Let’s face it – the American education system is in serious trouble. From slashed budgets and rising college and university tuitions to abysmal test scores when compared to nations from around the world, Americans need help. And while the gaming for good movement is afoot, Hamden, Connecticut based The Learning Edge is putting their own offering forward, seeking to engage teens in a learning activity guised as an iOS app.
As any American high school student will tell you, whether you’re college bound of not, the SAT weighs heavy on their minds. For those seeking a higher education, the mighty hurdle that must be leapt is the SAT, or Standardized Aptitude Test. The Learning Edge is seeking to up the collective SAT scores through their SATLadder app. While current SAT study apps currently exist, the SATLadder app seeks to differentiate itself through anonymous online academic competition. These head-to-head matches based on SAT Standards (Critical Reading, Mathematics, Writing) are then ranked amongst their peers, taking full advantage of all the benefits that arrive through competition. The Learning Edge is banking on an already familiar to many, simple game mechanic and premise, to incite students into a study frenzy.
“This app provides students who like the thrill of competition a more dynamic mode of preparation that will make studying fun. The app is quite versatile: students can use it as a quick study tool when they have a few minutes to do a handful of questions, or they can systematically play the game and review the correct answers via the detailed answer explanations that come with the Ladder Edge package on the website,” comments Learning Edge director and founder, as well as game creator, Mark Anestis.
To keep the playing field level, as well offer users the “try before you buy” option, the SATLadder app is available in a lite mode, which gives users access to the solo mode. The solo mode offers students 5 round matches that draw from over 2,000 SAT based questions, and answers are immediately sent to the Learning Edge’s servers for further review on the student’s personalized profile page.
If the value/desire is there, eager learners can pony up to the full version of the app which offers two varieties of the head-to-head mode, friendly matches and more competitive ladder matches. Friendly matches are just as they state, but the Ladder matches tie into the over all leaderboards.
Sadly, Android owners are on the outs, as the SATLadder app by The Learning Edge is an iOS affair only, but interested students, parents, and teachers can find the SATLadder available from the App Store.
McGonigal is the director of Game Research and Design at the Palo Alto, CA based 
