News & Updates
Research & Insights
Research & Insights ·
What learners can do with a language
The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines describe language ability by what learners can do in real situations. Here’s the idea, and how the World Languages Path will build on ACTFL’s work.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Everyday language and academic language
A student can be fluent in conversation and still be building the academic language school depends on. Here’s what research says about the difference.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
The strands of skilled reading
Skilled reading weaves together word recognition and language comprehension, and research found that what students know about a topic shapes how well they understand a passage about it.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Particles and populations: two ideas students often get wrong
Research on chemistry and biology shows how students’ ideas about matter and evolution often differ from the accepted science, and what that means for diagnosis.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
The science misconceptions students bring to class
Students arrive with their own ideas about how the world works, and some of those ideas conflict with the science they’re about to learn. Here’s what research found.
3 min read
Research & Insights ·
How geometric thinking develops
The van Hiele theory describes levels of geometric thinking, from recognizing shapes to writing proofs. Here’s the idea, and how the Geometry Path will apply it.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Diagnosis as formative assessment
Formative assessment is about feedback that shapes what happens next. Here’s what a landmark review found, and how a diagnostic fits the idea.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Mastery learning: why practice should start at the gap
Mastery learning gives students regular checks and corrective help before they move on. Here’s what the research found, and how SubjectPath applies it.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Mapping what a student knows
Knowledge space theory frames assessment as finding which problems a student can solve. Here’s the idea, and how SubjectPath’s map of standards applies it.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
How adaptive testing chooses the next question
An adaptive test estimates a student’s level from the answers so far and picks the next question to suit it. Here’s the idea and how SubjectPath uses it.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
The equal sign problem
Research found that many middle school students don’t fully understand the equal sign, and that understanding it matters for solving equations.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Why fractions matter so much for algebra
Research links students’ understanding of fractions to their later success in algebra. Here’s what two studies found, and how Algebra Readiness applies the idea.
2 min read
Research & Insights ·
Item Response Theory in plain terms
Item Response Theory puts a student’s ability and a question’s difficulty on one scale. Here’s the idea, where it comes from, and how SubjectPath uses it.
2 min read