What IXL levels mean
By Jasa Todorovich. Last updated Sep 27, 2026
For teachers and school leaders: Lorsey reads the IXL, NWEA MAP and Savvas scores your school already has and shows the next step for each student. See it on your own roster
The short answer
IXL uses the word "level" for two different things, and most confusion comes from mixing them up:
- A grade label on a skill, such as K, 3, A1 or G. It tells you which grade or course a skill is listed under. It is a label, not a score.
- A diagnostic level, such as 340 or 470. It comes from the IXL Flex Diagnostic or the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic, and IXL says it represents the student's working grade level.
A diagnostic level of 400 means a student is ready to start 4th-grade skills, and 450 means the student is about halfway through 4th grade.
What "level K" and the other letters mean
On IXL's math page, every grade and course has a short label. These are the ones IXL shows:
| Label | What it stands for |
|---|---|
| P | Pre-K |
| K | Kindergarten |
| 1 to 8 | First grade to eighth grade |
| A1 | Algebra 1 |
| G | Geometry |
| A2 | Algebra 2 |
| PC | Precalculus |
| C | Calculus |
| I1, I2, I3 | Integrated 1, 2 and 3 |
So a "K" beside a skill means that skill sits in IXL's kindergarten list. It does not mean the student scored a K.
Inside a grade, IXL groups skills under lettered sections and numbers the skills within each one. Kindergarten math, for example, opens with section "A. Numbers to 3", whose first skill is A.1. IXL's own reports print a skill this way too, as the grade, then the section letter and number, such as "6th (W.3)". The letter marks a section of that grade's list.
Those section codes can move. IXL says skill names and skill listings are adjusted as content is updated, and that its old skill codes changed when new skills were added. That is why every skill also has a permanent skill ID: three characters, like "EQY" or "M2C", that stay the same year over year. If you need to point someone at the same skill next year, use the permanent ID.
What an IXL diagnostic level means
A diagnostic level reads as a grade. In IXL's examples, 400 is the start of 4th grade and 450 is halfway through it. IXL names two exceptions at the bottom of the scale: pre-K is 0 to 50 and kindergarten is 50 to 100.
These are the examples IXL itself publishes:
| Diagnostic level | What IXL says it means |
|---|---|
| 0 to 50 | Pre-K |
| 50 to 100 | Kindergarten |
| 370 | Working on 3rd-grade material, understands about 70% of it |
| 400 | Ready to start 4th-grade skills |
| 450 | About halfway through the 4th-grade curriculum |
| 550 | Understands about half of 5th-grade material |
| 600 | Ready to work on 6th-grade skills |
| 650 | Understands about half of 6th-grade material |
The overall math level is one of these numbers for the subject as a whole. Each strand, such as Fractions or Geometry, gets its own level on the same design, so a student can have an overall level of 340 and a strand level of 370 at the same time. The strand levels tell you where to look.
For the Flex Diagnostic, IXL's family guide adds that an increase of 10 points indicates about a month of growth.
Why a level can show as a range or a star
On the Flex Diagnostic, a level appears as a range of numbers, such as 410 to 530, while the diagnostic does not have complete data yet. The range shrinks as the student answers more questions, and once IXL has enough information it pinpoints a single number, marked with a star.
On the LevelUp Diagnostic, a student gets no score until they finish the whole diagnostic, so there is no range to read.
High school levels
For high school math, IXL publishes a score guide for each diagnostic that ties levels to courses, for a traditional sequence and an integrated one. Both guides set the same overall math targets:
| End of course | Overall math level |
|---|---|
| Algebra 1 or Integrated I | 1000 |
| Geometry or Integrated II | 1100 |
| Algebra 2 or Integrated III | 1200 |
The growth tables in both guides put the overall level at 900 at the start of Algebra 1 or Integrated I and add 50 points every half year: 950 in the middle of the year, 1000 at the end, and so on up to 1200 at the end of Algebra 2 or Integrated III. Strand expectations differ by course. On the Flex Diagnostic, the Fractions strand is capped at 800 and the Measurement strand at 700, so the targets for those two strands stay at 800 and 700 through high school.
The top of each scale, and the difference between the two diagnostics, is covered in what the IXL Diagnostic measures.
A level is not a SmartScore, and neither is the score chart
A diagnostic level places a student against grade-level material. A SmartScore is a 0 to 100 reading of one skill.
IXL's Skill Score Chart is built from SmartScores, not from levels. It shows a class's progress on one skill in four groups:
| Group | What IXL means by it |
|---|---|
| Mastered | SmartScore of 100 |
| Proficiency | SmartScore of at least 80 |
| Practiced | At least one question answered, SmartScore below 80 |
| No Practice | No questions answered |
Frequently asked questions
What is level K in IXL?
K is IXL's label for kindergarten. A skill marked K is in IXL's kindergarten list. On the IXL diagnostics, kindergarten corresponds to levels 50 to 100.
What do the IXL levels mean by grade?
IXL says a diagnostic level represents a student's working grade level. A level of 400 means ready to start 4th-grade skills and 450 means about halfway through 4th grade. Pre-K is 0 to 50 and kindergarten is 50 to 100.
What does an overall math level mean in IXL?
It is the student's diagnostic level for math as a whole, read as a grade. IXL also gives a level for each strand on the same design, so you can see where the student is performing in each strand.
What IXL level should a high school student have?
IXL's score guides set an overall math target of 1000 by the end of Algebra 1 or Integrated I, 1100 by the end of Geometry or Integrated II, and 1200 by the end of Algebra 2 or Integrated III.
Why is my child's IXL level a range instead of one number?
On the Flex Diagnostic, a range means the diagnostic does not have complete data yet. It narrows as the student answers questions, then settles on one number marked with a star.
What does a letter and number like A.1 mean on an IXL skill?
It is the skill's section letter and number in that grade's list. IXL says skill listings can be adjusted as content changes, while the three-character permanent skill ID stays the same.
Is the IXL Skill Score Chart based on levels?
No. It groups students by SmartScore on one skill: Mastered at 100, Proficiency at 80 or more, Practiced below 80, and No Practice.
Sources
- IXL, What do the levels in IXL Assessments mean?. Source for the working grade level definition, 400 and 450, pre-K and kindergarten ranges, and the range and star behavior.
- IXL, Understanding your child's IXL Flex Diagnostic results (PDF). Source for 370, 550, 600, 650, strand scores and 10 points as about a month.
- IXL, High school score interpretation guide for the IXL LevelUp Math Diagnostic (PDF)
- IXL, High school score interpretation guide for the IXL Flex Math Diagnostic (PDF). Source for the Fractions and Measurement caps.
- IXL, IXL Math and Kindergarten math. Source for the grade labels and section letters.
- IXL, What are permanent skill IDs?
- IXL, How can I see new skills and skill code updates?
- IXL, How can I use the Skill Score Chart?
Lorsey is not affiliated with or endorsed by IXL Learning. IXL, LevelUp and SmartScore are trademarks of their respective owner, used here to describe the product a school already has.