How we built it, and its limits
What it is and is not
- A self-report of how often you use eight study approaches.
- The questions were written and reviewed by our team.
- They have not yet been tested for reliability.
- It does not measure ability, intelligence or skill in a subject.
- It does not put you in a type or say how you should be taught.
How a percentage is counted
Each approach has five questions. Its percentage is how often you say you do that approach, from those five answers. A skipped question is left out, not counted as zero. Ties at the top are named.
The full rules and report limits
- Each answer counts 0 to 4, from Almost never to Almost always.
- Three of the five questions for an approach describe the habit. Two describe its low end, and those answers are flipped before counting.
- An approach needs at least four of its five answers to show a percentage.
- Eight more questions check that your answers line up. They are not counted.
- Each of the four short choices adds one point to the approach you pick.
- The eight percentages stand on their own and do not add up to 100.
The Premium report
The Premium report describes individual learners and grades 9-12. Earlier school grades are outside this description. Its tries start from what you say you do most, and they are not a prescription. The This week card builds range. It does not fix a weakness or change your percentages. A change between two reports is a change in what you report, not proof you learned more.
What the research says
Teaching to a preferred style
Pashler and colleagues (2008) looked for good studies showing that teaching to a student's preferred style helps. They found almost none. We do not match teaching to your blend. Read the review
Study habits with support
Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated ten common study techniques. Practice testing and spacing study over time had the strongest support. We cite this for those habits, not for our questions. Read the review
What we have tested, and what we have not
| Stage | What we could say after it |
|---|---|
| Stage 0 (today) | A self-report of eight study approaches. Our team wrote and reviewed the questions. Not yet tested. |
| Stage 1 | Students read the questions the way we meant them, checked in interviews. |
| Stage 2 | The questions for an approach give steady answers in a named group of students. |
| Stage 3 | We know how big a change must be before it is more than day to day noise. |
| Stage 4 | The blend lines up with another questionnaire the way we expect. |
How we check answers
Eight questions are worded as the opposite of another question. If a pair does not line up, or the questions were answered very fast, the result shows a short note. A note never changes a percentage.
Form history
Version 2 was the first 48-question form. Version 3 worded two questions per approach the other way round and added the check pairs. Version 4 changed wording only, and scoring stayed the same. Results from different wording show as Now and Earlier, never as growth, because the questions were not the same.
Privacy and security
Answers given without an account stay in your browser. Visits and finishes are counted as daily totals, with no cookies or IDs. Passwords are hashed with scrypt. The site sets a strict content security policy, loads no third-party scripts, limits repeated requests, and sits behind Cloudflare. We have not had an outside security audit, and we hold no certification. To report a problem, email [email protected] with Security in the subject.