A popular learning platform accessed daily by hundreds of JHop students may be stealing their data every time they log on.
IXL, an online learning tool used for math, ELA, science, and other subjects, is the target of a years-long lawsuit filed by California parents.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the IXL Learning, Inc., allegedly illegally collected students data and sold it.
Plaintiffs in the case launched a class-action lawsuit, Shanahan v. IXL Learning Inc., in 2024. They claim the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). IXL Learning says that the school’s consent was equal to parental consent. The FTC filed an amicus brief in 2024 supporting parental rights. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
In addition to the lawsuit controversy, there are petitions at change.org charging that IXL causes anxiety with students because of its hard grading system.
In IXL lessons, there is a tracker system that tracks correct and incorrect answers called the Smart Score. The lesson is completed only if your Smart Score has 100 points.
At the start of a lesson, scholars can gain 14 to 18 points if a question is answered correctly but lose two points if answered incorrectly.
As a student progresses through an IXL lesson, usually around the 60 to 80-point mark, two to five points are rewarded for correct answers, and between six and 13 points are deducted when a question is answered incorrectly.
This makes the lesson stressful for students because they must regain points to finish, which becomes slower.
“It takes a long time, the students have to do other work from other classes, and it’s just really annoying to the students,” sixth-grader Hank Miller said.
Another sixth grade student, Landon Callison, agreed.
“Well, I mean you can’t really fail an IXL assignment,” Callison said. “it’s just when you get a question wrong it brings your score down a lot, so it’s really frustrating.”
Though IXL may be stressful for some students, sixth-grade gifted math teacher Adrianna Gill said she believes IXL is useful for students because it explains topics with informational videos.
Gill said students can reduce IXL stress by taking on small tasks every day.
“I would say pace yourself, do a little bit every day, and do not try to overwhelm yourself by trying to get that 100 immediately,” she said.
