Learning Standards

Our Curriculum

Loopz is a game kids choose to play. This page is the learning underneath it: every domain is aligned to a curriculum or framework recognised in its field. We don't invent our own scope and sequence; we build on frameworks backed by decades of research and international evidence. Here is the case for each choice.

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✨ Number Nebula

Mathematics

Aligned to the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) 2021 Primary Mathematics Syllabus, covering Pre-Kindergarten through Primary 5.

Why does Loopz teach math the Singapore way?

Singapore's approach to mathematics is the most studied, most copied, and most successful in the world. The evidence is not subtle. Scroll through it.

Finding 01

The world's top-ranked math curriculum

In PISA 2022, the most comprehensive international study of applied mathematical reasoning, Singapore ranked first among 81 countries with a score of 575, the highest any country has ever recorded.

PISA tests how well 15-year-olds apply mathematical thinking to real-world problems. It is not a test of memorised facts, but of genuine reasoning.

Finding 02

Decades at the top, not a one-year fluke

Singapore has sat at the top of PISA mathematics in every cycle since it first took part in 2009, always far above the OECD average. In 2022 the gap widened further, as scores fell across the OECD but held firm in Singapore.

Consistency like this is rare. Most systems rise and fall between cycles; Singapore's barely move, and only upward.

Finding 03

Not just the average, far more top performers

Singapore doesn't only lead on the mean score. It produces dramatically more high performers: 41% of its 15-year-olds reached the two highest proficiency levels in PISA 2022, against an OECD average of just 9%.

That is more than four times the share of advanced mathematical reasoners produced by comparable developed nations.

Finding 04

The whole class rises, not just the top

A system can look strong on averages while leaving a long tail behind. Singapore does not. 92% of its 15-year-olds reach at least Level 2, the baseline where students can use mathematics in everyday situations, against 69% across the OECD.

Put the other way: only 8% of Singapore's students fall below that baseline, compared with roughly 31% on average. The method lifts the strugglers as much as the stars.

Finding 05

It wins on two very different tests

In TIMSS 2023, which tests curriculum mastery at Grade 4 and Grade 8, Singapore again placed first in both age groups.

PISA and TIMSS measure different things. One rewards real-world problem solving, the other rewards foundational knowledge. Singapore leads both, which rules out the idea that its success is a narrow testing artefact.

The method

Built for understanding, not memorisation

Every concept follows the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) sequence, developed from psychologist Jerome Bruner's learning theory. Children explore an idea through physical objects, then represent it in diagrams, and only then express it with numbers and symbols.

By the time a child writes an equation, they already understand what it means.

The method

The same problem, taught two ways

Take 3 × 4. A traditional approach asks a child to memorise the answer. The CPA approach builds the meaning first: three groups of four objects, then a drawn grid, and only then the symbols.

Research consistently shows CPA students retain concepts longer and apply them to unfamiliar problems more readily than students taught by rote.

Finding 06

Fewer topics, taught to mastery

Analysing international data, researchers led by William Schmidt found that in a typical US 8th-grade textbook only a quarter of topics were new since 4th grade; the rest simply repeated earlier years. They called this "a mile wide and an inch deep."

Singapore does the opposite: fewer topics each year, each taught to mastery before moving on. Every year adds genuine new depth, not revision.

Finding 07

Proven well beyond Singapore

In 2016, the UK government committed up to £41 million to bring Singapore-style mastery maths to around 8,000 primary schools, roughly half of all primaries in England.

Independent trials by the Education Endowment Foundation found pupils made up to two additional months of progress, and a University of Oxford study confirmed the approach works in English classrooms. It transfers because it is built on how children actually learn.

