IXL usage leads to real learning gains
Originally published on The IXL Blog; December 5, 2023 - Intended for parents and educators
The proof is in the research! In over 75 scientific research studies looking at 70,000 schools in 45 U.S. states, students who use IXL have been proven to outperform students who use any other learning platform. The secret to this success is the IXL SmartScore.
The SmartScore is IXL’s unique scoring system. It takes into account a range of factors to measure learners’ true understanding of a concept, not just a percentage score of the questions they’ve answered. As each student’s SmartScore changes, IXL adjusts the question difficulty to their knowledge level, so they’ll never work on problems that are too hard or too easy.
Through this process of persevering through mistakes students build knowledge that actually sticks. Let’s dig into how it works!
1. Skill mastery is always within reach
The first thing to know about the SmartScore: a score of 100 is always within reach. Even if students struggle at first, they’ll always have the opportunity to push through to 100! This is because the SmartScore uses dynamic scoring. Unlike traditional percentage scores, as students answer questions the SmartScore adjusts both up and down to generate questions at the right level for each student.
When students experience a setback, IXL provides a variety of learning resources to help them take a growth mindset approach and keep trying. A growth mindset is the belief that people have the ability to gain any skill they put their mind to, even if it doesn’t come easily to them. It challenges the concept that people have fixed abilities that can’t be changed or improved. By encouraging a growth mindset, IXL helps students gain confidence in themselves and their learning abilities by teaching them that it’s okay to not get it right on the first try.
IXL expert tip: Students don’t have to get a SmartScore of 100 to make progress! We recommend aiming for proficiency, or a SmartScore of 80, in at least two skills a week to start seeing substantial learning gains.
2. “Working through it” makes learning stick
The development of a growth mindset is a foundational goal of IXL, but it’s important to support students in their learning journey. That’s why IXL has so many built-in instructional resources to help students learn on their own. Students can review an answer’s explanation, watch a short video tutorial, or even work on related skills that help them work up to a challenging topic or solidify their knowledge of a concept. All these resources provide learners with an opportunity to correct their mistakes and try again. When students are given the right support, and the knowledge that success is possible, they can begin to cultivate the determination needed to keep going when things get tough.
In fact, education research has shown that students who persevere through temporary setbacks are more likely to retain what they’ve learned and achieve greater academic success than students with a steady upward trajectory. Instead of forgetting what they’ve learned, this process of trial and error known as the “productive struggle” helps students to lock in new information and create lasting learning gains.
3. Success builds motivation and leads to more success
As learners work through the productive struggle, they begin to develop a sense of confidence and achievement from reaching skill mastery. IXL’s SmartScore encourages learners to feel proud of themselves for pushing through challenges and earning their success. This emotional response to success sparks a deeper motivation within students to keep learning more! Once they tap into their internal motivation, that’s when the real success comes in.
By developing their own motivation to learn, students begin to feel the excitement that comes from learning something new! The more students achieve the more momentum they’ll gain, and the more they’ll persevere to keep working on problems that may be initially challenging. And, when they’re ready to try something new, IXL is there to recommend something right at their level and help them explore their own interests.
Read more about IXL’s impact in the full research report or on our research page. Or, check out our membership options and help your students make confident learning gains!
