All my students graduated: Teacher Sandy’s Khan Academy’s Official SAT Practice Success Stories

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Ms. Sandy teaches English learners and ELA at a high school in Florida. For each class, she has 32 students and 45 minutes. “It’s impossible to meet all their needs,” she says. 😵 But over the last six years, 100% of her students have graduated. How did she do it?

Khan Academy’s Official SAT Practice.

We talked to Sandy to learn how her students have been able to reach their goal of graduating high school by achieving a concordant score on the SAT.

Khan Academy: Tell us about your students and how you use Khan Academy.

Sandy: I teach English learners and ELA to high school students in Florida. In my classrooms, I have all levels, and I use Khan Academy to differentiate the instruction. The purpose that I use it for is to get the students to be able to get a concordance score on the SAT to meet the state requirements so that they graduate.

Khan Academy: Why is Khan Academy your go-to resource for your students?

Sandy: It frees me up to be able to spend more time with individual kids and meet their needs. I can walk around the classroom and look at what they’re working on. I have 32 kids working on Khan Academy. This student struggles with the main idea. This student struggles with the theme, or this one struggles with grammar. I see them for 45 minutes—I don’t have time to meet the needs of every single one of those kids. It’s impossible for me to do all of that. So, if they trust the process with Khan Academy, they can watch it happen and unfold before their eyes. Every single kid is getting exactly what they need.

Khan Academy: What’s your most memorable success story using Khan Academy with your class?

Sandy: I had a student who had come all the way up through the district and was in her senior year. She was reading at a third-grade level but had to get a concordance score on the SAT for graduation. She literally just watched the videos over and over and over again. The videos were showing her how to find the information and how to navigate the text. Even though she was not a strong reader, she was still able to get the score she needed to graduate.

Khan Academy: How do you motivate your students to keep learning?

Sandy: On my wall, I have a sign that says, “Failure’s not an option. You will graduate.” Because even my principal said, “These kids can’t graduate because they don’t speak English.” We just have a motto in our classroom: “Go ahead, underestimate me.” One of my kids got me a cup that says, “Underestimate me. That’ll be fun.”

Khan Academy: What do you wish everyone knew about Khan Academy?

Sandy: For the last six years we’ve had 100% graduation. So 100% of students in my class have graduated. And it’s because of Khan Academy. The kids joke that I annoy them because I’m constantly on their case about doing their Khan Academy. But it’s nothing magical that I do. It’s just that they put the work in and they do it themselves.