General Questions
- What is Smart Tutor?
- Who can use Smart Tutor?
- How does Smart Tutor help my child with reading?
- How does Smart Tutor help my child with math?
- Is Smart Tutor just about lessons? My child gets bored easily.
- How do I know Smart Tutor is as good as you say it is?
- My child has special needs. Can he still use Smart Tutor?
- I homeschool my child. Can we use Smart Tutor?
- You’ve been telling me a lot about what Smart Tutor can do, but how does it work?
- How much time does it take?
- Can I view some of your lessons before I sign up?
- How much does Smart Tutor cost?
- Do I need to pay for upgrades?
- What if I need help? Are there any support fees?
- What do I need to have in my computer to use Smart Tutor?
- Is Smart Tutor aligned with National and State Standards?
- How Do I access my Parent account?
- How Does my child access their account?
- I love your program so much, how can I become an online tutor?
Scroll down for Billing, Assessment, Lessons, and Technical Questions.
What is Smart Tutor?
Smart Tutor is a web-based program that delivers fun, interactive lessons to children around the world. It does so by first assessing your child and then creating an individualized learning program that is just right for them.
Who can use Smart Tutor?
Smart Tutor is designed to teach children in the Kindergarten through Grade 5 age group. It is also an excellent tool to prepare preschoolers for school and remediate older students who are not performing at grade level. If your child meets any of these criteria, then they should be using Smart Tutor.
How does Smart Tutor help my child with reading?
Smart Tutor teaches all skills required for reading. Younger children learn the alphabet, letter sounds, and words from the Dolch and Fry word lists. Older children gain an increased vocabulary and learn how to comprehend and interpret the underlying meanings of what they read. Children who complete the Smart Tutor program show increased fluency and comprehension when reading.
To learn more about the Smart Tutor reading curriculum, click here.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Sight Words
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
How does Smart Tutor help my child with math?
Smart Tutor teaches all aspects of elementary mathematics. Younger students learn about counting, addition, subtraction, basic units for customary and metric measurement, and basic geometric shapes. Older children learn multiplication, division, algebra, and geometry, as well as more complex measurement concepts. The tutorials and practice exercises give your child an understanding of how math is used in the real world.
To learn more about the Smart Tutor math curriculum, click here.
Number & Operations
Measurement
Geometry
Algebra
Data Analysis and Probability
Is Smart Tutor just about lessons? My child gets bored easily.
Smart Tutor’s primary purpose is to teach children, and we understand that children don’t learn well when they are bored. Each lesson includes interactive activities designed to engage your child’s attention. Smart Tutor also rewards good performance on graded activities by including fun games at regular intervals.
How do I know Smart Tutor is as good as you say it is?
Don’t take our word for it. Since 2008, Smart Tutor-Reading has been awarded the prestigious Best Educational Software Award (BESSIE) from the ComputED Learning Center year after year. Reviewers stated that “Smart Tutor – Reading’s website design and content are the best we’ve seen for delivering reading materials to children in the K-5 age group.” Winners were selected from software publishers around the world. To view all the awards Smart Tutor has received, please visit our Awards Page.
My child has special needs. Can he still use Smart Tutor?
Smart Tutor was originally designed for use in schools, and many of our accounts were setup for their special needs departments. Smart Tutor has been used successfully by hundreds of students with exceptional needs and speakers of other languages. A member of our customer support team uses Smart Tutor for his Autistic son. Exceptional students have always been a major part of the focus of Smart Tutor.
I homeschool my child. Can we use Smart Tutor?
One of the hardest parts of homeschooling is finding a curriculum that works for your child. Something that fits one child may not work for another, and what worked last semester may not be as challenging. Smart Tutor is a perfect addition to your home school curriculum. Presentation is adjusted to suit the ability and skill level of the child, and content is constantly updated It allows your child to work at their own pace with constant support and feedback. The reports allow you to monitor your child’s performance by sub-skill whenever you like. Also, every Smart Tutor lesson is tied to national and state standards, which ensures your children are getting the instruction they need.
You’ve been telling me a lot about what Smart Tutor can do, but how does it work?
Smart Tutor starts off with a short test of important sub-skills in reading and math. Each test lasts approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Then Smart Tutor sets up a lesson plan based on the results of those tests. As soon as each test is completed, your child can begin taking lessons. The entire process is automated. The only thing you may need to do is help your child log in.
How much time does it take?
