Niall McMullan is an IXL Professional Learning Specialist with experience as a teacher and an elementary school vice principal.

Tap into students’ innate curiosity with IXL’s comprehensive K-8 science curriculum! IXL Science helps students learn about the world around them while developing their critical thinking and reasoning skills. Every skill is carefully crafted to ensure students are not just learning facts, but also applying science and engineering concepts to real-world situations. 

Let’s take a closer look at how IXL Science helps you foster the next generation of scientists.

In-depth and accessible content 

IXL Science is the ultimate tool for expanding on your existing curriculum to help learners understand complex topics. By using interactive visuals and breaking intricate ideas into digestible skills, IXL takes students on an active learning journey and brings concepts to life. 

Our in-depth science content covers biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and space science, engineering practices, and much more. Plus, IXL Science is fully aligned with all state standards and the Next Generation State Standards (NGSS).

Students always have access to all K-8 science skills, regardless of their grade level, making it easy to review foundational concepts and strengthen their understanding. Science teachers can also use skills across different grade levels to differentiate instruction. 

Supportive skill progression

IXL Science uses an innovative scoring system specifically designed to support the unique nature of science curriculum. 

Students progress through IXL Science skills in stages. Each science concept is broken down into different steps to help students learn and check for understanding. Once students complete multiple stages, they will achieve mastery of the skill! 

By having learners pause at every step to think critically and actively engage with their learning, they gain a stronger understanding of each concept. For students who know the material, this means they can move through skills quickly. For those still building their knowledge, IXL delivers personalized recommendations and explanations at each stage to fill in the gaps. 

In IXL Science, students will not see their SmartScore during practice. But SmartScores are available for every question answered under the Analytics tab for both teachers and students. Learners will see their final SmartScore on the skill summary page when they complete a skill.

Ready-made science skill plans

Even more good news for science teachers: We’ve done your lesson planning for you! IXL skill plans take the guesswork out of lesson planning by providing the exact set of skills for students to work on. Our science skill plans are custom-built to match your state standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and popular science textbooks. 

Plus, you can assign skills and track progress directly from IXL skill plans. With just the click of a button, teachers can provide a seamless transition from required reading to online practice and personalized learning! Head to the skill plans page under the Learning tab to explore all IXL skill plans.

Personalized skill recommendations

Empower students to take ownership of their own learning by allowing them to choose the skills they want to work on from their Recommendations wall. These recommendations are personalized for each student based on their practice history to help them grow from where they are. The different types of recommendations will encourage learners to target their trouble spots or take on new challenges. 

By default, the Recommendations wall suggests skills from all subjects, but students can filter to see only science skills by clicking on the subject icon at the top right of a skill.

Scientifically proven results 

Research shows that schools using IXL score as much as 16 percentile points higher in science on state assessments compared to schools not using IXL. Students who spent more time and answered more questions on IXL performed better on standardized tests. 

See IXL Science in action

Curious about IXL Science? Explore all of our IXL Science skills for yourself! And for more inspiration, see how educators are using IXL Science in their classrooms in our case studies.