the app and subscriptions across devices.

Is iMath app safe to use?

The apps have no advertisements, even when playing during the free time-limited option.

Players who complete exercises can share their results using other apps installed on the device.

We could not view the app's privacy policy due to a broken link from the app's store page.

Overall rating of the app.

There is a solid basis for math practice in iMath, but the app needs some fixes and refinements to its presentation. The games also need updating to modern standards if they are to offer kids incentives to play them.

We've awarded iMath three stars.