Review by Debbie Gorrell, Common Sense Education | Updated January 2018
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Formative Loop

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Math program makes daily practice a snap

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Math
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
1–8
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (1 Review)
Price:  Free to Try, Paid There's an initial free trial. Contact the developer for a quote.
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
Videos clearly explain site features to help teachers get started.
Exercises are printed for students and graded online by teachers.
Detailed reports make it easy for teachers to track progress.
Adding a class is quick and easy.
Users can customize a starting point for the class.

Pros: Teachers can easily assign, deliver, and grade daily math practice that's targeted to each student.

Cons: Exercises are pencil/paper drills, so they're not highly engaging or accessible by computer.

Bottom Line: This is a simple, streamlined way to deliver and track daily math practice and boost kids' fluency.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers can use Formative Loop to provide kids with five-minute math drills each day. Print the exercises prior to class, have kids complete the exercises at the beginning of class, and grade them before the next day. View the reports to find out if any kids are struggling, and provide remedial instruction as needed.

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Standards:

Teachers start by choosing their school district, school, and grade level. Then they add a class and input student names. The program chooses a starting set of exercises as a PDF that's ready to print. Exercises are intended as daily five-minute practice drills. Teachers collect the students' exercises and grade them using the website's easy-to-use grading program. Reports provide detailed information about student progress; schoolwide reports are also available. Daily exercises are generated for each day of the week and are based on individual student progress.

Formative Loop is an easy-to-use, streamlined way to provide kids with daily math practice. Kids benefit because they get individualized exercises based on progress. Teachers benefit because they get customized daily exercises that are ready to print, and they can view detailed reports that show when kids are struggling. The practice problems focus solely on math skills and practice, so there's little conceptual thinking, and the questions won't excite most students. It would be great to see an option for kids to complete the exercises on a computer, since the only option is paper and pencil.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

The exercises are not overly exciting since they're designed as quick, daily practice drills.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Exercises are individualized, and the grading system is an easy way to monitor student progress.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

The site is very straightforward, and the tutorial videos do a great job of explaining the site features and how to use them.

Common Sense Reviewer
Debbie Gorrell
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Expressions And Equations

  • 6.EE.1

    Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.

  • 6.EE.2

    Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.

  • 6.EE.3

    Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions.

  • 7.EE.1

    Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.

  • 8.EE.7

    Solve linear equations in one variable.

Measurement And Data

  • 1.MD.3

    Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.

  • 2.MD.7

    Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.

  • 2.MD.8

    Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately. Example: If you have 2 dimes and 3 pennies, how many cents do you have?

Number And Operations In Base Ten

  • 1.NBT.3

    Compare two two-digit numbers based on meanings of the tens and ones digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <.

  • 1.NBT.4

    Add within 100, including adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number, and adding a two-digit number and a multiple of 10, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used. Understand that in adding two-digit numbers, one adds tens and tens, ones and ones; and sometimes it is necessary to compose a ten.

  • 2.NBT.5

    Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

  • 3.NBT.2

    Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

  • 3.NBT.3

    Multiply one-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range 10–90 (e.g., 9 × 80, 5 × 60) using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.

  • 4.NBT.4

    Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

  • 4.NBT.5

    Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

  • 5.NBT.5

    Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

Number And Operations—Fractions

  • 3.NF.2

    Understand a fraction as a number on the number line; represent fractions on a number line diagram.

  • 4.NF.3.a

    Understand addition and subtraction of fractions as joining and separating parts referring to the same whole.

  • 4.NF.4

    Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction by a whole number.

  • 5.NF.1

    Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators. For example, 2/3 + 5/4 = 8/12 + 15/12 = 23/12. (In general, a/b + c/d = (ad + bc)/bd.)

  • 5.NF.7

    Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.1

Operations And Algebraic Thinking

  • 1.OA.6

    Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 – 4 = 13 – 3 – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 – 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).

  • 2.OA.2

    Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

  • 3.OA.7

    Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

The Number System

  • 6.NS.5

    Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits, positive/negative electric charge); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

  • 7.NS.1.d

    Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract rational numbers.

  • 7.NS.2

    Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division and of fractions to multiply and divide rational numbers.

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Teacher Reviews

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Featured review by
Michael R. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Baldwin Elementary School
Austin, TX
Pen and paper, but HIGHLY effective. Like personalized progress monitoring for each student.
It isn't flashy, but it is quick and highly effective practice. It takes a lot of paper, but it is worth it in my opinion. It would be challenging to implement in a school that severely limits printing or where teachers don't have easy access to printers. My actual math LESSONS are very hands on, but I like having this quick practice so that students can practice skills to a mastery level. This is the best method I have found for allowing students to practice skills like expanded notation, which some students pick up immediately and other students require repeated attempts with. There are some things that I would like to change (like rearranging certain skills to the order that I would prefer, instead of students receiving them in an order that is set by the program) but the people who run the company are very responsive to criticism and suggestions. The only reason I rated it a 3 for "Supports" is that it doesn't have any supports for different kinds of learners, which for this program might mean the option to print with fewer problems per page or a larger font for dysgraphic students. Simple tweaks like that would make a nice addition in the future, but it's still a great program without them. All in all, it works very well in my classroom and I highly recommend it!
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