Hot take: Student numbers are vanity metrics.
The online education sector loves to celebrate growth:
“We’ve reached 5,000 students!”
“Record enrollment this year!”
“Fastest growing platform!”
I get it, we are trying to carve out an entirely new model of education and have our offering seen as a counterpart to bricks and mortar schools – not some sort of ‘alternative’ which cannot compare.
But here’s what parents, investors, and education partners ACTUALLY care about:
📊 The Only Metric That Actually Matters in Online Education
What are those students achieving?
📈 Our latest GL Assessment results (see the full report here):
- ✅ 106 average SAS (6% above UK national average)
- ✅ 84% making expected + progress in English
- ✅ Statistically significant gains across ALL subjects: English Math and Science
- ✅ Including ALL of our students – b2C, high performance athletes and our vulnerable cohorts: SEMH, CME, AP, refugee students
⚡️ The reality check our industry needs:
About the author
Melissa McBride is the co-founder and CEO of Sophia Technologies and Chair of the Board at Sophia High School. She is the driving force behind spearheading an innovative online education ecosystem that meets the needs of today’s students as we prepare them for the future that is already here.
With over 20 years of teaching and leadership experience across esteemed institutions worldwide, Melissa’s unmatched expertise drives her vision for the future as she leads a team leveraging technology to improve not only improve access to education, but change the way students engage with learning.
