Mastering SAT Readiness with Khan Academy SAT Prep

0:00 Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining us.

0:03 We have the Khan Academy team here to discuss

0:05 live with Denver Public Schools

0:07 on preparing every student for success.

0:10 So if you haven't connected with us in a while,

0:12 welcome from Khan Academy.

0:14 We are a nonprofit with the mission

0:15 of the bottom line of learning, not profit.

0:18 We've been in the business for nearly 20 years now

0:20 and a reliable choice in ed tech,

0:22 and we're designed for teachers and students,

0:25 powered by responsible AI, grounded in learning science.

0:29 So wanted to give a quick introduction

0:30 to the fabulous team we'll have joining us today.

0:34 From the Khan Academy side, we have Jennifer

0:36 who heads up our professional learning

0:38 with Denver Public Schools

0:39 and Cody who leads the district success

0:42 and implementation there.

0:44 And then we also have the fabulous Dr.

0:47 Ted Thompson, Denver Public School's Executive Director

0:49 of secondary schools, who's gonna share with us kind of the secret sauce

0:54 about what's been working in Denver

0:56 in preparing students with the SAT.

0:59 And before I kick it over to them,

1:01 just wanted to give a quick note

1:03 that we are the official SAT prep partner,

1:06 and in partnering with College Board

1:07 to co-create the SAT courses,

1:09 this means that our mastery-based SAT courses

1:12 on Khan Academy are built with real SAT content

1:16 and are fully aligned to the skills

1:17 teachers are already teaching in their classrooms.

1:20 So this ensures that materials

1:22 with the SAT's content, rigor, format are all being matched

1:25 and this is a free resources that students could use

1:28 to build these skills,

1:29 gain confidence, and improve their test scores.

1:31 So you'll hear a bit about what our free offering is,

1:34 as well as ways we can partner deeper.

1:37 And just a quick glimpse so you can kind of see

1:39 what that would look like.

1:41 Essentially, students would take those practice tests

1:43 on the College Board site,

1:45 I believe through the Bluebook app,

1:47 and then it will directly link them

1:48 to practice here with us.

1:50 So when they review that practice test,

1:51 it would say View that score,

1:53 and then they have score details

1:54 and the ability to practice on Khan Academy.

1:57 So without further ado,

1:59 I'm gonna pass it over to Cody and Jennifer

2:02 and kind of walk through the implementation details

2:05 and what that looks like in practice.

2:07 Perfect.

2:08 Thank you so much, Chelsea.

2:09 Good morning, everyone.

2:11 We're just gonna kick it right off.

2:13 Dr.

2:13 Thompson, I would love for you to set the scene for us.

2:17 What was the challenge that Denver Public Schools

2:19 was trying to solve,

2:21 and why did SAT preparation

2:24 become a district-level priority?

2:27 Yeah, sure.

2:28 Again, thanks for having me.

2:30 When we started in August,

2:33 we had about 33 secondary schools,

2:36 it's about 19,000 students,

2:39 that all had a different approach

2:40 to preparing students for coset testing in the spring.

2:44 And so given that, we wanted to better understand

2:47 school approaches to planning

2:48 and which plans impacted achievement outcomes

2:51 for students the most.

2:53 The reason why it's a district priority

2:55 is because of this impact

2:57 on the state performance framework.

2:59 So there are three indicators

3:02 on the state performance framework,

3:03 achievement, growth, and PWR,

3:05 and all those are primarily measured by SAT,

3:09 impacting grades 9, 10, and 11.

3:11 And for DPS, that's about 14,000 students.

3:16 Wow.

3:16 So our platform, as Chelsea pointed out,

3:21 we are the official College Board partner, right?

3:24 A lot of districts have made that SAT prep available,

3:28 but what has made Denver Public Schools decide

3:31 that access alone wasn't enough?

3:33 What did you actually change?

3:38 I mean, I think for us, you know,

3:40 access did not necessarily translate

3:42 into consistent use by schools.

3:45 And so because we have a variety of partners

3:49 offering prep options and, you know,

3:53 we have a variety of secondary courses

3:55 in literacy and math,

3:57 we really needed something that was specific and scheduled

4:00 to help us understand skills growth

4:03 that was needed for SAT success.

