ASSISTments TestBed Resource Guide





Our Mission at ASSISTments
To improve education through scientific research while not compromising student learning 

Our Vision at ASSISTments
 Continuously improve teaching and learning in classrooms through the use of validated educational research findings and applied technology



"Quite simply, the ASSISTmentsTestBed is a dream come true for a researcher interested in student learning." 
- Virginia Clinton, University of North Dakota


The ASSISTmentsTestBed is successfully being used by external researchers!
Recent peer-reviewed publications using the tool include:

These 5 paper have already been published:



Dear Fellow Researcher,

For years my colleagues and I have been using ASSISTments to conduct our research. I have published dozens of studies with various researchers (e.g., NotreDame, SRI, UIC, Harvard, Stanford, CMU etc). Our companion site, ASSISTments as a Research Tool, provides an overview of many of these studies. Given the value of this tool, the NSF has funded a grant to allow me to make it easier for you, an "external" researcher (i.e., those that are not directly collaborating with me or WPI), to propose studies to run within ASSISTments. We call the resulting infrastructure the ASSISTments TestBed. 

This website is designed to help you strategically move your research project from idea through to publication. Here, you can learn how to implement this tool with your own teachers and students or how to leverage our subject pool. We also provide support for managing the IRB process - because you are provided with deidentified data,  your IRB process is simplified. 

WPI and I are committed to keeping ASSISTments.org and the ASSISTments TestBed free forever.  This is a university affiliated non-profit project.  All intellectual property is owned by WPI.  We have turned down numerous offers to commercialize ASSISTments because of the researchers and teachers that use our tool. My vocation in life is to build a system that helps researchers and results in a more powerful tool for teachers.  Some past work that explains this further includes the backstory of ASSISTments and the seminal paper about the ASSISTments TestBed. 

I would love to see hundreds of researchers across the country run their studies within ASSISTments - including you!  When you are ready to talk about how to fit your research questions into the TestBed, introduce yourself to us and we can find a time to talk.

Sincerely, 

Neil Heffernan



Our Beliefs:

Free, high quality learning resources. We are committed to keeping ASSISTments free and available to all teachers and students.


Flexible edtech that keeps teachers in the driver’s seat. We are a teacher-paced tool that enhances everyday instruction with actionable data.


Formative assessment as key to learning. Students receive immediate feedback and get to try again; it is never just about right or wrong - it’s about growth.


Constant innovation. Our team is always studying cutting edge ideas to make our product better, like crowdsourcing student supports and AI.


Equitable outcomes in teaching and learning. We are dedicated to demonstrating our impact on student achievement in diverse contexts with rigorous research.

Site credits: K. Ostrow & C. Heffernan, 2015