First of all, thanks to parents and well-wishers for supporting pre-algebra course sign-ups. Class is almost full now and we are ready to run this class starting Jan 13th with some twist to have kids and parents enjoy the learning and the process.

While I was going through the sign-up process, a lot of parents asked me which is a suitable class for their kids. Math is a very wide subject and it's hard to assess a kid's level based on kid's school grade. We should have a more formal way to identify a kid's current level and potential.

Fortunately, some amazing and free tools already exist to assess math level topic by topic for middle and high school students. Let's talk about my favourite tool. It's called Alcums.

It offers students customized learning experience, adjusting to student performance to deliver appropriate problems and lessons. Alcumus is specifically designed to provide high-performing students with a challenging curriculum appropriate to their abilities.

• Over 13,000 Problems with Solutions: Many of the problems are from major national math competitions such as MATHCOUNTS, MOEMS, the American Mathematics Competitions, and the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing competitions.
• An Intelligent Learning System: As the student gets stronger, Alcumus automatically provides more challenging material, and conversely, if the student is having difficulty with a particular topic, Alcumus provides additional practice. 
• Detailed Progress Reports: Students can track their performance in various subjects and revisit problems and lessons at any time. They can also allow their coaches and teachers to have access to their progress reports as well.

This tool not only assesses student's level but also helps them fine-tune their problem-solving skills. Students can also focus on the topic and work on a very specific area. It's one of the best tools to prepare kids for competitive exams, SAT, AP Courses etc.

If you would like me to assess your kid then please make sure that he or she gets on to this tool and start solving some problems. Start with prealgebra, if that's too easy then try algebra, and if algebra is too easy then try geometry, and finally try pre-calculus. Don't judge difficulty level by name. Their introduction series is pretty tough even for high school kids.

Problems in Alcums test fundamental really well. One can't really escape without knowing fundamentals really-2 well. We use Alcums as an integral part of our classes.

If you need my suggestions, show me their Alcums scores to make some meaningful recommendations. Most likely you may not need me after trying this tool. Let's teach our kids with the best tools.

Good Luck!