Frequently Asked Questions

Here's what happens in most schools: the class moves on when the term ends - whether every child is ready or not. Mastery learning starts from a different belief.

Mastery learning means your child fully understands a concept before moving on - no gaps, no guessing, no falling behind.

In a classroom, teachers need to keep everyone moving at the same pace. That often means some students progress before they're ready, and small gaps quietly compound into big ones.

Upwise ensures your child learns each concept properly, fills gaps immediately, and builds genuine confidence.

Yes - from foundational research through to the latest studies.

The concept starts with Bloom's landmark 1984 finding: students receiving one-to-one tutoring with mastery learning performed two standard deviations above classroom peers - outperforming roughly 98% of students.

But the evidence has only grown stronger since:

• A 2025 Harvard randomised controlled trial found that AI tutoring produced over double the learning gains of active classroom learning, with an effect size of 0.63 to 1.3 standard deviations (Kestin et al., published in Nature Scientific Reports).

• A 2025 systematic review of 28 studies in Nature's NPJ Science of Learning found that 87.5% of studies showed intelligent tutoring systems outperformed traditional teaching, with medium-to-large effect sizes.

• A meta-analysis of 107 effect sizes found that intelligent tutoring systems essentially match the effectiveness of one-on-one human tutoring (Ma et al., Journal of Educational Psychology).

The science is clear: personalised mastery learning works. AI makes it scalable for the first time.

Source: Kestin et al. (2025) - Nature Scientific Reports

Significantly more efficient - and the data is compelling.

• A 2024 study across 40+ university courses found students using AI tutoring reduced study time by approximately 27% while maintaining or improving outcomes (Moller et al., arXiv).

• Khan Academy's 2024 efficacy study of 350,000 students found that just 30 minutes per week of adaptive practice produced 20% greater-than-expected learning gains.

• Alpha School reports students completing core academics in roughly 2–3 hours per day while achieving approximately 2.3 times the annual academic growth of peers.

The difference isn't more hours - it's better use of time. Your child skips what they already know, spends more time on what they need, and gets instant feedback on every answer.

Source: Khan Academy Efficacy Study (2024)

This is a critical question - and there's direct research on it.

A 2025 study published in PNAS (one of the world's most prestigious journals) tested what happens when students use AI with and without guardrails. Students with unguarded access to GPT-4 improved 48% during practice but scored 17% worse on exams - the AI was doing the thinking for them.

Students using a guardrailed AI tutor (designed to hint and guide rather than give answers) improved 127% during practice with no negative exam effect.

Upwise is built on this principle. The system provides layered hints, targeted feedback, and guided practice - never just the answer. Design matters as much as the technology.

Source: Bastani et al. (2025) - PNAS

In a traditional classroom, if your child doesn't fully understand a concept, the class moves on anyway. That gap becomes the foundation for the next topic.

Each new lesson builds on something they didn't master, and the deficit compounds. By the end of the year, what started as a small misunderstanding can become a major barrier.

Mastery learning works differently. Your child doesn't move on until they've genuinely understood the current concept. Once those foundations are solid, everything built on top is stronger. Gaps are closed at the source - so learning accelerates instead of slowing down.

A personalised learning system that helps your child build genuine mastery in literacy and numeracy.

It identifies exactly where your child's gaps are, guides them through personalised learning at their own pace, and gives you clear visibility into their progress.

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) and designed to build the foundational skills assessed by NAPLAN.

As your child works, the system analyses every response - not just whether it's right or wrong, but how quickly they answered, what type of mistakes they made, and which concepts they're confident with.

It then adjusts difficulty in real time, targets specific weaknesses, and revisits concepts using spaced repetition to lock them into long-term memory.

No two children follow the same path. The difficulty stays in the optimal zone - challenging enough to learn, easy enough to stay confident.

Prep to Year 7, covering four NAPLAN domains:

• Numeracy • Reading • Spelling • Grammar and Punctuation

Writing is not included as it requires human marking of extended responses. The skill graph contains 167 micro-skills with mapped prerequisites, so we can pinpoint exactly where a gap begins and work forward from there.

10–20 minutes per day is ideal.

Consistency beats long sessions. The system is designed for short, focused practice that compounds over time.

Sessions include built-in brain breaks to maintain focus, and we cap continuous learning at 20 minutes before encouraging a rest.

NAPLAN tests core skills in reading, spelling, grammar, and numeracy (plus writing, which requires human marking).

Upwise builds those skills from the ground up, aligned to the Australian Curriculum frameworks that NAPLAN assesses. Your child develops genuine competence - not just familiarity with test formats.

The parent dashboard shows projected proficiency bands based on your child's demonstrated mastery, so you can see where they're tracking before test day.

Through the parent dashboard, you'll see:

• Domain-by-domain proficiency across four NAPLAN domains • Specific strengths and gaps • Improvement trends over time • Projected NAPLAN proficiency bands • Clear next steps for each domain

All analytics are parent-only - your child sees encouragement and progress, never scores or comparisons.

For many families, yes.

Upwise delivers personalised instruction, instant feedback, and targeted learning - without the cost ($60–$100+ per hour) or scheduling hassle of a private tutor.

It's available whenever your child is ready to learn, adjusts to their exact level, and never has an off day.

No - it's high-quality, focused learning time.

Students in AI-led mastery models often complete core academics in as little as 2 focused hours per day. Short, focused sessions of 10–20 minutes outperform long, unfocused ones.

Every second your child spends on Upwise is actively building a skill - not watching videos, scrolling, or waiting for the class to catch up.

Yes. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988.

Your child's information is only used to improve their learning experience. We never sell data to third parties. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. You can request deletion at any time.

The system is designed with data minimisation - we collect only what's needed for learning, nothing more.

No - and deliberately so.

Research on children and AI shows it's important to be transparent. Upwise clearly identifies itself as an AI learning tool, uses literal and task-focused language, and never pretends to have feelings or be a friend.

Every learning screen includes an "Ask a grown-up" button so your child can pause and get help from you at any time.

They'll be challenged appropriately.

The system extends stronger students by introducing more advanced concepts and keeps them engaged at their level - not held back by the class average.

Mastery learning isn't just for struggling students. It's about ensuring every child reaches their potential.