Reports, statistics, leaderboard – how SuperMemo supports users and companies in monitoring learning outcomes

SuperMemo provides all its users with learning summaries and a user ranking (leaderboard) based on the assessment of their actual level of knowledge. Companies have access to four extended types of learning reports: General report, Activity report, Item report and Placement test report. Thanks to them, HR and L&D departments can check employees’ progress in a language course, learning time and the areas where learners experience the greatest difficulties. The data comes directly from the SuperMemo repetition optimization algorithm (spaced repetition), which continuously analyzes all learning-related activity on the platform and in the apps.

What is the SuperMemo method?

Since the late 1980s, SuperMemo has been developing an intelligent repetition system known as spaced repetition – it is the author and pioneer of this approach. It is a method that optimizes the repetition schedule according to the user’s individual learning pace.

The algorithm takes into account the learner’s interaction with each exercise item during a learning session. If the user’s answer is correct, the next repetition for that card in the course is scheduled with a longer interval than for a card answered incorrectly. If a card causes difficulty, the system suggests repeating that specific material sooner.

As a result, users do not waste time repeating content they already know well too often. Learning with the SuperMemo method has two main advantages:

• speed – the system minimizes the time needed to consolidate the material,
• effectiveness – the user remembers information more effectively and for longer.

Today, the method invented by SuperMemo is used by many apps, but their quality varies. How is that possible? The ability to predict the course of forgetting curves is very complex and requires deep expert knowledge. The quality of an algorithm is reflected in how precisely it can predict the actual probability of remembering, and this is a value that can be measured statistically. The better the quality of the spaced repetition algorithm, the more learning time is saved and the higher the user’s knowledge retention. According to our research, despite strong competition, commercial versions of SuperMemo algorithms still clearly outperform their imitators in this respect.

The data that determines the quality of the SuperMemo algorithm is the basis for the statistics that SuperMemo provides to all users, as well as for the reports available in cooperation with corporate and institutional B2B clients.

Statistics available to every user

Every SuperMemo learner has access to the “Statistics” tab in the app and online service. It contains data on new cards completed, repetitions done and the time spent learning.

Statistics can be filtered by four periods:

• Today – activity from the current day,
• This week – a summary of the last seven days,
• This month – results from the last 30 days,
• Total – the full learning history since joining SuperMemo.

The summaries are based on individual learning histories, which form the basis of the SuperMemo algorithm. The same source data feeds B2B reports for corporate, educational and institutional clients in an even more comprehensive way. 

A user ranking based on real knowledge

SuperMemo also runs a user ranking (leaderboard), which differs from rankings known from other language learning platforms. What matters here is not the number of completed lessons or the time spent in the app, but real knowledge retention.

A user’s position in the ranking is determined by the total amount of information that the user actually remembers at a given moment. How is this possible? The SuperMemo algorithm estimates the individual probability of remembering each piece of information for every platform user. The sum of these probabilities gives that person’s ranking score. This solution is possible only thanks to the precision of the SuperMemo spaced repetition algorithm. 

Why do ranking points decrease? The decrease results from the passage of time and natural forgetting, in line with forgetting curves precisely predicted by SuperMemo. 

Why do ranking points increase? An increase means that on a given day the user knows more than the day before. To maintain this trend, it is worth learning regularly – completing new cards and doing scheduled repetitions. Each new piece of information remembered on a given day is +1 point in the ranking. Each repetition increases the score by a fraction equal to the difference between 1 (a 100% chance of remembering) and the probability of remembering that piece of information before it was refreshed.

Reports for B2B clients – data visible to a company, school or institution

Companies, schools and institutions using SuperMemo have access to a much wider range of data than an individual user. SuperMemo provides the full history of progress and work with the platform and each course for every employee, the history of learning and repetitions at the level of individual course items, and cross-sectional group information in a form that enables flexible analysis and synthesis of this data.

SuperMemo offers four types of reports: General report, Activity report, Item report and Placement test report. Each of them responds to different HR or L&D needs.

General report

This is the basic progress report. It shows an overview of learning in a group or for an individual user.

The General report includes, among other things:

• the date when the course was first started,
• the date when the course was last worked on,
• course progress – the number of completed items and the percentage of completion,
• time spent learning.

The HR department uses this report when it needs a quick overview of the progress of the entire group of employees.

Activity report

The Activity report is the most popular choice when it is necessary to analyze the learning process of a specific employee. It shows data broken down by individual days.

The Activity report includes, among other things:

• the date of each learning session,
• course progress – the number of new items learned on a given day together with the progress percentage,
• the number of repetitions scheduled for a given day,
• the number of scheduled and overdue repetitions,
• the number of repetitions completed,
• the total time spent viewing course items.

Item report

This is the most detailed SuperMemo report. It analyzes the learning process of one user at the level of a single course item.

The Item report includes, among other things:

• the number of incorrect answers given for a given item,
• the number of repetitions completed,
• the date when the item was first and last worked on,
• the current interval between repetitions,
• the number of days until the next repetition,
• the history of intervals and ratings by date.

Comparison of the four report types

On this basis, the company can create its own analytical cross-sections and visualizations or use templates provided by SuperMemo, for example:

• team progress reports,
• course usage rankings,
• learner engagement analyses,
• deeper analyses of knowledge retention, independent of traditional tests,
• a map of the areas where employees have the greatest difficulties.

Summary

SuperMemo reports for companies are based on full learning data that drives the spaced repetition algorithm. Thanks to this, HR and L&D departments receive information based on real learning progress, not only on the time spent in the app.

The General report gives a quick overview of the whole group. The Activity report shows learning regularity day by day. The Item report makes it possible to reach the specific course item that an employee is struggling with. The Placement test report returns the results of completed tests immediately after learners take them. Data from these four reports can be compiled into custom summaries, cross-sections and visualizations depending on the company’s needs. SuperMemo also provides a list of learners containing their placement test results, app access parameters and data on group assignment for language classes, if applicable.

This set of data makes it possible to assess the effects of using the platform, make decisions about its further use in the company and determine what support specific employees need.

FAQ – frequently asked questions about learning reports in SuperMemo