4:05 And we wanted to make sure

4:06 that those skills were being explicitly supported

4:09 during instructional time.

4:12 So I think, and again,

4:15 like, this was a very new endeavor,

4:19 we had this last year,

4:21 a new team came in over the summer,

4:23 and we were really trying to make sense

4:25 and make meaning of current plans that were in place.

4:28 But again, given all that, we decided to be more strategic

4:31 around the data we use to inform prep tiering of students

4:36 and establishing a monitoring schedule

4:38 to better understand skills growth weekly

4:40 for all schools.

4:43 So when you take on something to this magnitude,

4:46 there's a lot of alignment that has to happen.

4:49 So who would you say had to be aligned internally

4:53 for this work, and where did you hit, if any, friction?

4:59 I think we had universal alignment

5:01 around the purpose of this work.

5:06 Again, because schools had varying experiences

5:10 based on the partner,

5:11 I think what we wanted to make sure

5:13 that there was clarity around

5:15 was messaging and design

5:17 for monitoring the work across schools

5:21 based on the partnership between schools, academics,

5:23 and the accountability team.

5:25 I would say the friction came in

5:30 with the support from various partners

5:32 to provide data and professional development.

5:35 And quite honestly, you know,

5:37 given the capacity of partners,

5:39 I think we moved to working with Khan more intentionally

5:44 because you all have support to really, like,

5:47 embrace the infrastructure that was conducive for us

5:51 to support large-scale implementation.

5:54 Thank you so much.

5:55 Thank you for mentioning our partnership.

5:57 So I'm gonna pop over to Cody for just a second.

6:01 Cody, as the district success manager

6:03 really honed in on implementation,

6:06 from your vantage point of working

6:08 with districts across various states,

6:11 what separates the ones

6:13 that make real progress from the ones that struggle?

6:18 Well, I think that the example that Dr.

6:20 Thompson has set with his site leaders

6:23 in looking at moving skills

6:27 to proficient and mastery

6:30 really helps move student learning.

6:34 One request he had was,

6:36 "How do I see what skills are growing

6:40 in their mastery level?"

6:42 And we really wanted to look at that change happening.

6:46 So going beyond time

6:50 and looking at the increase in skills,

6:54 Denver really was able to show a tremendous increase

6:58 in how many skills students were working on.

7:01 And all of our efficacy research shows

7:04 that moving skills to Proficient or Mastered

7:07 is what makes the change in learning outcomes.

7:10 So that was a big impact

7:13 for Denver this year so far.

7:16 And that sounds like that's on the road

7:18 to accountability and visibility,

7:20 which is a huge part of implementation.

7:23 So Dr.

7:24 Thompson, back to you,

7:26 thinking about what Cody has just highlighted

7:28 in terms of looking at skills to proficient,

7:32 making those comparisons, when we think about accountability and visibility,

7:36 how do your district leadership teams

7:40 stay informed on progress?

7:42 And then what does that oversight for you and your team

7:46 actually look like from day to day?

7:50 Yeah.

7:51 I receive biweekly reports from Khan,

7:54 and it shares school-level data and district trends.

7:58 I review that data with my network directors

8:00 who are in charge of supervising

8:02 various clusters of schools.

8:05 And then we identify areas of focus

8:08 based on the skills gap report that's shared by Khan.

8:12 The schools' teams will then share those reports

8:15 with their IoT and structural leadership teams

8:18 that are monitoring each week to ensure

8:20 that students are hitting the 30-minute benchmark

8:23 for the varying sessions that we have dedicated to Khan.

8:28 For the most part, I feel like our relationship

8:32 has evolved over the months

8:34 because we've partnered intimately with our academics team

8:38 who has basically used our curricular scope and sequence

8:41 to support identifying modules based on Khan lessons

8:46 to kind of create a blended experience for students,

8:48 so they're getting a regular touchpoint

8:51 on SAT-style questions and other skills areas

8:55 throughout their tier one instructional experience.

