What is Alpha School?

Joe Liemandt on making education profitable so capitalism can fund its scale.

“We're busy innovating on the business model to show that you can build a profitable b business so that capitalism can provide the capital needed to scale education.”

Worked examples plus spaced repetition are sufficient for mastery in grades 8 through 12 (where multi-step problems make examples highly useful), but grades 4 through 7 still need initial drilling because the problems are simpler and examples alone do not build automaticity.

“In 8th through 12th, we crushed it with just worked examples and spaced repetition because once you get into algebra, the multi-line problems, worked examples really matter. But in fourth through 7th, it wasn't as effective because the problems are easier.”

Alpha School (Austin, TX): a private K-12 school compressing core academics into a 2-hour AI-tutoring morning block, reporting 5 to 10x learning acceleration. Plans to scale its model via Texas Sports Academy to families earning under $65,000 per year.

“We teach academics 10 times faster. It gets done in the morning.”

The average student transferring into Alpha School tests 2.2 grade levels behind on Alpha's own assessment, including transfers from $50,000-per-year private schools.

“The average student when they transferred into alpha and took our assessment test were 2.2 grade levels behind.”

Alpha School students averaged 121 minutes per day in AI tutoring apps and learned more than 2x what students in a traditional 6-hour school day with homework learned.

“The average kid spent 121 minutes last year in the apps and learned more than 2x they what they would have in sitting in class for six and doing homework.”

Alpha School's single Austin building with a few hundred students produces more perfect STAAR test scores than a school district of 100,000 students.

“We have a we have a building with a few hundred people in Austin who get more hundreds on the Texas R than a school district of 100,000.”

Education can be built as a profitable, scalable business, contradicting the dominant nonprofit and non-scalable model.

“We're busy innovating on the business model to show that you can build a profitable b business so that capitalism can provide the capital needed to scale education.”

Alpha School freshman honors students average 1400 on the SAT, outperforming almost every senior class nationally.

“My freshman honors SAT score. You know, freshmen are like at 1400, which is better than almost every senior class in the.”

Alpha School students can master an entire grade level in one subject in 20 to 30 hours (grades K through 8), representing a 5 to 10x acceleration over traditional pace.

“Our average student can do an entire grade level, one subject between 20 and 30 hours in K through 8.”

MIT Blueprint Labs is planning randomized controlled trials on Alpha School's AI-driven educational model, which could produce the first rigorous external validation of the approach.

“Their Nobel laureate group is going to sit here and be like, "Let's run the test. Let's run the RCTs.”