Research-Based Methods for Learning Without Limits

By "true" we mean "research-based." When we first began developing our programs in the spring of 2000, we knew that early reading was probably the most important skill we could focus on. We needed a method that would work with the widest possible range of children. We read the research, and identified a key group of research studies that seemed to us to have the best evidence about how learning to read should work. We sat down with one of the key researchers and asked her, "What's the program we should be using that best implements this research work?"

Her response: "None of them."

So we made the decision to build it ourselves. Why, especially as a start-up, go through the expense and pain of doing such a large thing that others have already done?

The reasons for us were clear, and get to the heart of why we are different than other curriculum providers.

First, learning to read well, right at the outset, is incredibly important. Even math performance is tightly linked to reading performance in the first few years of education. Therefore we needed the best possible approach to reading to maximize students' abilities to learn in all other subjects.

Secondly, we had clear research showing how to do this well—the kind of research that, unfortunately, is not commonly available for many areas in education. This research gave us confidence that if we built a program around these principles, we'd have a program that would work for many different kinds of children, if they put in the time to do the activities systematically and well.

Most of education does not have anything like the clear evidence for success that reading research has built. Where those gaps exist, we look for approaches that have been "tried" over and over and proven effective. We find examples of systematic, wide use of good materials that have led to successful, deep, wide-ranging learning over time. A clear example of this is the work of the Core Knowledge Foundation, which has been teaching compelling, rich content to children across America in a wide range of circumstances for more than a decade. Our own John Holdren comes from there; in fact he co-authored several books while there, including the "What Every Child Needs to Know" series. In the next section, you can hear Mr. Holdren describe the influence of Core Knowledge on our approach and why it is good for your students.

To succeed in modern society, you have to know a lot. And you have to have this knowledge instantly accessible at your mental fingertips. So how do we get all this important knowledge? While schools share a common mission to serve all students, classrooms vary widely in the depth and breadth of what they teach. From one state to another, from one classroom to another, there's dramatic variation in the content of the curriculum and the pedagogical approach of the teachers.

Faced with such variation, how can we be sure our children are learning what they need to know? To address this question, the curriculum experts at K¹² have consulted with many experts in various fields to gain insights into what experts know and how they structure their knowledge. We’ve also examined many state standards, research reports, and model curriculum programs. In our judgment, one of the strongest, most thoroughly researched models comes from the non-profit Core Knowledge Foundation, founded in 1986 by University of Virginia professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr. (Our own John Holdren worked there as Director of Research and Publications.)

Professor Hirsch set in motion a long process of research and consensus-building that led to the publication of the Core Knowledge Sequence. Core Knowledge offers specific content guidelines, grade by grade, in history, geography, mathematics, science, language arts, visual arts, and music. It explicitly and concretely lays out the important knowledge and skills our children need.

In its first years, the Core Knowledge Sequence was tested in a range of schools: private and public, rural, urban, and suburban, some serving the privileged and others the disadvantaged. The sequence was then revised based on this practical experience. The Core Knowledge Sequence has helped inspire and guide K¹² as we developed our curriculum for the elementary and middle grades. We've adapted, varied, and added to the Core Knowledge recommendations based upon our own continuing research into how children learn, how technology can enhance learning, and the best materials to support learning.

The K¹² curriculum offers rich, challenging, and engaging content. Moreover, this content is carefully sequenced so that, from one grade to the next, students build new knowledge on the strong foundations of what they’ve already learned. We’ve been careful to ensure that students of our curriculum won’t suffer from the repetitions and gaps that afflict many classrooms—our students won't get the same lesson, year after year, on the rainforest; nor will they get to high school without ever having heard of the Bill of Rights.

Our curriculum is designed to make sure that kids get the core knowledge they need—that they learn what they need to know to succeed and thrive.

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