Chalktalk

ChalkTalk sells personalized learning software for English language arts and math that produces teacher-led instructional materials rather than only self-paced student content. Teachers select a curriculum — PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, SAT, PreACT, ACT, TSIA2, high school math (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II) or high school English for grades 9-12 — sync their school schedule, and choose an in-person, distance-learning or hybrid model. Students take an online placement test to establish starting points, after which the platform adaptively generates instructional material for teachers, small-group activities and individual practice exercises for every class in the school schedule.

The instructional model runs in three steps: whole-group instruction (delivered in person by projecting materials or remotely by screen-sharing via web-conferencing tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts or Microsoft Teams, with presenter tools), small-group activities in which the platform's algorithms group students to compare answers and the teacher facilitates discussion using a generated answer key and discussion guide, and asynchronous personalized practice and intervention tracked from a teacher dashboard. Each step is described as adaptive at the student, small-group and whole-class level, and an asynchronous option exists for the first two steps via an adaptive scope-and-sequence built from the schedule the teacher sets. Administrators receive real-time insight into student performance and growth, and skill-level reports are used to target instruction. Additional features referenced include pacing guides, placement and post tests, and a Study Hall practice feature.

According to a May 2021 press release, ChalkTalk's machine-learning software generates standards-aligned curriculum from placement-test results and lets teachers build personalized courses in under two minutes, with the stated aim of reducing lesson-prep work. The same release described plans to expand the product from 11th-grade ELA and math to all 12 grade levels and to invest in edtech ecosystem integrations.

Founding story

ChalkTalk was founded by Mohannad (Mo) Arbaji, who serves as CEO. Per the 2021 press release, Arbaji attended Brown University on a full scholarship, studying electrical engineering, computer engineering and economics; after achieving perfect scores on the SAT I and SAT II he wrote what the release describes as the first English-language-learner SAT prep book and bootstrapped an earlier education company from $300 into a franchise operating in three countries by his senior year of college.

Business model

ChalkTalk licenses its software to schools and school districts, which deploy it inside existing class schedules; the 2021 press release identifies school administrators such as principals and superintendents as the purchasing decision-makers, motivated by state test results tied to their contracts and budgets. Implementation is supported by account managers and partnership managers who run data coaching sessions, in-person professional learning community meetings and pre/post test scheduling.

Recurring revenue from school and district subscriptions, reported as annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2021 press coverage.

Traction

The company's site states that in one semester students using ChalkTalk saw up to 6x more growth on the SAT/ACT than those receiving a full year of traditional classroom instruction, attributed to College Board and ACT published data. District examples include Peoria High School (Arizona) with an 11% increase in math and 10% in ELA scores; Hillsborough County (Florida), where ELA students spending at least six hours on the platform averaged a 2-point ACT increase and math students completing more than 40 lessons gained over 3 points; Levy County (Florida), where 216 students completed 33,622 practice questions and videos over three months for an average 1.78-point ACT improvement; and Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where TISA-eligible students increased 2.5x from placement to exit test over six weeks. The 2021 press release reported ARR growth from $45,000 to $1.25M in 11 months, a 200-600% increase in state test scores after 15 weeks versus peers after a full year of traditional instruction, and named customers including Boston Public Schools, Orange County Public Schools, Duval County Public Schools and Dysart Unified School District.

Latest developments

In May 2023 ChalkTalk published a podcast interview with founder and CEO Mo Arbaji covering the company's origin, growth and plans. The company's implementation guide documents district-level deployment patterns, including semester-long integration followed by an eight-week intensive bootcamp in Broward County and structured usage expectations of 40-45 minutes three times per week at a Fort Worth ISD school.