Math Coming soon
Geometry Path
A diagnostic that will find where each student’s reasoning about shapes, proof and measurement breaks down, and build the path to mastery.
The problem
Where Geometry breaks down
Geometry mixes visual reasoning, proof and algebra. A student who struggles with similarity might be missing proportional reasoning; one who struggles with proof might be missing how definitions connect.
- A test score doesn’t separate a reasoning gap from an algebra gap.
- Proof writing is hard to diagnose from a single answer.
- Gaps in Geometry show up again in Algebra 2 and trigonometry.
Inside the Path
What the Geometry Path covers
The Geometry Path will cover the Common Core high school geometry standards: congruence and similarity through transformations, proof, right triangles and trigonometry, circles, coordinate geometry, and the measurement of area and volume.
Where students get stuck
Common misconceptions include judging congruence or similarity by how figures look rather than by their properties, assuming a diagram is drawn to scale, confusing area with perimeter, and expecting the areas of similar figures to scale like their side lengths. Many connect to proportional reasoning and to how definitions are used in an argument.
What it does for you
What this Path will do
For teachers
Will separate reasoning gaps from algebra gaps, so each student’s practice will start in the right place.
More for teachersFor school leaders
Will give Geometry students a skill path that starts at their gap, not at the start of the unit.
More for school leadersFor districts
Will bring the same diagnostic method to every high school math course.
More for districtsHow it works
How the Path will work
Diagnose
An adaptive diagnostic will work across the Geometry standards, including the algebra skills Geometry depends on.
Trace
Answers will be traced through a prerequisite map to the skill where understanding breaks down.
Rebuild
Students will get a skill path that starts at their gap.
Standards
Will be built on published standards
Common Core high school math standards
The Geometry Path will be built on the Common Core high school math standards.
The science
The method behind every Path
Item Response Theory
Each student’s ability is estimated from their answers, and each next question is the one expected to tell the most.
Prerequisite maps
Standards are mapped as a graph of which skills build on which, so a gap can be traced to where it starts.
Misconception tagging
Wrong answer choices are written to reveal specific misconceptions, from a controlled catalog.
Research
The research behind this Path
These published studies are about how students learn, not about SubjectPath itself.
The van Hiele theory describes levels of geometric thinking that run from recognizing shapes by their overall appearance, through reasoning about their properties, to deductive proof.
van Hiele (1986)Senk found that secondary school geometry students’ van Hiele levels were associated with their achievement in writing geometry proofs.
Senk (1989)
Help shape the Geometry Path
Tell us about your courses and students, and which of your classes the Geometry Path would serve. We’d like to hear what it should do first.
Tell us you’re interestedFrequently asked questions
- Will it cover proof?
- It will be designed around the reasoning behind proof as well as final answers. Tell us what matters most in your Geometry courses.
- When will it be available?
- We don’t publish dates. Tell us about your timeline and we’ll talk it through.
- Can we help shape it?
- Yes. Tell us about your courses and students. We’d like to hear what you need from it.
Talk to us about the Geometry Path
See Algebra Readiness in a demo today, and tell us what you need from this Path.