Homework, and assessments, and state testing, oh my! In today’s society, children are expected to go to school, complete their assignments, somehow retain everything, and achieve high scores on state standardized testing, despite being in a classroom full of students that have different needs from one another. There is so much pressure on children to perform well on tests and assignments, that people often forget the whole purpose of education in the first place- learning. Education is not about making sure children pass tests, ensuring students understand the core concepts and ideas to succeed in college and their career.

The solution to this is the Lumos StepUp program which offers engaging lessons and learning resources for students. Lumos StepUp allows students to learn material at their own pace and focuses on mastery of the material, rather than just passing them through the grade-level tests in a certain time frame. This allows students to spend more time on lessons they don’t understand and less time on ones they already show proficiency in.

When a student does not show proficiency in a certain lesson, they are automatically given additional practice materials decided by the teacher through the “remedial assignment” feature on Lumos Learning. Through this feature, the teacher can set a certain level of proficiency on a lesson and, if the student falls below that level, they will be assigned more questions to help them practice their skills. This feature gives students extra practice if they need it, without holding back other students or putting pressure on them to understand something as quickly as their peers, as they would in a traditional classroom setting. Students can focus on the lessons they don’t understand in a non-intimidating, personalized environment. Practice problems are assigned based off of the student’s performance.

These practice problems are generated to help the student gain more exposure to specific Common Core and State Aligned standards being taught in each lesson. Lumos SteUp bases their lessons off of Common Core and State Aligned Standards, which are standardized benchmarks for students to achieve that ensure that schools are providing similar educational lessons. These standards play a large role in Lumos StepUp lessons- each lesson is based off of a standard and, if students do not show mastery of a standard, they will be provided with additional materials until they show proficiency. The focus on State Learning standards does not only benefit the students and their test scores, it also benefits teachers. Lumos StepUp makes it easy for teachers to track their students progress and create an accurate timeline for their lessons based on the needs of their students. It also helps teachers see which children need additional support on which standards, allowing teachers to individualize their lessons more.

Educating the young is not an easy task. It gives teachers insights on their students proficiencies and how to best support them in the classroom. It also gives parents the peace of mind that their child is learning the appropriate material in a manner that is specific for them. The Remedial Assignment feature is one of the main features that allow for individualized pacing; students get remediation for standards they need extra support in, and can breeze through sections that they have already mastered. Lumos StepUp is a great way to set students up for success, by giving them the opportunity to practice their skills outside of the traditional classroom setting.