Singapore mathematics, by the numbers
#1
in the world, PISA 2022 mathematics
575
highest PISA score ever recorded
41%
of teens reach the top levels (OECD avg: 9%)
8,000
UK primary schools adopted the method
The case at a glance. Each figure is unpacked in the findings that follow. Sources: OECD PISA 2022; UK Department for Education.
PISA 2022 Mathematics Score
OECD avg 472 Singapore 575 Japan 536 UK 489 US 465
Each dot is a country's score; the dashed line is the OECD average (472). Singapore sits more than 100 points above it, 1st of 81 countries. Source: OECD PISA 2022.
PISA Mathematics · 2009 to 2022
580 540 500 460 2009 2012 2015 2018 2022 +70 +103 2009 · OECD average 492 2012 · OECD average 490 2015 · OECD average 487 2018 · OECD average 489 2022 · OECD average 472 2009 · Singapore 562 2012 · Singapore 573 2015 · Singapore 564 2018 · Singapore 569 2022 · Singapore 575 575 472
Singapore OECD average
The shaded band is Singapore's lead over the OECD average, widening from 70 points in 2009 to a record 103 in 2022. Sources: OECD PISA 2009 to 2022.
Students reaching the top levels
Singapore41%
UK11%
OECD avg9%
US7%
Each grid is 100 students; coloured squares are those reaching Level 5 or 6 (advanced) in PISA 2022. More than 4 in 10 in Singapore, against about 1 in 10 across the OECD.
Students reaching baseline proficiency
Singapore 92% 8% below baseline OECD average 69% 31% below baseline
At or above Level 2 (baseline) Below baseline
PISA 2022, share of 15-year-olds at or above Level 2 in mathematics. Only 8% of Singapore's students fall below baseline, against about 31% across the OECD. Source: OECD PISA 2022.
TIMSS 2023 Mathematics Score
570 580 590 600 610 620 Singapore 605 615 Taiwan 602 607 S. Korea 594 596 Hong Kong 575 594 Japan 591 595
Grade 4 Grade 8
Each country's two dots are its Grade 4 and Grade 8 scores, joined by a line. Singapore leads both. Source: IEA TIMSS 2023.
The CPA Progression
C
Concrete
Hands-on objects first
P
Pictorial
Draw it, model it
A
Abstract
Numbers and symbols last
Every concept follows this sequence before symbols are introduced. Based on Jerome Bruner's learning theory.
Concrete · Pictorial · Abstract
Same problem, two approaches · 3 × 4 = ?
Traditional
"Three times four equals twelve. Memorise it."
3 × 4 = 12
Students can recall the answer but often cannot explain what multiplication means.
Singapore CPA
CConcrete: 3 groups of 4
PPictorial: draw it as a grid
AAbstract: now write the symbol
3 × 4 = 12
The CPA child builds meaning before symbols, so the equation is understood, not just recalled.
Breadth vs Depth
Typical curriculum: a mile wide, an inch deep
Many topics each year, much of it repeated from prior years
Singapore: fewer topics, taught to mastery
Each topic explored in depth before moving on
Curriculum breadth analysis. Source: William Schmidt et al., TIMSS curriculum study.
UK Adoption Outcomes
£41M
UK government investment to bring Singapore-style mastery maths to England (2016)
8,000
primary schools in the national rollout, roughly half of all primaries in England
+2mo
additional progress in independent trials by the Education Endowment Foundation
England's national rollout of Singapore-style mastery maths. Sources: UK Department for Education; Education Endowment Foundation.

How Loopz puts this to work

Number Nebula isn't "inspired by" Singapore Math; it is structured around the actual MOE 2021 syllabus, grade by grade, from Pre-K through Primary 5. Every mission follows the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract path: children drag and group real objects before they ever touch a symbol, and a concept is only marked mastered once it's solved without hints.

The result is the same depth-first, understanding-first approach that put Singapore at the top of the world, rebuilt as missions a four-year-old can fall in love with.

Read the full Singapore Math syllabus (PDF)

Sources: OECD PISA 2022 Results (Volume I); IEA TIMSS 2023 International Results in Mathematics; Education Endowment Foundation; University of Oxford Department of Education; Singapore Ministry of Education 2021 Primary Mathematics Syllabus.

🚀 Logic Reach

Computer Science

Built around computational thinking, aligned with the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Framework and England's National Curriculum for Computing.

Why teach computer science to a four-year-old?

Not to make them programmers. Because at this age, learning to think computationally builds focus, problem-solving and confidence that show up far beyond the screen. Here is the evidence.

The method

A way of thinking, not a language

Loopz does not teach a specific app or syntax. It teaches computational thinking: the four habits of mind that every computer science curriculum, including the CSTA K-12 framework, puts at its core.

They are powerful problem-solving moves, scaled down to a puzzle a four-year-old can solve through play.

The method

Concepts first, so the learning lasts

Children start with blocks they can drag and play with, never typing or jargon. But the idea underneath, like a loop that repeats, is the very same one used in real languages such as Python and JavaScript.