Lessons vary in length from five minutes to nearly an hour. We realize, however, that it is difficult to get a child to sit still for that length of time. For this reason, each lesson is broken down into smaller, more manageable activities. Encourage your child to use Smart Tutor for at least fifteen minutes a day, and you will begin to notice the difference.
Can I view some of your lessons before I sign up?
Yes, of course. We know you will love Smart Tutor and want you to see exactly what you are getting. Check out our Reading Sample lessons or our Math Sample Lessons.
How much does Smart Tutor cost?
Smart Tutor is priced to be affordable for everyone. One month of Smart Tutor costs less than an hour with a live tutor. Schools and organizations can reduce the cost even more. View our pricing plans.
Do I need to pay for upgrades?
No, you never have to pay for upgrades. We are constantly adding features and lessons to our library. Every time Smart Tutor releases a new lesson or module, it is immediately available to you – free of charge!
What if I need help? Are there any support fees?
No, there are never any additional support fees. If you need help at any time, you can email us via our Contact Us form or call us with questions at 954-584-5250 Monday to Friday between the hours of 9 am – 5 pm (EST). Each email or call will be answered by a real live person. Imagine that!
What do I need to have in my computer to use Smart Tutor?
Smart Tutor an online program, and you will need an internet connection and a computer. For specific computer requirements, please check our System Requirement Section.
Is Smart Tutor aligned with National and State Standards?
Yes, our program, the Smart Tutor is aligned with all 50 state standards including the Common Core Standards.
How Do I access my Parent account?
Parents log in at the Parent Login using their username (email) and password.
How Does my child access their account?
Students log in at the Student Login using their username and password created at the time of sign up.
I love your program so much, how can I become an online tutor?
Our program is online and we do not hire tutors. The curriculum is all online where the students log in and do the lessons on their own. Thank you for your interest in becoming a part of our team. If you would like to apply to one of our current available positions, please check our careers page.
Billing, Cancellations, Payments, Reactivation, and Suspension
- What credit cards do you accept?
- How do I cancel my account?
- Can I suspend my account instead of canceling my account?
- Can I suspend my account instead of canceling my account?
- I’m going on vacation. How Do I suspend my account?
- How Do I reactivate my canceled account?
- How Do I reactivate my suspended account?
- What is your Refund Policy?
What credit cards do you accept?
We take Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover only
How do I cancel my account?
We’re sorry to hear that you are canceling the program. To cancel your account, please log in to your account using your username and password.
Click on “My Account” and then choose the option to “Cancel Subscription Plan.”
You may also call the office or send us an email to cancel your account.
Can I suspend my account instead of canceling my account?
Yes, you can suspend your account for 1, 2, or 3 months.
I’m going on vacation. How Do I suspend my account?
Log in to your account using your username and password.
Click on “My Account” and then choose the option to “Suspend Account” under the Change Account Info heading.
How Do I reactivate my canceled account?
Contact us by phone at toll free 888-587-5250 or 954-584-5250 or by email to reactivate your account.
How Do I reactivate my suspended account?
Your account will automatically reactivate at the end of the suspension period. If you want to reactivate before, simply log in and there will be a popup window asking you to re-activate now. You can also call us or email us.
What is your Refund Policy?
Smarttutor.com does not issue refunds for non-usage of the system. After the service is canceled, your credit card will not be prorated for the days left in your billing cycle. If you delete a child from the program and the system bills your credit card after the deletion, we will issue a refund. We understand there are exceptional circumstances. Therefore, we will carefully review each petition for a refund and make decisions based on our billing policies.
Assessment
- How Do I start the Assessments for my child?
- How long is the assessment?
- The assessment questions seem too difficult/easy for my child. Is that correct?
- What happens if my child needs to take a break during the assessment?
- How can I change the placement of my child for Reading or Math?
- Why is my child exempt from some sub-skills in Reading?
- Can my child retake the assessments?
- How often do you recommend to re-test my child?
How Do I start the Assessments for my child?
To start the assessment, please have your child log in to their account at the Student Login using the username and password you created for them during the sign up process.
When they log in, they will two icons for the assessment: Reading and Math Challenge. Click on the Challenge icon to begin taking the assessment.
The assessment questions seem too difficult/easy for my child. Is that correct?
The assessment is adaptive, that means it will adjust to how your child is answering the questions. It’s important they do the assessment on their own so the system can get an accurate understanding of where your child needs to start in the Smart Tutor program.
How long is the assessment?
