Teachers using BrainPOP needed a better way to track student performance on assignments. I led the research and design of a new report that consolidated student work and resulted in a 33% increase in usage.

For over two decades, BrainPOP has been creating engaging educational cartoons which have been viewed by millions of kids. In 2023, the company sought to improve teacher and student usage by increasing the number of assignments created and by providing useful data for teachers to make instructional decisions.

Problem

While reports existed, teachers struggled to 1) identify students who needed help and 2) the concepts that required reinforcement.

The existing reporting system had major usability issues:

• Lack of clarity – Teachers had no way to monitor a class' progress for a single assignment. It was difficult to identify struggling students and commonly missed questions.

  

  
  

• Too many clicks – For an assignment with multiple activities, a teacher had to click on each activity to see student statuses and responses.

  

  
  

• Inconsistent design – Reports varied across BrainPOP products, making navigation frustrating.

  

  
  

• Hard to find – 41% of teachers accessed assignment reports, but only 16% explored detailed student work.
  
  

The Challenge

How might we streamline and standardize student performance reports so that teachers can quickly pinpoint struggling students and the concepts that need reinforcement?

Approach

Research & Discovery

To better understand the pain points, we tested the existing reports with six active teachers. Their feedback revealed key themes:

• Too much data – Teachers have access to data but it's hard to parse through the noise and actually find useful insights.

• UX Friction – Too many steps were needed to get to the information they cared about.

• Lack of Standardization – Reports functioned differently across products, leading to confusion.

• Inefficient Workflow – Teachers wanted a one-page view of student performance.

Competitive Analysis

I analyzed how other ed-tech platforms approached class-level data visualization and presented my findings to my team.

My takeaways were:

• Data overload is a common challenge – Too much information makes reports overwhelming.

• Visual indicators matter – Highlights and color coding help guide teachers.

• Tables are familiar – Teachers prefer structured, tabular layouts over complex graphs.

Wireframing & Prototyping

I sketched out different layouts, testing variations in information hierarchy and interaction flows.

We prioritized:

• A single, product-agnostic report that consolidates assignment-level data.

• Actionable data views that highlight important insights.

• Fewer clicks to get to key information.

Usability Testing & Iteration

We tested our prototypes with teachers in multiple rounds, refining the design based on their feedback. Adjustments included:

• Adding sortable and searchable columns for quick filtering.

• Using color-coded performance bands for easy scanning.

• Reducing the number of clicks required to access student work details.

Output

The final design introduced a streamlined, standardized report that made it easier for teachers to:

Identify students that scored below a customizable threshold.

Pinpoint commonly missed questions and individual student answers.

Discover standards that need additional support based on the questions in the assignment.

View Interactive Prototype

Outcome

The new report launched on July 7 for the 2023-24 school year.

Traffic was monitored over several months and the following metrics were determined:

+33% Increase in Teacher Usage

More teachers accessed the detailed reports and returned more frequently, suggesting that the data they found was useful. Also, assignment review rates increased by 10%, from 63% to 70%.

40% Fewer Clicks to reach Key Insights

By consolidating multiple reports into one, this design streamlined the user flow and made it easier for teachers to view the data they're interested in.

Key Takeaways

What I Learned

• Align with existing teacher workflows – Presenting data in a way that matches teachers' mental models makes all the difference.

• Actionable insights over raw data – Teachers need structured summaries, not just numbers.

• Scalability Matters – A product-agnostic approach ensures long-term sustainability.

What I’d Do Differently

• Add a high-level summary – A quick overview of key insights would reduce cognitive load.

• Create a class-wide assignment dashboard – Teachers want a bird’s-eye view of all assignments.

• Build a mobile experience – Due to time constraints, our team deprioritized the mobile viewport. Mobile traffic was low but adding it would provide an opportunity for quick checks.

Final Thoughts

This project reinforced the importance of balancing data complexity with usability. By simplifying reports, we enabled teachers to spend less time navigating data and more time supporting their students.