98thPercentile

98thPercentile: online academy for math, English, coding, and public speaking for grades 1 to 8

98thPercentile is an online learning academy aimed at students in grades 1 to 8 (and up to K-12 in its general offering). Its approach is built around four programs — Math, English Language Arts (ELA), Coding, and Public Speaking — taught in live classes with a maximum of four students per class and a real instructor, not pre-recorded videos. The company presents itself as an alternative to late college preparation: its internal motto holds that most children start preparing in grade 11, while this academy seeks to start the process from grade 1.

Programs and levels

The academic offering is divided into four areas, each with a specific grade range:

• Math (grades 1–8): Olympiad-level reasoning, from multiplication tables to competition problems.
• ELA (grades 1–8): reading, writing, and structured argument, from paragraphs to publish-ready essays.
• Public Speaking (grades 3–8): progressive training, from the first speech to competition preparation.
• Coding (grades 3–8): from real apps to artificial intelligence models, including Scratch and Python.

The academy's system determines when each student is ready to advance between programs, as described in its methodology.

Methodology: an eight-year trajectory and three pillars

The academy structures its approach around an eight-year trajectory (grades 1 to 8) that, according to its approach, is built with time and effort to construct a solid profile for higher education. In contrast to what it calls the "conventional path" — starting in grade 10 with a forced sprint — 98thPercentile proposes a gradual accumulation of achievements.

The model rests on three pillars that, according to the company, are what colleges look for:

• Academic acceleration: reading and reasoning two grades ahead of the level corresponding to grade 8, as a signal of capacity for college-level work.
• Leadership: responsibility for a club, a project, or a younger student, as a signal of initiative and impact.
• Original work: something created, built, submitted, or performed, not just completed.

The company states that most programs build only one of these pillars, while it works on all three.

Post-AI skills

98thPercentile identifies four skills that, according to its presentation, artificial intelligence will not replace and that it integrates into all its sessions: communicate with clarity, think critically, lead under pressure, and build things that work. The academy notes that it does not teach them as a separate class, but incorporates them into the work of each Math, ELA, Coding, and Public Speaking session.

NATE platform and mobile app

The academy developed in-house a platform called NATE, which complements live classes with 15 minutes of daily practice. The platform includes a progress dashboard with skill-by-skill mastery, a library with recorded lessons and problem sets searchable by topic and grade, and a homepage that shows the day's classes, the weekly benchmark, and the next mastery goal. Every free trial includes a full NATE account.

In addition, the 98P app allows managing up to three children from a single login, rescheduling classes in two taps, and checking events for children and parents, without needing a computer.

Competition results

The company highlights its students' results in named competitions. According to its information, in Math Kangaroo USA (2022–2025) they obtained positions in the national ranking; in IKCC 2023, students from the academy appeared in the global top 50; and in National Beta (2022–23) they achieved a state placement. The academy emphasizes that all students in that results table started with the same placement test and the same 1:4 ratio.

Class format and admission

Classes are live and online, with four students per class. The typical program includes two live classes per week of 50 minutes each (one per week for Public Speaking), plus self-paced practice on NATE, totaling between 4 and 6 hours per week depending on grade. Admission is rolling throughout the year: the student takes a placement test, is assigned to a group within two weeks, and the first 14 days are free. The diagnostic test is free, lasts 8 minutes, and does not require a card; it includes a written report within 24 hours with grade-level mastery, the national percentile band, and the three highest-impact actions for the next 12 months.

Company profile

98thPercentile presents itself as an academy built by a team from Microsoft, with educational or professional ties that include Capital One, eBay, PayPal, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and IIM Ahmedabad, according to the logos shown on its site. The company operates online and its audience is families with school-age children, mainly in the U.S. education system, to which it aligns its trajectory (it mentions preparation for STAAR and the U.S. grade system).