Press release

Committed to Increasing Access to Education, Social Learning Company Fiveable Launches Free, Student-first Platform

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Fiveable, a social learning platform dedicated to breaking down education barriers through engaging test prep resources and support, has dropped its paywall and launched a free, student-first platform in an effort to reach more students.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200219005506/en/

Fiveable Trivia Battle (Photo: Business Wire)

Fiveable Trivia Battle (Photo: Business Wire)

Seeking to reach a benchmark of 100,000 student users this spring, Fiveable will now offer its signature content library free of charge. Providing a variety of formats for learning, the company encourages an environment for social learning–allowing students to interact directly with teachers, other students and the content itself. Resources include access to live streams each week, trivia battles, study guides, a personalized dashboard based on each students’ needs and subject focus areas, as well as a community forum with live support.

Founded by Amanda DoAmaral, an educator, activist, and entrepreneur, the idea for Fiveable sprouted from a vision to make educational opportunities more equitable and accessible for students. After serving as a history teacher at a public school in Oakland, California through Teach for America, DoAmaral identified a critical need to provide access to supplementary learning and resources, a challenge she knew expanded far beyond her Oakland community. Desperate to provide the immediate support both her students and fellow teachers required, DoAmaral started Fiveable, the name representative of a perfect score on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam.

“Education is too important to stay the way it is. It’s people like Amanda and the Fiveable team that help us leap forward in learning. Amanda’s innovative approach is helping students maximize their fullest learning potential and I’m confident that the impact momentum will only continue,” said David Blake, Co-Founder of Degreed and Co-author of the Expertise Economy.

In January, Fiveable secured $615K in Seed funding led by Cream City Ventures. Already helping nearly 40,000 students across the country achieve a 92% pass rate on the AP exam (a national average that currently sits at 67%), Fiveable seeks to use this funding to reach more students, expand the AP subjects being offered (currently focused on 15 subjects within English, STEM, History, and Social Sciences), as well as offer test prep resources for additional standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT.

“The goal of Fiveable isn’t only to help students pass their exams; it’s to lead students towards that ‘aha’ learning moment where everything clicks, helping them build confidence within themselves to know they can pass with flying colors,” said DoAmaral. “Learning shouldn’t be cost-prohibitive, which is why we’re shifting away from EdTech norms to make business decisions that better align with our commitment to a student-first approach.”

To date, the company employs more than 180 active content creators and offers live streams hosted both by teachers and former students, as requested by the students themselves. Built by teachers, for teachers, the platform also serves a resource to a community of educators whose dedication extends beyond the classroom.

For students seeking an extra layer of dedicated support leading up to the exam, Fiveable will offer “Cram Passes” for purchase. Each pass will provide access to 12+ live reviews a few weeks prior to the exam where the highest-qualified teachers will stream unit reviews, rubric breakdowns, and facilitate live Q&As.

Since the company’s 2018 launch, Fiveable has been recognized by notable business leaders, communities, and publications. DoAmaral has been named one of eight Women to Watch Under 30 by Business Insider and Fiveable a Startup to Watch in 2020 by The Tech Tribune, Wisconsin Inno, BizTimes Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Business Journal. The company has also earned first place at the Fall Experiment Competition in Milwaukee, second place at the Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition, and second place at the Chicago regional round of the SoGal competition. Fiveable was also a finalist at the New Voices Pitch Competition at CES earlier this year.

ABOUT FIVEABLE

Fiveable is a social learning platform dedicated to making test prep resources and support accessible to all students. On a mission to democratize learning by providing students with free, engaging, and educational content, Fiveable helps students master complex concepts and skills through interactive live streamed lessons and discussions, fun review games, and study guides. Fiveable was founded in 2018 by educator, activist and entrepreneur Amanda DoAmaral and has since raised $615K in Seed funding led by Cream City Ventures. The company focuses primarily on Advanced Placement (AP) test prep and serves nearly 40,000 students who, with Fiveable’s support, have achieved a 92% pass rate on the AP exam. For more information about Fiveable, please visit www.fiveable.me or follow on Facebook @thinkfiveable.