Results and measurement — what we measure at Space Memory

Why there is no one big percentage here

Three things that have to be ruled out before a number means anything.

No comparison group — Children grow and learn without us too. Without a group doing the same thing without classes, there is no telling how much of the gain belongs to the method and how much to time passing.
Practice at the measurement itself — A second go at the same task always runs slightly better, because the child knows the format. So part of any rise describes familiarity with the test, not a change in ability.
The selection nobody mentions — The ones it suits are the ones who stay. Averaging over them alone inflates everything — that is how most of the impressive figures in this business come about.

Six things we measure with a student

Each has a set procedure, so that two measurements can be compared.

The cognitive test at the start and later
The same tasks, the same time of day, at least a month apart. The result stays with the parent and goes nowhere else.
The length of a work block
How many minutes the student works before the first break away from the task. Measured in class and at home, recorded as a number, not an impression.
Items recalled in a memory task
How many of ten words or images come back after ten minutes. The simplest measure and the easiest to repeat at home.
Reading speed together with comprehension
Always two numbers at once: words per minute and answers to questions about the text. Speed without the second number proves nothing.
How long homework takes
One evening timed before the start and again a few weeks later. This is the number parents care about most and the one least often measured.
Recall after a week
How much of the material worked through with a technique comes back seven days later. A check on whether the technique worked or merely looked good in class.

Important

Measurement only means something when the conditions repeat. The same test taken once in the morning and once at ten at night gives a difference that says nothing about learning.

How we tell change from fluctuation

Four rules we hold to when we talk about progress.

Always two measurements, never one

A single result describes one day. Only the second, a month later, shows a direction.

The same procedure

The same hour, the same device, the same instructions. Changing the conditions is the commonest source of “improvement”.

The difference has to exceed ordinary spread

Every measurement of behaviour varies on its own. A small change fits inside that variation and is not a result yet.

We also report measurements with no change

If the numbers have not moved in two months, the parent hears it from us. That is information needed for a decision, not a failure to hide.

What we measure and when

The schedule of measurements for a student enrolled in classes.

When	What we measure
At the start	The cognitive test, the work block, the memory task
Every month	The work block and the memory task, the same procedure
After a term	The cognitive test again, compared with the first measurement

You can take the first measurement yourselves

The free cognitive test is open to everyone and needs no enrolment. It is the same starting measurement we begin with for our students.

Open the free test

short test, about 7 minutes · no sign-up · result right away

When aggregate results will appear

Author: Natalia Lubenets — co-founder and head of methodology at Space Memory

When we have enough repeated measurements taken under the same procedure to show not only an average but also the spread, the number of students, and those who dropped out along the way. Until then every student gets their own numbers and this page stays without percentages. That is a deliberate decision, not an oversight.

Questions

Does memory training work at all?

Skill at the practised tasks grows, and the measurements show it. We are more careful with the claim that this carries over to every lesson by itself — which is why we teach techniques on material from school, not only on exercises.

How long before a change shows?

The length of a work block and the time homework takes change fastest, usually within a few weeks. Memory task scores move more slowly.

Will I get a report on paper?

You get the numbers from every measurement and the comparison with the last one. We do not issue documents that would look like a diagnostic opinion, because they are not one.

Do you compare the child with their peers?

No. We have no norms of our own for a child population, so we compare a child with themselves a month earlier.

What if the numbers do not move?

We say so plainly and look for the reason: sometimes it lies in the conditions for studying, sometimes in something outside our remit. Occasionally the honest answer is that this is not the right place for that child.

Do you publish studies?

We do not run scientific studies and do not present ourselves as a research centre. We use paradigms described in the literature, but we do not confuse that with doing research of our own.

Want to start from your own measurement?

We arrange a free trial lesson where the coach takes the first measurement of the work block and the memory task. Classes run 90 minutes once a week, in a group of 5–10 children.

Request a call

Every measurement described below is about one student and is shown to them.

Results and measurement — what we measure and what we do not publish yet