Math Galaxy 8th Grade Math

Unlike many apps that cover a large amount of the curriculum, this app does not use a subscription or in-app purchase model.  A single purchase gets the full app.  It covers the maths curriculum for grade 8 of the USA’s Common Core curriculum, which places it approximately at the level of year 9 in England and Wales.  The difficulty is appropriate for this level, albeit with some deviation from the curriculum followed by non-USA students.  The app’s page on the App Store makes it clear exactly what it covers and so it is worth looking at this to see if it meets your children’s needs.

The app wisely chooses to use a built-in keyboard for entering answers.  This provides a number of benefits over using the tablet’s own one.  Firstly, it only allows appropriate entries.  Secondly, it ensures that none of the app's display  is covered when entering an answer, which is a common problem for apps using the built-in keyboard.

The layout is not quite so well thought out in relation to the amount of space allocated to the explanations.  While the main section displays the question, diagrams and working out clearly, if not particularly attractively, the explanation section feels too cramped.   The explanations are clear and concise, but they need to be spread out more to aid the reader’s experience.

The presentation of the app as a whole does appear somewhat dated and less polished than many other apps.  It doesn’t impact on its usefulness, but it may make it feel less accessible to some people who are more used to modern designs.  Money questions also use American terms that may be confusing for those not used to them.

The questions themselves are randomly generated within templates, offering a vast array of content for each of the topics and sub-topics.  Sometimes repetition can be apparent but this is rare.  Most of the topics suit a format where answers are entered by numeric value or by a multiple choice mechanic.  Where appropriate, with geometry questions especially, other methods of giving an answer are used.  Picking coordinates on a grid, and manipulating shapes by rotating, flipping and translating are two such methods.

As well as the questions, which provide good feedback to incorrect answers, there are also review sections which are useful and well-explained overviews.  Questions can also be set to allow users to go straight to the answer or be guided step-by-step through them.  This provides good support for less confident children who can learn the process before becoming completely independent of assistance.

Parents who want a comprehensive all-in-one package for their children to practise maths with, and teachers who want to make use of self-marking worksheets, can both get good use from this app.  Children can email their results to the device’s linked address to enable monitoring and data collection.  Students themselves may not feel as attracted to this app as to others, due to its presentation, but they will get an effective revision session.