Learn more:
The E4Effort System
Designed for use in grades 3 to 12
With E4Effort, teachers use one system to replace most of their current practices for classroom management, student motivation, student engagement, and family communication!
Two Metrics – Academic & Effort
The Academic Metric provides future-based reinforcement to encourage student engagement (light-blue bars). Scoring student effort, while they are learning, is much more effective at reinforcing learning behavior (red bar). To learn more, click on the image.
Effort Scores & Achievement Badges
From a smartphone, tablet, or computer, teachers use their E4Effort Scoring App to score student effort in four effort categories: Ready, Participation, On Task, and Behavior.
Effort category scores are averaged weekly and when a student’s average surpasses 88%, an Achievement badge is sent to their E4Effort Student Portal. Rather than calculating and awarding all category badges on one day of the week, category badges are delivered on four different days (e.g. Ready badges are delivered on Tuesdays). This is done to encourage more frequent visits by students to their student portals.
How It Works
Demo Course and Guided Tours
A Demo Course is included with each account to allow you to learn the features and functions of the Effort Scoring App without scoring real students. Also, many pages of your Teacher Dashboard have Guided Tours and tooltips that describe purpose and function.
The E4Effort System
Designed for use in grades 3 to 12
With E4Effort, teachers use one system to replace most of their current practices for classroom management, student motivation, student engagement, and family communication!
Two Metrics – Academic & Effort
The Academic Metric provides future-based reinforcement to encourage student engagement (light-blue bars). Scoring student effort, while they are learning, is much more effective at reinforcing learning behavior (red bar). To learn more, click on the image.
Effort Scores & Achievement Badges
From a smartphone, tablet, or computer, teachers use their E4Effort Scoring App to score student effort in four effort categories: Ready, Participation, On Task, and Behavior.
Effort category scores are averaged weekly and when a student’s average surpasses 88%, an Achievement badge is sent to their E4Effort Student Portal. Rather than calculating and awarding all category badges on one day of the week, category badges are delivered on four different days (e.g. Ready badges are delivered on Tuesdays). This is done to encourage more frequent visits by students to their student portals.
Account types:
- Regular, enter your own courses and students (choose the email and password option at Sign Up)
- Clever and Classroom, courses and students are automatically synced to your E4Effort Dashboard and Effort Scoring App
The E4Effort System has three main parts:
- The Effort Scoring App. Teachers use the app to recognize student effort with effort scores. Use the app from a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Effort scores are given from four effort categories, Ready, On Task, Participation, and Behavior. (Teachers may also create Subcategories)
- The Teacher Dashboard. Silver, each student has a student portal for reviewing effort data and entering their own scores
- Gold = Silver + Rewards program
The E4Effort System
Three plan options (see pricing tab):
- Bronze, free
- Silver, each student has a student portal for reviewing effort data and entering their own scores
- Gold = Silver + Rewards program
E4Effort and effort scoring:
- Reinforces student engagement / time on task
- Randomizes student participation opportunities
- Improves classroom behavior
- Significantly increases communication between teacher, student and family (Silver and Gold)
Account types:
- Regular, enter your own courses and students (choose the email and password option at Sign Up)
- Clever and Classroom, courses and students are automatically synced to your E4Effort Dashboard and Effort Scoring App
Why Emphasize Effort?
Rewards Program
How It Works
E4Effort is a three-part system
Demo Course and Guided Tours
A Demo Course is included with each account to allow you to learn the features and functions of the Effort Scoring App without scoring real students. Also, many pages of your Teacher Dashboard have Guided Tours and tooltips that describe purpose and function.
Teacher Reviews
Käri Anderson Suggs, elementary teacher, Roseville, MN
Mary Catherine Halasz, middle school language arts teacher, Mpls, MN
Elizabeth Klinkner, middle school Spanish teacher, Mendota Heights, MN
James Christiansen, high school science teacher, Lakeville, MN
Student Surveys
Did you like the teacher using the Effort App to make sure everyone had a turn to participate?
- • “I think it’s a good app to make sure everyone has a turn. I like the app.”
- • “Yeah because while everybody is sitting the app is gonna call on someone and they might not be ready so everybody gets ready, and they learn more.”
Did you like getting effort scores for being on task?
- • “Yes because it makes you feel like you are accomplishing something.”
- • “Yes I did because it showed me how well I was on task and it motivated me on doing the work as I was doing it.”
Did you think that the E4Effort System helped to make the class learn more or behave better?
- • “Yes because if their score is low, they try to catch up and if their score is high, they try to get more credits.”
- • “My E4Effort class behaves better.”
- • “Yes it helps encourage GOOD behavior.”
Did you like having the chance to earn Effort Awards for good effort and behavior?
- • “Yes because I tried not to be absent to earn awards.”
- • “Yes cause I did a real good job and I earned it.”
- • “Yes it felt good to win something.”
The E4Effort System:
Helps students raise their level of GRIT
Chapter three of the New York Times bestseller GRIT is about the psychology of achievement. The author presents two simple equations on how to get from talent to achievement: talent x effort = skill and skill x effort = achievement. Students should know that effort counts twice when going from talent to achievement!
Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Vermilion, 2017.
Encourages a Growth Mindset
Teachers consistently observe and report student effort!
Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: the new psychology of success. Ballentine Books, 2008.
Counterbalances the negative effect of low grades
“Low grades may set in motion a downward spiral, whereby consequent declines in engagement result in even lower grades.”
Poorthuis, A. M. G., Juvonen, J., Thomaes, S., Denissen, J. J. A., Orobio de Castro, B., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2015). Do grades shape students’ school engagement? The psychological consequences of report card grades at the beginning of secondary school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), pp. 842-854.
Motivates better student focus through the practice of Cold Calling
“[T]he single most powerful technique in this book is, I believe, Cold Call.” (p. 114) To equalize student participation opportunities, E4Effort’s scoring app is used to select student participation turns.
Lemov, Doug. Teach Like A Champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. Jossey-Bass, 2010.
Improves student attentiveness
“[T]hings can’t get into long term memory unless they have first been in working memory … if you don’t pay attention to something you can’t learn it.”
Willingham, Daniel T. Why Don’t Student’s Like School?: a cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. Jossey-Bass, 2009, pp. 54-55.
Promotes skills such as perseverance, self-control, and conscientiousness
Researchers in the field of industrial/organizational psychology found that the best predictor for hiring productive workers was conscientiousness.
Tough, Paul. How Children Succeed. Mariner Books; Reprint edition (July 2, 2013).
May be used to give students both continuous and intermittent reinforcement
“Continuous reinforcement [Ready and On Task categories] is the best way to develop new behaviors or to improve performance when it is very low.” While the effect of continuous reinforcement is strong and needed for steady improvement, “intermittent reinforcement [Participation and Recognition categories] generates higher levels of performance than continuous reinforcement.” (p. 77)
Daniels, Aubrey C. and James E. Daniels. Performance Management. Performance Management Publications, 2004.
Provides extrinsic rewards
Social cognitive researchers and self-determination theorists “concur that under proper provision, extrinsic rewards may in effect ignite intrinsic motivation and therefore reinforce learners’ participation and deep learning.” E4Effort provides extrinsic rewards in the forms of scores, badges, and Effort Shares.