The assessments are not timed, they were designed to adjust to the child’s pace. Generally, most students take approximately 30 minutes for the Reading assessment and approximately 45 minutes for the Math assessment.
What happens if my child needs to take a break during the assessment?
The students can stop the assessment at any time and the program will remember where they left off next time they log in to continue the assessment.
Changing the Assessment Placement
How can I change the placement of my child for Reading or Math?
There are two options:
- We can reset the assessment so they can retake it and be properly placed or
- We can adjust their lesson to start at a different grade level
For option 1, We will need to know the date you want them to retake the assessment and also if it’s just the reading assessment or also the math.
For option 2, We will need to know the starting lesson for each sub-skill as follows:
Reading
Phonics
Phonemic Awareness
Sight Words
Reading Comprehension
Vocabulary
Math
Number & Operation, Algebra, and Data Analysis
Geometry
Measurement
There is a list of lessons in your account in the Guides Page to help you indicate what lesson your child should start at each sub-skill.
Why is my child exempt from some sub-skills in Reading?
When students mastered a sub-skill and are above 4th and 5th grade, they may be exempted from Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words only.
Retaking the Assessment
Can my child retake the assessments?
Yes, please send us an email with the date of when you would like to have your child re-take the assessment as well as the subjects you would like them to retake (Reading or Math or both).
How often do you recommend to re-test my child?
We only recommend to retake the assessment at the beginning of the school year. If you want to compare the scores and placement from previous assessments, we then recommend that the child completes at least 15 hours in the program in each subject before re-testing again.
Lessons and Reports
- How long do the lessons take?
- How do I know when my child completes a Lesson?
- What is the Crossing Guard’s function?
- What happens if my child needs to take a break during the Lesson?
- How soon after my child completes a lesson does the report update?
- What reports are available in the Smart Tutor Program?
- Where Can I access the Reports?
How long do the lessons take?
Each lesson is different and the time will depend on your child. Students are not timed and can take as long as they want to complete the components in the Lessons.
How do I know when my child completes a Lesson?
A Lesson is completed when the student receives a score for the Graded Activity component in the Lesson. Your child will see a scoreboard with their score.
What is the Crossing Guard’s function?
The Crossing Guard is a bookmark or stopping point to save the work your child has completed. It does not indicate the Lesson was completed.
What happens if my child needs to take a break during the Lesson?
It is best to ONLY stop at the Crossing Guard.
How soon after my child completes a lesson does the report update?
Immediately. The reports only record the time and lessons after the students complete them. In other words, if the student only finished a portion of the lesson, let’s say the tutorial, the system will not record that until the student receives a score for the entire lesson.
The lessons have several components, a tutorial, practice, and quiz (graded activity).
The number of components in a lesson vary depending on how complex the subject is. Lessons can have from 2 to 7 components. Many students often believe they completed a lesson, but in reality they are still taking one of the components in the lesson.
A lesson in completed when the student received a score (or grade) for the quiz. The “Crossing Guard” does not indicate the lesson has been completed, instead it indicates a logical stopping point for the student. In addition, a lesson can repeat if the student does not score 70% or higher in the quiz.
What reports are available in the Smart Tutor Program?
There are two types of reports available: Assessment Reports and Lesson Data reports.
Where Can I access the Reports?
Please log on to your Parent account using your username and password.
Then select to “View Reports.” In that page, there are eight reports.
- Reading Assessment Overview -> to view the score of the assessment test
- Math Assessment Overview -> to view the score of the assessment test in math
- Reading Performance Report -> or report card of all the lessons taken and the scores
- Math Performance Report -> or report card of all the lessons taken in math and the scores
- Lessons Completed Report -> will show you all the lessons the students have completed within the date range you chose
- Time on Task Report -> shows you the amount of hours spent on the system after they complete each lesson.
- Math Progress Report -> shows the progress the students have accomplished in the Math Smart Tutor. I recommend running this report after 7 hours of Smart Tutor instruction.
- Reading Progress Report -> shows the progress the students have accomplished in the Reading Smart Tutor. I recommend running this report after 7 hours of Smart Tutor instruction.
Lesson Library
- Is the Lesson Library available during the Free Trial?
- If the Smart Tutor already assigns Lessons to my child, why would I use the Lesson Library?
Is the Lesson Library available during the Free Trial?
All features of the program are available during the trial. Here are the steps to access the Lesson Library:
Log in to your Parent Account using your username (email) and password.
