Our state test scores in math weren’t where we wanted them to be
Our school opened a few years ago and now serves 200 students. With a strong ELA program in place, we turned our attention to math and set out to find an intervention that could provide the targeted, individualized support our students needed. Our state test scores in math weren’t where we wanted them to be. That’s why we started looking for an intervention.
I came across Third Space Learning while making test prep materials for one of our teachers. I found a worksheet online and thought, I wonder if they have more – and when I saw the tutoring, I thought, oh wow, this is amazing. I looked at other curriculum resources, but I didn’t see anything comparable for a math tutoring program. The ability to scale the tutoring, and Skye’s ability to respond on the fly to students’ misconceptions, were the key things I saw.
The overall feeling from parents was relief and excitement
When I saw it was an AI tutor, I personally didn’t have reservations. I felt comfortable with the model and the safety precautions in place. Math is an area where parents can feel unsure about how to support their children at home, and teachers are managing such a broad range of abilities that targeted support is hard to provide.
When we introduced Third Space Learning, I shared information with parents about how it worked and linked directly to the safety protocols on the TSL website. There were no concerns at all. The overall feeling from both parents and staff was just relief and excitement that we now had something in place to address that.
Every single 3rd through 5th grader, almost every day
We rolled it out to all of our 3rd through 5th grade students, every single one. With an in-person tutoring program, you can only serve a limited number of students, and if a child is absent the day a tutor comes in, that’s a wasted session. There are no complications like that with Third Space Learning.
To get started, I pulled a small group of students to test it out and get comfortable with it, then trained our school volunteers so they could help oversee sessions and troubleshoot for students. From there, teachers took the lead with their own classes. Students use Skye almost every day, around 30 minutes at a time, mostly during independent blocks in the school day, like when a teacher is working with a small group or during breakfast. We’ve also run after-school and Saturday open sessions so families can come in and watch their child use it, which has been really well received.
I can see the difference before the data
We track student growth using NWEA MAP assessments, and I’ve been really eager to see the results after this year’s sessions. But even before the data, I can see the difference. Students are growing in their confidence and bringing that with them into classroom instruction. They can take the skills they’ve been working on with Skye and apply them in class. Having that extra practice going into state tests really built them up.
There are certainly students who feel far more confident speaking with Skye than they do in a classroom setting. I’ve noticed a real difference in the willingness to try things and make mistakes. I can see it in the confidence reports on the platform too – scores going up, and the little comments students leave for Skye tell their own story.
“Seeing the students really engaged, enjoying their lessons, and seeing their confidence grow. That has been the biggest highlight.”
The main benefit for us has been the ability to provide differentiated, targeted support to every student. The support from the team has been really helpful too. Any time we had a tech issue, I’d get on the chat and the team would respond promptly and helpfully. It was very easy to use and set up. I wish I had found this a lot sooner.
Watch a session in action
See how Skye guides students through a full one-on-one session.
