ParentMap vs Khan Academy: Which Is Right for Your Family?

Khan Academy covers math beautifully. ParentMap covers the full curriculum so you know where your child stands across ALL subjects. Here is how the two platforms compare for homeschool families.

Feature
Khan Academy
ParentMap
Subject Coverage
Math-focused diagnostic
5 subjects + Spanish Language Arts
Cost
Free
Free tier available
Language
English primary (some Spanish content)
Fully bilingual EN/ES
What It Does
Teaches and drills content
Measures where your child stands
Family Dashboard
Individual student accounts
Multi-child family dashboard
Progress Tracking
Math mastery points
Cross-subject progress with semester tracking

How Khan Academy Works

Khan Academy is one of the best free educational resources available. It teaches and drills content: video lessons, practice exercises, and an adaptive algorithm that helps students work through math topics. Students earn mastery points as they progress.

However, Khan Academy is focused on math, and it is built to teach, not to measure. If you want a clear picture of where your child stands across reading, writing, science, and social studies, you will need a separate tool. Khan also has no unified family dashboard where you can see all your children's placement in one place.

How ParentMap Works

ParentMap assesses your child across 5 core subjects: Math, Reading/ELA, Writing/Grammar, Science, and Social Studies. Spanish-speaking families also get Spanish Language Arts (Lectura and Escritura). The test takes about 20-30 minutes and gives you a grade-level placement for each subject.

ParentMap measures, it does not teach. After testing, you see exactly where your child stands in every subject, plus a suggested starting point for where to focus. A family dashboard lets you manage multiple children and see each one's placement at a glance, and you track growth over time by re-testing each semester.

Key Differences

Who Should Use What

Choose Khan Academy if...

Families who primarily need math instruction and practice. Khan Academy is an excellent free resource for learning math concepts through video lessons and exercises.

Choose ParentMap if...

Homeschool families who need a complete academic placement across all subjects, a suggested starting point for where to focus, and a way to track multiple children's growth over time by re-testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ParentMap a replacement for Khan Academy?
No, they serve different purposes. Khan Academy is a learning platform with video lessons and exercises. ParentMap is a placement tool: it measures where your child stands, it does not teach. Many families use both: ParentMap to see where their child stands and where to start, and Khan Academy (among other resources) to teach the content.
Can I use both together?
Absolutely, and we recommend it. Use ParentMap to measure your child's level across all subjects and get a suggested starting point for where to focus. Then use Khan Academy (and other curriculum resources) to teach those areas. Come back to ParentMap each semester to re-test and track growth over time.
Does ParentMap cover the same math topics?
ParentMap's math assessment covers the same core domains: Number Sense, Operations, Fractions, Geometry, Measurement, Data/Statistics, and Algebra foundations across 13 grade levels (Pre-K through 12th grade). However, ParentMap is a diagnostic tool, not a teaching platform. It tells you where your child stands; Khan Academy helps you teach the content.

Discover where your child stands in every subject

5 subjects - 13 grades - Instant results - Grade-level placement per subject

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