Comparison

NYCPS vs Sum Blocks

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NYCPS

This app enables parents and guardians to monitor their children's academic journey within the NYC Public School system. It provides access to grades, class schedules, attendance records, and assignment details.

Highlights
  • View grades
  • Check schedules
  • Monitor attendance
  • Track assignments
  • Support child's education
Features
Read full description

NYCPS - NYCSA Mobile app allows parents/guardians to support and track their children's progress through public school education at the NYC Public Schools through the mobile app. It allows parents to view grades, schedules, attendance, and assignments.

About

Sum Blocks

Features
Read full description

Drag blocks onto an 8x8 board. Fill a whole row or column and it blasts. Clear four lines and a math question appears under the board. Answer it and you are not given points — you are given a tool. A bomb that clears a 3x3 patch. A hammer that knocks a single block out. A shuffle that swaps the three pieces you are stuck with. Doing the math makes you stronger at the puzzle, and a child who never answers a question can still finish every level. SKILL MISSIONS Each mission is one arithmetic skill — times tables, sharing, big adding, taking away — and inside it every question is that one skill. Four levels each, with goals like "blast twelve lines" or "score 1,600 using thirty blocks or fewer". A block budget, not a clock, so nothing hurries a child. DAILY CHALLENGE One puzzle a day, built from the date itself, so every player in the world gets the same blocks in the same order. Play two days running and a streak starts. CLASSIC Endless blocks with no goal but your own best score. Easy, Normal and Hard change the shapes you are dealt, how fast the big ones arrive, and how long you get on a question. THE BLOCKS ARE NEVER TIMED A child can stare at a move for as long as they like. Only the bonus question has a countdown, and letting it run out costs nothing — it shows the answer and play carries on. NINETEEN KINDS OF QUESTION, KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 6 Pick the grade and the questions stay inside it. Nothing above it can appear. Difficulty is a separate setting, so a grade 2 child can play Hard and a grade 6 child can play Easy. FOR PARENTS No accounts and no email. Scores stay on the device. There is one full-page ad after a game ends, never during play, and a single payment removes it for good. An adults' area behind a four-digit gate holds the purchase and an optional daily reminder.

Screenshots

NYCPS3 screens
Sum Blocks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NYCPS at none against Sum Blocks's 1. NYCPS also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sum Blocks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NYCPS asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
NYCPS versus Sum Blocks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNYCPSSum Blocks
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (73 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews10.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings73 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 months—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB15 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNew York City Dept of EducationChaim Lebowits

Bugs and requests

NYCPS

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Stuck at 'Select Student' page with no students to select
  • Login screen freezes
  • App logs out frequently
  • App doesn't accept correct credentials
  • App crashes repeatedly
Show 8 more
  • App doesn't allow login even with correct information
  • App redirects to the website instead of functioning
  • App freezes after hitting enter on login
  • App doesn't recognize parent account credentials
  • App doesn't let you go back to re-enter credentials
  • App doesn't clear previous login info after deletion
  • Login button is not visible due to screen size
  • App prompts incorrect username or password despite website working

Requested features

7 requests
  • Bring back PupilPath
  • Fix login issues
  • Allow users to stay logged in
  • Make app work with larger text sizes
  • Ensure login button is visible on all screen sizes
Show 2 more
  • Improve grading system breakdown
  • Allow re-entry of login credentials after deletion

Sum Blocks

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

NYCPS

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Sum Blocks

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is NYCPS free?
NYCPS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sum Blocks free?
Sum Blocks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NYCPS or Sum Blocks have ads?
Sum Blocks shows ads; NYCPS does not.

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