Frequently Asked Questions

Can I purchase Formathics for my home school or private school?

Of course! Formathics is designed not only to align with state standards for public schools but also to cater to diverse educational settings. Understanding that exceptional education transcends different environments, we offer a “Mathematics” course. This course is organized by branches of mathematics rather than the traditional scope and sequence found in public schools. Whether you're part of a private school, home school, or a home school co-op, we would be delighted to have you join us at Formathics.

What is the best way to print or save materials from Formathics?

Printing across various devices and browsers can get tricky, but we've got you covered! Check out our dedicated guide for easy printing instructions.

When we purchase Formathics, who gets accounts? Does this include students and teachers?

With a Formathics purchase for your school or district, we provide individual accounts to all staff involved in supporting Math education. This includes teachers, facilitators, assistant principals, co-teachers, and other educational staff.

However, we do not provide accounts for students. Here's why: While there are numerous excellent online tools for students, our experience has shown that student learning is most effective through direct interaction, argument, and analysis with teachers and peers, rather than additional screen time.

At Formathics, we strongly believe in the power of a hands-on teaching approach. Our platform is designed to take some of the prep work off of teachers' shoulders, enabling them to dedicate more time and resources to direct student interaction and personalized teaching.

Can Formathics be used for intervention or enrichment?

YES! Formathics isn't just for whole class assessments; it's a versatile tool in your teaching arsenal. The real power lies in what you do with the data. If you find that several students are struggling with a concept in a formative assessment, Formathics can be your go-to resource. You can use it to generate new, targeted questions for small group interventions, addressing specific learning needs.

Similarly, for students who are excelling and ready for more challenging material, Formathics can help extend their learning. It allows you to create more advanced problems based on similar skills, thereby providing enrichment opportunities that keep all students engaged and growing.

Is it possible for students to look up the answers to questions by finding your answer keys?

Nope, and that's one of Formathics' unique strengths! Each time a teacher creates independent practice or any other type of problem set, the material is entirely new. With a (practically) infinite possibility of materials, students won't find the answer key for your materials, unless you post it.

What is the difference between the Formats that you offer? Why is it helpful to have different formats?

Outstanding teaching involves continuous assessment and diverse content interactions. That's why Formathics offers a variety of formats, each tailored for specific instructional needs. But you're the teacher, and you're in control, so think of our formats as the layout to the material you create, not as the "way" that you have to use them.

Formative Assessment: Designed for rapid feedback, this tool is perfect for end-of-class assessments. It quickly measures student understanding, serving as the indispensable "exit ticket" - now effortlessly created and integrated into your lesson plan.

Gallery Walk: This interactive format transforms learning into an active experience. By placing single-question sheets around the classroom, students are encouraged to move, engage, and discuss. It's about making learning dynamic and collaborative.

Independent Practice: This versatile tool can function as homework, in-class activities, enrichment, or intervention. It can be used in a collaborative exercise but its layout is most like an old school "worksheet".

Weekly Practice: This format lets you group up to four skills together into a single activity. Many teachers use this for spiral review, but some teachers change the headers and turn this into a progressive activity for class use.

Warm Ups: This exciting format lets you combine up to ten skills together and automatically creates a week's worth of "slides" that have a 16x9 ratio; perfect for displaying as warm ups or creating a slide deck for whiteboard practice!

Mixed Gallery Walk: Laid out just like our Gallery Walk, but now with the ability to group up to five different skills together into the activity. Great for multimodal experiences or reviewing lots of different content. Teachers can even remove the numbering and turn it into a scavenger hunt.

Quiz: Our Quiz format is designed for versatility, allowing you to combine multiple skills into one vertically arranged activity. It's perfect for diagnostic or summative assessments, but it's not limited to quizzes alone. You can include up to 10 distinct skills and a total of 50 questions, making it a go-to format for various educational purposes.

With these distinct formats (and more in development), you can continually offer fresh opportunities for student achievement, allowing you to pinpoint learning gaps and tailor your teaching strategy effectively.

Why is the number of questions on the formative not the exact number I asked for?

Formathics aims to maximize the value of each half-page formative assessment by including as many questions as you request. However, if questions involve extensive content (graphs, tables, etc), we may not be able to fit the full number you've specified. In that case we will include as many as we can fit on the half sheet. We cap formative assessments at a maximum of 12 questions based on our classroom experience, as going beyond this typically exceeds the purpose (and time) of a quick exit ticket or small quiz.

Why Can I Only Make Question Stacks in Sets of 4?

When creating a flashcard layout from regular sheets of paper, each question stack places 4 questions on a single sheet in a quadrant layout. This requires the total number of questions to be a multiple of 4 to ensure the last page is completely filled. By selecting 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, or 24 questions, you determine the number of pages needed, ranging from 1 to 6 pages.

Are materials from Formathics aligned to standards?

At Formathics, uncompromising alignment to educational standards is at the core of what we do. Every skill we develop for your students begins with a thorough analysis of your specific standards. Then, and only then, after rigorous vetting by a team of experienced teachers, do we add content to our site. This ensures that each resource is not just aligned, but also effectively aids in student growth, meeting the depth and complexity required by these standards.

Can I search skills in above and below grade levels?

At Formathics, we make aligning with state standards effortless, especially for teachers like you. If you're a 7th-grade math teacher in North Carolina wanting to see previous learning, just navigate to the "Curated Skills" page and select “Math 6.” You'll instantly access all the skills aligned with the 6th-grade math standards. This feature is incredibly helpful for understanding where your students are coming from and planning ahead.

Looking forward to what your students will learn next year? Choose “Math 8” and explore the upcoming skills and concepts.

For a more traditional breakdown of our skills by branches of mathematics, which is often preferred by private schools, simply select “Mathematics.” Our platform is designed to provide you with tailored content that best suits your teaching needs and goals.

Can I purchase Formathics for my district?

Absolutely! Empowering your teachers with a productive tool like Formathics can make a significant difference in your district's educational impact. If you're interested in purchasing Formathics for multiple schools or for your entire district, we would be thrilled to discuss the possibilities with you. For more information and to start the conversation, please email us.

What are the guidelines that members must follow when using Formathics? What's allowed and what isn't?

There's a lot to cover, but in a nutshell, you can use Formathics to assist your students and any teachers in the group with which you purchased it. If you have an individual membership, that means you can only use Formathics for your students. However, if you have a school membership, you can share it with any teachers at your school. Please check out our usage guidelines and our terms of service for all the details.