Some interesting comments this week from Victoria Sabelli, a teacher in Connecticut, who has been using her free Sumdog login to motivate her students.

She wrote to let us know that, since she started using Sumdog, she’s seen a measurable improvement in her test scores.  

Here’s what she says:

I am a fourth grade teacher at John Winthrop Elementary School, in Bridgeport, CT.  A school wide adopted goal for fourth graders is knowing multiplication facts 1-12.  I tried hands on methods, timed drill, independent study, group study, and two other online programs. 

The program that worked was Sumdog.  My students had a forty-five minute lab period twice a week.  They loved earning points, achieving levels, and customizing their own personal look.  They competed with each other enthusiastically.  I never once had a complaint of unfairness!

Here is the data.  I gave 100 math facts 0-12 timed at five minutes on January 31, 2012.  That was the end of half the year.  Only 40% of the students got 70% or above.  The class average was 65%. 

May 16, 2012 I again gave them 100 facts 1-12 but only three minutes.  The results were amazing!  88% of the students got 70% or above (only 3 did not).  The class average was 86%!! 

You should have seen the pride on my students’ faces after they corrected this test.  None of them had realized the gains they had made. 

I would recommend this program to any school or class that wants to increase students’ math drill skill.  It is not just painless; it is exciting!

We’re keen to see how this develops, so we’ve now given Victoria access to Sumdog’s reporting tools, to let her monitor progress more closely.  It’ll be fascinating to hear what happens next.