8:59 I love that you have mentioned

9:02 the isolated SAT practice,

9:04 but also bringing in those folks from curriculum

9:08 and having students have access to that practice

9:11 while they're learning that content as well.

9:13 I think that's a powerful statement that you just made.

9:16 Cody, Dr.

9:17 Thompson told us exactly what he wanted to see,

9:22 what his, what his leadership team wanted to see.

9:25 How did you help structure that

9:27 from the start of the partnership?

9:30 Well, I think just really giving the team at Denver

9:34 and Dr.

9:36 Thompson specifically what we know works with Khan Academy

9:40 and then site-level data

9:44 I think really helped him drive it with the schools.

9:48 And then him actually giving us access to work

9:52 with site leaders directly

9:55 really helped us move each individual site

10:00 in the right direction

10:01 and giving them the knowledge that they needed

10:05 to really see what was happening with the SAT prep,

10:08 specifically practice courses.

10:13 So I think it's important that district leaders know

10:17 who the impact makers are on campus

10:21 and who are the ones that can make sure

10:24 that it's actually happening on campus.

10:26 And also giving him that data,

10:29 I think, really helped him have the tools

10:31 to go and talk with his site leaders and network leaders.

10:35 So it's important to know who is implementing on campus

10:38 and who is responsible for that,

10:40 and that made a big difference.

10:43 And Dr.

10:44 Thompson, you mentioned earlier,

10:45 it wasn't just about access, it was being very intentional,

10:49 putting it in front of students,

10:50 getting them the opportunity to prepare.

10:53 And as you've pointed out, doing that in a variety of ways,

10:57 the isolated practice as well as infusing it

11:00 into tier one and first instruction.

11:03 Equity is often a reason

11:05 that districts take on something also like Khan Academy

11:10 and district-wide scaling.

11:12 Do you think that this model has delivered,

11:15 at this point in the year,

11:17 do you feel like this model has delivered

11:19 what you were looking for,

11:21 and for which students do you see this being most meaningful

11:26 to change their trajectory for the test?

11:30 I think it has.

11:31 I think, however, like, when we launched

11:34 at the beginning of the year,

11:35 our primary goal was figuring out, how do we scale?

11:39 So how do we, one, make it accessible?

11:41 We'll make sure the right student groups are being exposed

11:45 to the prep platform

11:47 to ensure that we had enough measures

11:49 to start to un really pack data,

11:52 to better performance across its aggregated groups.

11:56 And so I think as we look at the data currently,

11:59 like, it's very promising.

12:02 We continue to monitor skills growth

12:05 at the proficient and mastery levels.

12:08 We continue to compare multiple practice at-bats

12:12 toward the fall PSAT, SAT administration in October.

12:17 And we're seeing some very promising results

12:20 for groups that historically have not excelled

12:23 in their prep experience.

12:26 So time will tell, a few weeks and it's the big test.

12:29 So we're excited about what we're thinking about

12:33 and we're also planning for the future with the Khan team,

12:37 but also trying to be mindful

12:38 of our current assessment schedule,

12:41 because I think for us,

12:43 the more practice at-bats we can give students,

12:46 the more comfortable they are in preparing for the test.

12:49 And I think we've tried to balance that

12:51 with all the other administrative assessments

12:54 that we have to provide, but hopefully next year

12:56 we can come up with a sequence

12:58 that is balanced and appropriate for building confidence

13:01 for students so that they go into the test positive.

13:05 I know that I'm definitely excited

13:07 about your student outcomes

13:08 and I've enjoyed working with all of your campuses

13:11 and the leadership team

13:13 and the teachers alongside Cody.

13:15 This next question is for both of you guys,

13:18 Cody and Dr.

13:19 Thompson.

13:20 What would you tell a superintendent

13:22 who might be attending today

13:24 or watching this on demand

13:27 who is interested but is not sure

13:30 that they have the capacity right now to take this on?

13:33 Dr.

13:33 Thompson, we'll start with you,

13:34 and then Cody, we'll move to you.

13:36 From a district implementation standpoint.

13:40 Yeah, I mean, I think I would offer,

13:44 there's limited capacity across many systems,

13:46 especially in Colorado, with a lot of budget challenges at the state level.

