The Passkey Story

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Created by teachers for teachers and students

The computer-based PassKey program was developed by teachers with at least ten years' experience in the classroom. Because of their vast experience with real students, they knew the types of questions students would ask and the types of mistakes they'd make. They knew the correct approaches to learning specific skills, and they replicated these approaches by writing the computer codes that became the PassKey program.

PassKey works because it "thinks" the way students think. It anticipates their responses and leads them to correct answers and mastery of necessary skills.

The PassKey Approach

PassKey is a prescriptive learning system. That means every lesson is skill-specific, focusing on precisely what students need to learn, not what they already know. The unique lesson structure includes a pretest, tutorial, guided practice, and post test.

The pretest identifies the student's learning needs and prescribes which lessons are needed to meet criteria for mastery. Students work on only the lessons they need.

An easy-to-use tutorial guides students step by step through the interactive teaching sequence. Questions, with right and wrong answer feedback, are integrated throughout the tutorial.

Students strengthen their new skills in a guided practice exercise that provides feedback for both right and wrong answers; they can receive additional help anytime by clicking the HINT button.

After the post test is completed, the score is reported to both the student and teacher. If the post test confirms that the student has mastered the skill tested, he or she moves on to the next lesson.

To further delineate students' needs, PassKey's built-in diagnostics and electronic link to the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) make it easy for teachers to identify skill deficiencies and assign lessons in any or all the subject areas.

PassKey's fully automated management system helps teachers enroll students, track their progress through each lesson and subject area, and generate reports that include detailed individual and group records. It allows instructors to customize reports, navigation, testing, and tools to meet specific teaching and learning goals.

PassKey's Unique Benefits

Built-in correlations to national and state proficiency tests make it easy for teachers to assign the exact lessons students need for optimum test performance. PassKey effectively prepares students for success in all types of testing situations, helping improve a district's No Child Left Behind "report card."

Teachers spend less time on lesson administration and more time providing individualized instruction—without adding hours of preparation time to already crowded schedules. They can move from computer to computer, answering specific questions and meeting each student's unique learning needs. Students learn more and are able to demonstrate mastery more quickly. It's a proven way to teach a whole group of students—one at a time.

PassKey's self-paced instruction sets the stage for success. Students can move quickly through a series of lessons or return to a lesson to reinforce the skills and concepts presented. They appreciate the immediate feedback, the practice opportunities, and the interactive nature of the instruction they receive.

In short, PassKey works. Students learn, they're able to demonstrate subject mastery on all types of assessments, and they're proud of their involvement in their own learning. PassKey creates a win-win-win situation for students, teachers, and school districts.