Re-imagining formative assessment for early education

We recognize that every child develops differently.

With just one tablet per classroom, Trackosaurus helps teachers track the developmental progress of each individual child in their class. Teachers are able to identify which young children need help in which learning areas so they can intervene to get those kids back on track.

Designed with real-world classrooms in mind.

Unfortunately, current formative assessment options just aren’t working for most preschool teachers. ‘Direct’ assessments are too taxing on teachers’ time or too pricey due to third-party assessor costs. At the same time, ‘observational’ assessments are known to produce shaky results.
Trackosaurus is different! With Trackosaurus, children unknowingly self-assess by playing tablet-based games that require little to no adult supervision. This innovative approach is fueled by a combination of behavioral insights and light machine learning.
The net result is that teachers receive reliable, real-time information on how each child is progressing across a range of developmental skills without having to sacrifice valuable class time.
Unfortunately, current formative assessment options just aren’t working for most preschool teachers. ‘Direct’ assessments are too taxing on teachers’ time or too pricey due to third-party assessor costs. At the same time, ‘observational’ assessments are known to produce shaky results. Trackosaurus is different! With Trackosaurus, children unknowingly self-assess by playing tablet-based games that require little to no adult supervision. This innovative approach is fueled by a combination of behavioral insights and light machine learning. The net result is that teachers receive reliable, real-time information on how each child is progressing across a range of developmental skills without having to sacrifice valuable class time.

Games that are actually fun for kids

Trackosaurus games use light machine learning to tailor each child’s assessment experience. Additionally, each Trackosaurus game is psychometrically validated to make sure it’s producing reliable results. However, the key ingredient that allows Trackosaurus to work effectively across different learning environments is that all of our games are super fun!
Trackosaurus games use light machine learning to tailor each child’s assessment experience. Additionally, each Trackosaurus game is psychometrically validated to make sure it’s producing reliable results. However, the key ingredient that allows Trackosaurus to work effectively across different learning environments is that all of our games are super fun!

Actionable feedback for teachers

The Trackosaurus teacher dashboard is remarkably streamlined. For each skill assessed, a teacher is able to view a simple distribution of the ability levels within their class. (This is important since different kids progress at different speeds from skill to skill.)
Children at the lower end of a distribution may be in need of extra support on that particular skill, whereas children at the higher end may be pining for more challenging material. Elastic cloud computing helps ensure the models behind this analysis are kept up to date.
Importantly, the Trackosaurus teacher dashboard presents data for a single classroom of children - which is the space where a teacher can make an impact. Our goal is to track the progress of kids, not invite comparisons between educators.
The Trackosaurus teacher dashboard is remarkably streamlined. For each skill assessed, a teacher is able to view a simple distribution of the ability levels within their class. (This is important since different kids progress at different speeds from skill to skill). Children at the lower end of a distribution may be in need of extra support on that particular skill, whereas children at the higher end may be pining for more challenging material. Elastic cloud computing helps ensure the models behind this analysis are kept up to date. Importantly, the Trackosaurus teacher dashboard presents data for a single classroom of children - which is the space where a teacher can make an impact. Our goal is to track the progress of kids, not invite comparisons between educators.

Meet the team


Anita Sirakis
Art & Animation
Brendon Smuts
Game Developer
Daoyi Liu
Art & Animation
Jerome Makiti
Art & Animation
Justin Huber
Game Developer
Luke Crowley
Education
Lungiswa Khethelo
Research
Masande Notununu
Back-end Developer
Mfezeko Matshoba
Art & Animation
Denys Blecher
Music & Sound

Drop us a line

Our office

  • Woodstock Exchange
    66 Albert Road
    Cape Town
  • +27 (21) 409 7000

Are you a researcher interested in learning more?

We partner with leading educational and educational psychology researchers on the design and validation of our game assessment tasks. If you’re interested in learning more about these partnerships, please drop us a line!

Are you a teacher or administrator working with young children who is interested in learning more?

We are currently in the R&D phase of our journey and have not released a publicly-available version of Trackosaurus. However, if you are interested in partnering with us during this testing period, or if you want more information about our development schedule, please get in touch!