13:53 But what I would say is it's really not about

13:56 your internal capacity, it's really the capacity of the partner.

14:01 And I think this year, Khan's ability to adapt and support,

14:05 given our school realities

14:07 and our limited, like, planning window,

14:10 we had a week or two to get this thing off the ground,

14:14 Khan's efforts have been Herculean,

14:16 and I'm very appreciative of the partnership

14:19 and the collaboration.

14:22 We meet weekly, in some cases biweekly,

14:25 like Cody's always available even on vacation,

14:28 which I try not to take that time from her,

14:31 but I've just really appreciated

14:33 the flexibility and adaptability,

14:34 and I think that's the key to this partnership.

14:40 Perfect.

14:40 Cody, what about you?

14:41 What would you say to a superintendent

14:43 who is interested in a Khan partnership

14:46 in SAT preparation, but not sure that they have the capacity,

14:50 from your standpoint?

14:54 I think the good news is we,

14:56 like Dr.

14:57 Thompson pointed out, we are adaptable

15:00 so we can kind of help fit in wherever you're at

15:03 and whatever your immediate goals are.

15:07 But you do have to, I mean,

15:09 I used to be a former site leader,

15:11 if something else is kind of put on my shoulders,

15:15 I have to have support to make that happen,

15:19 and I need to understand my clear objective and my goals

15:22 and what's available to me.

15:24 So you gotta kind of think through that a little bit

15:27 before you sign up for something.

15:29 Make sure that the site-level folks

15:33 are set on a path that helps with success

15:37 because it's hard to get another thing piled on top of you.

15:40 You know SAT's important,

15:42 you know you want your kids to do well.

15:45 Having a clear idea of how they can do that is important.

15:49 And, you know, we're thankful that we were able to work

15:52 with different site leaders

15:53 and they all had all different contexts

15:56 and we could kind of talk through

15:57 what their best approach would be.

16:00 And that was pretty powerful.

16:02 In some cases, we've worked with districts

16:04 where it's just a one-size-fits-all approach,

16:07 and Dr.

16:07 Thompson's been really good about, like,

16:09 really letting us work with those sites

16:11 and make sure that they know the objective,

16:14 but we kind of help them think through

16:16 what the appropriate implementation would be

16:19 and push them through the nuances of their own schools.

16:23 So I think it all can be done

16:27 and we're willing to help

16:28 with whatever context is is there for that district.

16:34 Thank you, Cody.

16:35 We've heard a lot in just a short period of time today

16:39 about the implementation for SAT preparation

16:43 in partnership with Khan Academy.

16:45 And I just have one final question.

16:47 It's really about next steps,

16:48 and it's for both of you, Dr.

16:51 Thompson and Cody.

16:52 If a district or superintendent is in the room today,

16:55 or is watching on demand

16:58 and wanted to start having a real conversation about this,

17:02 what would you say would be the right first step?

17:04 And Dr.

17:05 Thompson, we'll start with you.

17:07 Sure.

17:08 Yeah.

17:08 I would say assess your current infrastructure

17:10 for system-wide implementation for prep,

17:13 and then contact Khan.

17:15 Basically, I think for us,

17:19 what do you have, right?

17:22 And then know your vision for what you wanna see

17:24 at the end of this experience

17:25 as far as outcomes for students.

17:28 And that's enough to get you started.

17:30 Perfect.

17:31 Thank you.

17:31 Cody, what about you?

17:32 What would be the right first step?

17:35 I think that was very well said, Dr.

17:37 Thompson, and then just give us a call

17:40 and we'll have an inquiry conversation

17:42 on what your structure is and what your goals are

17:46 and how we can best support the learners

17:49 in your school district.

17:52 Perfect.

17:53 Well, thank you so much, Dr.

17:54 Thompson and Cody, for your sharing today,

17:57 just for your mind and your energy.

18:01 Thank you, Dr.

18:01 Thompson, for your continued partnership in Denver Public Schools.

18:06 I do wanna remind everyone

18:07 that Denver Public did this at scale

18:10 and you heard straight from Dr.