Click on Lesson Library and click on Assign Lessons.
Select the grade level of lessons you would like to see from the drop down menu and click on either Reading or Math to view the lessons. That will bring up the list of lessons in that grade level for the subject you chose.
To assign lessons, click on the check box next to the name of the lesson and then click the yellow button that says Assign Lessons. View the Assessment Videos.
If the Smart Tutor already assigns Lessons to my child, why would I use the Lesson Library?
The Lesson Library is an extra tool that can be used for intervention, reinforcement of what is taught in the classroom, for homework assignments, or extra practice. You do not have to use it unless you want to.
Repeating Lessons
- When does a Lesson repeat?
- The Lesson keeps repeating even though my child scored more than 70%. What can I do?
When does a Lesson repeat?
A lesson can repeat if the student does not score 70% or higher in the quiz.
In addition, the lessons have several components, a tutorial, practice, and quiz (graded activity). The number of components in a lesson vary depending on how complex the subject is. Lessons can have from 2 to 7 components. Many students often believe they are repeating the lesson, but in reality they are still taking one of the components in the lesson.
A lesson in completed when the student received a score (or grade) for the quiz. The “Crossing Guard” does not indicate the lesson has been completed, instead it indicates a logical stopping point for the student.
The Lesson keeps repeating even though my child scored more than 70%. What can I do?
When a Lesson repeats even though your child scored higher than 70% on the quiz, it is possible that your computer does not have all the requirements to use our Smart Tutor Program. Often times, computers update without notice and the new settings could be causing issues with the Smart Tutor program.
Check the following in your computer to ensure it has the latest plugins to play the lessons properly:
- Computer may need latest version of Flash. To download the latest version of Flash, click this link http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
- The session time out due to slow internet and didn’t send the score to our server. A speed test can be done at this link http://myspeed.visualware.com/
- The browser is not set to refresh flash content. Internet Explorer 7: Please ensure that browser settings for all computers are set to “automatically check for newer versions” of stored pages. (Go to Tools>Internet Options>Browsing History>Settings). Internet Explorer 6: (Go to Tools>Internet Options>Temporary Internet Files>Settings)
- Java updates or Microsoft updates may be needed
- Antivirus, Security Software, or Firewall can be blocking the websites and/or Flash content
- Check the system requirements’ page for more information
Technical Questions
- Does the Smart Tutor program work with the iPad, Nook, or Android Tablets?
- The lessons/assessment are not working on my computer. Can your system be down?
- The Lesson keeps repeating even though my child scored more than 70%. What can I do?
- I’ve tried the checklist of requirements for my computer, what can I do next?
Does the Smart Tutor program work with the iPad, Nook, or Android Tablets?
Yes! SmartTutor works on your Mobile devices! You can use SmartTutor on the following Mobile Devices using the Browsers mentioned below:
- iPad
- Nook
- Android 3.2 and older
Now, just install one of these Browsers for your iPad, and you can use SmartTutor “on the go!”
| Our Rating | Browser Name | Link | Price | Summary |
| ** | Photon | https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photon-flash-video-player/id430200224?mt=8 | $4.99 |
|
| *** | iSwifter | https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iswifter-games-browser-play/id388857173?mt=8 | $9.99 |
It’s nice to have two options so the students can use their preference. |
You can also download our app Okta’s Rescue for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.
The lessons/assessment are not working on my computer. Can your system be down?
Restart your computer and try again. If that doesn’t take care of the problem, follow these instruction below to ensure your computer has all the requirements to play the lessons and the assessments:
- Computer may need latest version of Flash. To download the latest version of Flash, click this link http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
- The session time out due to slow internet and didn’t send the score to our server. A speed test can be done at this link http://myspeed.visualware.com/
- The browser is not set to refresh flash content. Internet Explorer 7: Please ensure that browser settings for all computers are set to “automatically check for newer versions” of stored pages. (Go to Tools>Internet Options>Browsing History>Settings). Internet Explorer 6: (Go to Tools>Internet Options>Temporary Internet Files>Settings)
- Java updates or Microsoft updates may be needed
- Antivirus, Security Software, or Firewall can be blocking the websites and/or Flash content
The Lesson keeps repeating even though my child scored more than 70%. What can I do?
Follow the steps above to ensure that your computer can play the Lessons properly.
I’ve tried the checklist of requirements for my computer, what can I do next?
Send us an email with screenshots of the issue and the name of the lesson that keeps repeating.