So it is a genuine foundation, not a toy: the thinking carries forward when they are ready.

Finding 01

Built for how young children learn

Coding is not too early for a four-year-old. Researchers like Marina Bers at Tufts describe early coding as a new literacy, learned the way children learn language: through play, expression, and trial and error.

Given the right tools, children as young as four can grasp the building blocks of a program long before they can type.

Finding 02

It strengthens focus and self-control

In a controlled study of primary-grade children, just eight short coding lessons improved planning and self-control, the brain's "executive functions", as much as or more than seven months of regular classroom activities.

These are the very skills that help a child sit with a hard problem and see it through.

Finding 03

The thinking carries into other subjects

A meta-analysis of 105 studies found that learning to code produces real transfer to other kinds of thinking, with the biggest gains in creative thinking, mathematics, and the ability to plan and check one's own work.

In other words, the benefits do not stay on the screen.

Finding 04

The world starts early

Education systems are reaching the same conclusion. England made computing compulsory for every child from age five in 2014, the first major nation to do so.

More countries now introduce computing in primary school rather than waiting for high school. Starting young is not unusual; it is becoming the norm.

Computer science, by the numbers
4
habits of computational thinking, practised through play
105
studies link learning to code with stronger thinking
8
coding lessons boosted focus as much as 7 months of class
Age 5
when England starts teaching every child computing
The case at a glance. Each figure is unpacked in the findings that follow. Sources: CSTA K-12 Framework; Scherer et al. 2019; Arfe et al. 2019; UK Department for Education.
How young children learn to code
Through play
They build and explore rather than memorise, the way they learn everything else at this age
Through expression
They make things that matter to them, a story or a game, and the code serves the idea
Through trial and error
They test, get it wrong, and fix it, so debugging quietly teaches persistence
Early coding is increasingly treated as a new literacy for children seven and under, learned through play. Source: M. Bers, "Coding as a Playground" (Tufts DevTech).
Months of class for the same gain in focus & planning
With coding
about 1 month (8 short lessons)
Usual classroom
7 months
Each square is one month of school. About eight short coding lessons improved children's planning and self-control as much as, or more than, seven months of standard activities. Source: Arfe, Vardanega & Ronconi, Frontiers in Psychology, 2019.
The four pillars of computational thinking
1
Decompose
Break a big problem into small, solvable steps
2
Find patterns
Spot what repeats and reuse it
3
Abstract
Focus on what matters, ignore the rest
4
Algorithms
Write clear, step-by-step instructions
The four habits of mind at the core of the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Framework.
One loop, three languages
Blocks
repeat (4) {
  move
}
Python
for i in range(4):
    move()
JavaScript
for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
  move();
}
The same idea, a loop that repeats four times. Loopz teaches the concept, so Python or JavaScript is a small step later.
Cognitive transfer from learning to code
medium large 0 0.5 1.0 Near transfer 0.75 Overall 0.49 Far transfer 0.47
Transfer effect sizes (Hedges' g) from a meta-analysis of 105 studies; 0.5 is a medium effect and 0.8 large, so these are moderate-to-strong. Gains were largest for creative thinking, mathematics and metacognition. Source: Scherer, Siddiq & Sanchez Viveros, 2019.
A global shift toward computing
2014
England made computing compulsory from age five, the first major nation to do so
82%
of US high schoolers now have a computer science class available at their school
11
US states now require computer science to graduate high school, up from almost none
Sources: UK Department for Education (2014 National Curriculum); Code.org 2024 State of Computer Science Education.

How Loopz puts this to work

Logic Reach is built around the four habits, not a particular language. Children break a goal into steps, spot the pattern that repeats, and assemble an algorithm out of blocks they can drag and play with, earning sequencing, loops and conditionals as ideas they genuinely own.

Because the thinking comes first, what they gain (focus, problem-solving, and the confidence to try, fail and fix) travels with them: to the next puzzle, to other subjects, and to the way they meet a challenge away from the screen.

Read the K-12 Computer Science Framework

Sources: CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards; M. Bers, "Coding as a Playground" (Tufts DevTech); Arfe, Vardanega & Ronconi (2019), Frontiers in Psychology; Scherer, Siddiq & Sanchez Viveros (2019), Journal of Educational Psychology; UK Department for Education.

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