Goblins vs. Study Island
Why we built Goblins
Goblins lets students speak and draw to learn math. That lets Goblin, the tutor, pinpoint exactly where mistakes and misconceptions arise. On Study Island a student picks one of four letters. On Goblins the student works the problem, so there is nothing to guess and nowhere to hide. The Gates Foundation funds Goblins.
“They can't just look on somebody else's screen and put an answer down. They can't Google it somewhere and just put an answer down. They actually have to understand what they're doing in order to move on.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
“It forces them to really think about what they're doing and understand their process. ... They have to prove it. They have to show all of their work and it's been great.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
“When they're doing the questions in Goblins, it's like I'm sitting there helping them. ... I can go into Goblins and I can look at literally the history of every question to see what the back and forth was.”
Rich Grell · HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
Why not just use Study Island?
Study Island preps the test, and its math is multiple choice. The coverage is genuinely broad: Edmentum aligns it to state tests in all 50 states and stocks it with more than 600,000 items. But a bubble sheet cannot show anyone how a student solves a problem, and a stuck kid can keep clicking until the item goes away. Teachers describe exactly that pattern in public G2 discussions, and the built-in anti-guessing measure is a short lockout that asks students whether they are guessing. That is friction, not instruction.
No independent reviewer has ever accepted Study Island's evidence. Evidence for ESSA reviewed Study Island and lists "No studies met inclusion requirements" for math or reading. What Edmentum markets instead is its own 2017 study, authored by an Edmentum employee, with outcomes measured on Edmentum's own Exact Path assessment, and the paper itself concedes the reading effect was inflated because high performers left the control group. It also reports students averaged about 10 minutes a week. Ten minutes a week is what practice software gets when it has nothing to say to a stuck student. Teachers coming to Goblins from Study Island tell us this directly.
- Multiple-choice math. The program grades the letter a student picked, never the steps behind it.
- No tutor in the problem. Sensei reports data to teachers after the work is done, and Group Sessions are teacher-led multiple-choice practice. Nothing intervenes mid-problem.
Thousands of Teachers ❤️ Goblins
"A kid who'd never do homework is now 100% in my class."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"A little me in the computer, guiding them. So powerful."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"They can't just Google it. They have to actually understand."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Stuck? It walks them back two chapters, then builds them up."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"I can't split into 30. Goblins is 30 of me."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"It forces them to fill the gaps and prove their work."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Like I'm sitting with every kid, and I can see who's faking it."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"She did every Goblins assignment and aced the makeup."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"I see who's stuck in real time and pull them aside."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"The AI's on every question when I can't reach everyone."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
"My kids customize the goblin to look like them."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
Frequently asked questions
Study Island's Sensei is an analytics dashboard, and Group Sessions are teacher-led multiple-choice practice. Neither watches how a student solves a problem. Sensei shows teachers the data after the work is done, and Group Sessions have the whole class answer the same items together. Study Island doesn't step in mid-problem. Every Goblins student has a live 1-on-1 tutor already watching, and it moves the moment they stall.
No independent reviewer has ever accepted Study Island's evidence.
- The only evidence is Edmentum's own 2017 study, authored by an Edmentum employee across eight schools, with outcomes measured on Edmentum's own Exact Path assessment.
- The 'ESSA Tier 2' in Edmentum's marketing is a self-assessment against the framework, not a third-party determination.
Study Island's recurring complaints on G2 are students clicking through the multiple-choice items without doing the math, and an item bank that feels repetitive once a class has used it for a while. The coverage is broad, but the moment a student is stuck it has nothing to offer them.
Edmentum sells Study Island by quote, so districts only see exact numbers in a sales conversation. Third-party pricing listings put it at around $5 per student, a number Edmentum does not confirm. Goblins publishes its pricing, free for teachers, with Goblins Max priced per school or district.
Goblins is free for teachers. Every student gets 15 live help-enabled problems each month, plus standards-aligned assignments, worksheet uploads, and teacher avatars, no credit card. Goblins Max, priced per school or district, makes live help unlimited and adds standards and engagement reporting.
Yes. The live classroom view shows every student's work as it happens, so you know who is stuck this minute and can pull a small group on the spot. You also get session replays of the written work and the full tutor conversation for every problem.
Students speak and draw in whatever language they think in, and Goblin keeps up. We never cap it at a number of languages, and we add new ones whenever a classroom asks.
Yes. Goblins complies with COPPA, FERPA, and student data privacy laws in all 50 states.
Weighing other options? See how Goblins compares.
Or see how schools run Goblins across intervention tiers in our MTSS math guide.