18:12 Thompson what that looks like.

18:14 It's all about the skills to proficient

18:17 and making sure that students are getting that time

18:20 and intentionality to prepare for SAT.

18:23 I do wanna kick it back over to Chelsea.

18:25 She's got a few things to wrap us up.

18:27 So Chelsea, back to you.

18:29 Thank you.

18:30 I love that I get to feel like a news anchor.

18:31 I appreciate it, Jennifer.

18:33 (laughs) Thank you all so much for sharing,

18:35 and just for absolute kind of clarity and reinforcement,

18:39 I think, you'll see here that,

18:41 again, we have a free offering, we have free tools.

18:43 You could go in today and start using our SAT prep courses

18:48 in preparation for the upcoming assessment.

18:51 Or we could discuss deeper

18:53 what a partnership could look like.

18:54 And I think the big difference

18:56 between success and stagnation isn't just the software,

18:59 it isn't just the tool at hand, it's the system around it.

19:01 And so these people on this call having intentionality

19:05 and working together to make that implementation work,

19:07 it was the human system around Denver's implementation

19:10 that has made it so successful,

19:12 not just, you know,

19:13 some magic pill of a Khan Academy course.

19:15 So I thank you, thank you so much

19:17 for all your guys' dedicated work.

19:20 But a couple things to note

19:21 that if you are in district partnership with us,

19:23 formal district partnership, that some of what comes with it, right,

19:26 is that human piece,

19:28 the supports and implementation systems,

19:30 as well as the courses

19:32 and content that are research proven,

19:34 and then along with AI for students.

19:36 So some of you may have heard of Khanmigo,

19:39 but what we do see is in formal partnership

19:42 that districts are 8 to 14 times more likely

19:44 to reach recommended levels of learning

19:47 compared to independent use of Khan Academy.

19:49 And what that recommended learning looks like

19:51 is backed based on that mastery learning system

19:53 on those skills to proficient,

19:55 so what Cody was touching on earlier

19:57 that Dr.

19:58 Thompson and all of the team has been tracking.

20:00 And so really what we're aiming to see

20:02 is, like, two-ish skills to proficient a week

20:05 and hoping that around 30 to 60 minutes a week of practice

20:08 and then learning on Khan Academy.

20:12 And then again, another component

20:13 that is a part of that district offering is Khanmigo.

20:16 That is the AI component,

20:18 a personal digital SAT tutor for students.

20:21 And it provides just-in-time support

20:23 and instant assistance and feedback,

20:25 helps engage in curiosity

20:27 and them asking questions.

20:29 But it's another resource that layers

20:31 on top of that quality content.

20:35 And then for any of you that are, you know,

20:36 exploring SAT partnership and are already working with College Board,

20:39 again, as the official partner of College Board,

20:42 we do have an even deepening partnership

20:45 in terms of contracting.

20:47 So if you're already purchasing the full suite

20:49 of SAT assessments through College Board

20:52 which you can now add on Khan Academy

20:54 as a district partner at a reduced rate of $10 per student.

20:58 So if that's something you're interested exploring

20:59 or would like to learn more

21:01 about how to deepen a partnership with Khan Academy,

21:04 please feel free to reach out.

21:06 You can scan this QR code here,

21:08 and that will bring you to a demo form.

21:10 You can select SAT

21:11 and it will reroute you to me as the rep

21:14 for the West and for Colorado.

21:16 And another thing to note is at the end of this,

21:19 if you've registered, you will get a replay

21:21 of the event to watch on demand.

21:23 We do have an upcoming Superintendents Fireside chat webinar

21:28 with Amy Alzina and Sal Kahn

21:30 this Friday, March 27th at 11:00 AM Mountain Time.

21:34 And if you have any direct questions,

21:35 I'm happy to answer those.

21:37 You can always email me

21:38 directly at chelseahatchard@khanacademy.org.

21:42 But again, thank you so much for your time,

21:44 Dr.

21:44 Thompson, and Jennifer and Cody,

21:46 for leading such a fabulous partnership.

21:48 We really appreciate you,

21:50 and we hope to connect soon.