Strides is an experiment in Fresno, based on the data-tracking fever inspired by Fitbit and other apps. At a time when schools are using more and more data to drive decision-making, from the central office to the classroom, giving students a look at their own data is the next frontier. By letting students see trends in their grades and attendance and making that data fun to track, administrators hope students can be nudged toward behaviors that are actually good for them academically.

Students never lose points; Strides is all about positive reinforcement. The points available are evenly balanced across five “pillars,” with daily and weekly maximums in each category. Besides attendance and grades, students can get points for logging in to the student portal that houses Strides, for participating in after-school activities and for having their good behavior noticed in class. A student who doesn’t get good grades but participates in several after-school activities and has good attendance can keep up, points-wise, with a student who does get good grades but doesn’t participate in any extracurriculars, for example ...

Some students truly do not care about the points they can get for showing up to school or maintaining a high GPA. Others care, but only because it’s another opportunity to be rewarded for things they’re already doing. So far, early user data suggests that students who log in to Strides at least twice a week have higher average attendance and higher GPAs, and that’s true across race and ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.

Read the full article about Fitbit use for education by Tina Garcia Mathewson at The Hechinger Report.