See what happens when we build tools for how teachers actually teach

Khan Academy is launching its most significant update in its history, aiming to better fulfill its mission of providing free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. This evolution is deeply rooted in years of collaboration with school districts, teachers, and administrators, addressing real-world challenges and feedback. The core philosophy remains that technology alone is insufficient; students need the social context, accountability, and support of adults and peers. Khan Academy's goal has always been to provide tools that enable teachers to personalize learning for students at different levels, while also supporting independent learners globally. The journey to this new platform began approximately eight years ago when Khan Academy's efficacy studies showed significant learning acceleration for students who engaged with the platform for even 30-60 minutes a week. This led them to approach school districts, many of whom already had teachers and students using Khan Academy. However, districts expressed a need for systemic support, including training, integration with rostering systems, and district-level dashboards. This feedback prompted Khan Academy to commit to a deeper partnership model with school districts, a commitment that has resulted in over 600 US school districts now using their platform. The new platform is built around three "north stars": maximizing learning effectiveness, making it easy for teachers to assign and monitor practice, and empowering district administrators. The updated district admin dashboard provides comprehensive data and visibility into platform usage, course mastery, skill progression, activation, and learning minutes. Administrators can drill down into detailed reports to understand how Khan Academy is being used and ensure it aligns with their implementation models and goals. For teachers, the new experience prioritizes intuitiveness and ease of use, recognizing their time constraints and the constant influx of new platforms. Crucially, all beloved existing features, including the entire content library of videos and exercises, along with the Conigo tools for lesson planning, newsletters, and even a Bluebook generator, remain fully available. The core innovation lies in significantly simplifying the assignment process. Teachers can now create and assign mastery assignments, Conigo activities, content, writing, and coaching with a single click. The teacher dashboard is designed for immediate insight. Upon logging in, teachers can see if students are underperforming or struggling with specific concepts, allowing for swift intervention. Upcoming assignments, student activity, and progress towards district-set goals are also readily visible. The platform incorporates gamified elements like the "April Gem Challenge" and "Live Team Game" to motivate students. Gems are awarded for mastering skills, directly linking motivation to practice and learning outcomes. These gems contribute to class goals, with teachers setting rewards like pizza parties. The emphasis on district alignment and goal setting is a direct response to the learning that most students require teacher accountability and investment in their goals. For teachers to be invested, the platform must be easy to use and integrate seamlessly into their existing workflow. District administrators play a crucial role in supporting teachers by understanding classroom progress and identifying areas for support. Examples from districts like Newark, New Jersey, where students achieved exceptionally high mastery levels, highlight the impact of administrators actively using dashboards and fostering a culture of growth, often through gamified approaches like leaderboards and "co-opetition." The new features, including leaderboards and the Live Team Game, are designed to make learning more engaging and productive. The Live Team Game, a Kahoot-style competition within Khan Academy exercises, has shown a four-fold increase in student practice within the same amount of time compared to traditional methods. Importantly, this engagement is not limited to high-achieving students; it has shown significant positive impact on disengaged students, helping them achieve proficiency and building momentum for further learning. Team assignments in these games are random, focusing on team performance and overall skill progression rather than individual achievement, promoting collaboration and growth at each student's level. "Skills to proficient" is defined as achieving proficiency in Khan Academy exercises, signifying a meaningful learning milestone. Efficacy studies have consistently shown that students achieving a certain number of skills to proficient (e.g., 60 skills) demonstrate 30-40% faster growth than expected. Khan Academy's core mission is to drive measurable learning, and all features, including videos, AI, and articles, are considered supplements to this deep practice. The origins of Khan Academy are rooted in the need for practice. Sal Khan initially developed a primitive version of teacher tools for his cousins to provide practice at their "learning edge," with videos serving as a supplementary resource. This emphasis on practice remains the central tenet of the platform. The Live Team Game, for instance, maximizes the productivity of practice time. The platform also features "Kigo," an AI-powered assistant that helps teachers find resources, build lesson plans, and create assessments. Kigo can search Khan Academy's extensive content library to help teachers prepare for lessons, even in unfamiliar subjects. Khan Academy is proud of its rigorously vetted content, developed by experienced educators, former teachers, and individuals with deep connections to educational standards. While embracing AI, the commitment to high-quality, rigorous content remains paramount, ensuring that AI-generated material meets a high bar. The "Insights" section of the teacher dashboard provides a summarized view of student progress, highlighting misunderstandings or overdue assignments. Kigo can further assist by recommending tutoring sessions for students struggling with specific concepts. The student experience has been intentionally redesigned to move away from being perceived as "broccoli" – something known to be good but not always enjoyable. The new design aims for more joy, fun, and ease of use. Kigo acts as a learning coach, guiding students through their assigned tasks and providing clear next steps with a simple "start" button. The platform paces learning to ensure students are engaging in effective practice. Students can earn gems for achieving proficiency, contributing to personal progress and class goals, such as unlocking customizations for their Kigo avatar or working towards a pizza party reward. The confetti animation upon getting an answer correct is a popular feature that enhances the sense of accomplishment. Daily and weekly missions provide manageable goals, preventing students from feeling overwhelmed by an endless list of tasks. Students can also explore the full content library independently and track their achievements and streaks on an achievements page. A significant upcoming feature for district partners is "Gap Detector," an adaptive diagnostic assessment designed to identify and address learning gaps at a pre-grade level. This will be integrated into students' daily and weekly missions, ensuring they build on a solid foundation rather than a "Swiss cheese foundation." This feature is crucial for ensuring students are working at grade level while acknowledging and addressing foundational gaps. Khan Academy is deeply excited to get this new version into the hands of students, teachers, and administrators, anticipating significant improvements in learning outcomes. The organization, as a nonprofit, is motivated by student learning and teacher engagement, not financial gain. They are committed to continuous improvement through partnerships with their extensive network of districts and students, both domestically and internationally. While acknowledging concerns about screen time, Khan Academy emphasizes the value of focused, productive screen time that demonstrably improves learning outcomes. The platform's design allows for 20-40 minutes of daily engagement, which can lead to significant academic acceleration. Districts that effectively leverage Khan Academy for personalized learning are seeing students progress multiple grade levels within a year. Khan Academy also highlights its implementation services, emphasizing the direct work their staff does with districts. They value their district partners and encourage those interested to visit khanacademy.org/schools to learn more. The presentation concludes with expressions of gratitude to the team and partners, underscoring the shared commitment to advancing education.