If a student is having a hard time, the program will automatically note this and can scale back the difficulty or topics to help work on the fundamentals.Ĭonversely, if a student is flying through its practice it will make things more challenging. Rather than relying on age and grade based set-and-forget standards, the program can change its learning difficulty and pace based on how a student is actually learning and performing. AdaptiveĪt the heart of Sumdog is an adaptive algorithm. Sumdog is an online, self-paced learning service that is both web and app-based, meaning it can be accessed from the company website or by downloading a specific app.Īs a result, students can access Sumdog in order to get their practice in from anywhere at any time.įurther, because it is offered as both a browser-based and app-based program, it can essentially be used on any device, which is quite convenient.Ī student can start off on a desktop and, if they are suddenly kicked off by an older sibling, can take their work on the go by downloading and using the Sumdog app on a tablet. Since Sumdog is configured to follow a typical, standards-based progression of skills and topics, such as might be found in a public school, it can theoretically place a student in the beginning, middle or end of a grade level based on their performance, which is fairly impressive.Ī student with a score of 4.5, for example, means that the program believes them to be at about 50% of the way through a 4th grade curriculum and will start them off somewhere in the middle of a grade level by default. This is essentially an assessment of the student’s performance compared to a standards-aligned curriculum in math or language arts.
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In these placement tests students are given a series of questions to answer.Ībout an hour or so in maximum length, the diagnostic begins with 15 or so pre-test questions and then moves on to a 40 question portion.Īs long as their accuracy stays above 80%, students are given increasingly challenging questions until the program reaches a point where accuracy begins to reliably drop below this threshold, at which point a level is found.Īt the end of the diagnostic, a placement is given. Sumdog PlacementĪs an adaptive practice program, by and large Sumdog will place students at what it considers the appropriate level of difficulty in math, spelling and grammar based on their performance on diagnostic placement tests. Similarly, at least with the family editions, parents can also set the grade level, skills and topics that students should be working on.Īs a result Sumdog can naturally be used by students learning outside a typical grade progression, such as by precocious students and those in upper grades who are a bit behind or who need a skills refresher. The algorithm will analyze student responses and increase or decrease the level of difficulty, pace or even change the topical coverage based on their actual performance.
That said, due to its adaptive algorithm, Sumdog is largely skills-based, focused more around a student’s actual demonstration of topical knowledge and ability rather than grade and age. What Ages Or Grades Is Sumdog Intended For?Īlthough founded in the UK, Sumdog has been adapted to the US market as well and offers Common Core and standards-aligned question banks for K-8 math, as well as K-6 language arts. Founded all the way back in 1994 in Scotland, Sumdog is an interactive, online drill and practice program that uses video games to help students sharpen key skills in a more enjoyable manner.Ĭovering math and language arts, Sumdog provides a personalized learning experience through a sophisticated adaptive algorithm, changing the level of game difficulty and topical practice to match a student’s individual skill and ability.
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