McGraw Hill Introduces ALEKS Adventure: A New AI-Based ALEKS Math Program for Grades K-3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 26, 2024) – McGraw Hill today unveiled ALEKS Adventure, a new AI-powered supplemental learning solution launching for students in grades 1-2 in the 2024-25 school year, with complete K-3 support to follow in the 2025-26 school year. The tool is an expansion of the research-backed, AI-driven ALEKS program that has supported millions of learners in grades 3-12 and through higher education for two decades, bringing the program to lower grades in an age-appropriate format.

ALEKS Adventure joins the company’s portfolio of supplemental and intervention digital learning solutions for K-12 learners, with enhancements also announced to Number Worlds with Building Blocks Adaptive and SRA Reading Laboratory.

Sean Ryan, President of McGraw Hill’s School Group, said: “Teachers and students today face a dynamic set of challenges in a complex environment.  With ALEKS Adventure and our growing list of supplemental and intervention products, we’re providing educators and learners with engaging and effective tools to help them succeed no matter their starting point, no matter their unique pathway.”

ALEKS is based on Knowledge Space Theory, and leverages machine learning to measure what students know and what concepts they are ready to learn next. As students work through their ready-to-learn topics, ALEKS provides immediate feedback, detailed explanations, definitions, and other tools for building mastery.

“Young learners need developmentally appropriate math instruction that builds procedural fluency and supports conceptual understanding,” said Lori Anderson, ALEKS Chief Product Officer. “We’re thrilled to build upon years of experience using AI to drive positive student outcomes through ALEKS to deliver this all-new program for early elementary students that helps them learn math while also meeting their unique needs.”

ALEKS Adventure invites students to learn math alongside animated sidekicks, connect with classmates using virtual greetings, and unlock new worlds as a visual celebration of their progress. Driven by the same dynamic AI engine, ALEKS Adventure presents an innovative way for students to learn math, with immersive worlds and narratives to spark students’ curiosity and expand as they progress through different topics and skills. ALEKS Adventure:  

• Provides a fun and personalized experience for each student, with customizable avatars and a mascot – Digit the Dog – to help them along their journey
•  Identifies each student’s knowledge state and offers them lessons on the topics they are ready to learn
• Recognizes where students are struggling and adjusts their personalized learning path in real-time
•  Delivers an easy-to-use learning experience, allowing students to work independently and freeing up teachers’ time to focus on other classroom challenges
• Rewards students for completing lessons with tokens they can spend to customize their experience

“With the ALEKS Adventure pilot, teachers have noticed an increase in student confidence and understanding when starting a new unit topic,” said Lyndsay Combs, District Numeracy Coach for Greater Clark County Schools in Indiana. “We also noticed a positive correlation between our schools with the highest math proficiencies at second grade and students who were regularly engaged with ALEKS Adventure.”

For more information about ALEKS Adventure, visit: http://mheonline.com/ALEKSAdventure. 

ALEKS Adventure is one of several newly enhanced digital supplemental and intervention products McGraw Hill has added to its suite of PreK-12 personalized learning solutions. Benefitting from years of research, Number Worlds with Building Blocks Adaptive and SRA Reading Laboratory are designed to provide pathways to deeper learning for all students with high-quality instruction and support.

Number Worlds Introduces Building Blocks Adaptive

Rooted in decades of research, the PreK–8 intervention program Number Worlds is designed to help bring all students up to grade-level proficiency in math. In its latest program update, Number Worlds now includes Building Blocks™ Adaptive software, a collection of nearly 200 game-based activities designed to guide students along research-based learning trajectories. The addition of the software provides students with differentiated, independent practice, as well as conceptual development and remediation.

SRA Reading Laboratory Includes Digital Offering for K-8 Learners

The new fully digital SRA Reading Laboratory® is a computer-adaptive K-8 program built upon proven pedagogy and designed to personalize reading practice.  Students are in the driver’s seat, choosing from a dynamic library of fiction and non-fiction texts accompanied by adaptive text-based practice activities in comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. Hints, scaffolding, and mini lessons ensure that all students access appropriately challenging content and advance at their own pace.