CPM
Product by CPM Educational Program
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
While The Learning Standard has not formally evaluated CPM yet, its problem-based approach forces active retrieval and deep conceptual thinking rather than rote memorization. It requires strong teacher facilitation to prevent cognitive overload, but provides robust digital tools and integrated formative assessments to track mastery over time.
Pros
- Uses problem-based learning to promote active retrieval and deeper conceptual understanding.
- Integrates formative assessments directly into the workflow to help educators track student mastery.
- Includes targeted homework help that acts as scaffolding rather than just providing the final answer.
- Structures lessons around collaborative problem-solving to encourage peer-to-peer explanation.
Cons
- High risk of cognitive overload for students who lack strong foundational math skills.
- Requires extensive teacher facilitation and professional development to implement effectively.
- Lacks an algorithmic spaced repetition system for individualized spiral review.
What Do We Know About CPM?
CPM is a highly effective, rigorous math curriculum for your child if their teacher is trained to facilitate its problem-based model. Unlike traditional math textbooks that show a formula and ask students to practice it fifty times, CPM forces your child to discover math concepts through complex problems. This approach builds deep conceptual understanding and utilizes productive struggle, a proven learning science concept that strengthens long-term memory. However, this means your child cannot simply passively absorb information. They must actively engage, collaborate with peers, and explain their reasoning. If your child struggles with foundational math skills, this discovery-based approach may cause initial frustration or cognitive overload. The platform includes digital ebooks, online tools, and built-in homework help to provide scaffolding when your child gets stuck. Because this is a curriculum designed for classroom adoption rather than an independent consumer app, your child's success depends heavily on how their school implements the collaborative structures and formative assessments. The Learning Standard has not yet formally rated CPM, but its core pedagogical foundation aligns strongly with modern research on active learning and critical thinking.
How Does CPM Work?
CPM uses a problem-based, student-centered pedagogy where learners discover mathematical principles through guided, collaborative problem-solving. Instead of beginning with explicit instruction or worked examples, students start with a complex scenario that requires them to apply prior knowledge to figure out new concepts. Teachers act as facilitators rather than lecturers. The digital platform delivers interactive ebooks equipped with digital tools like graphing calculators and manipulatives. As students work through the modules, the system captures data via integrated formative assessments, allowing educators to monitor comprehension in real-time. The curriculum emphasizes spiraling, meaning topics introduced early in the year reappear in later assignments to leverage spaced practice. For independent practice, the platform includes a homework help feature that offers hints and scaffolding steps rather than simply revealing the correct answer. This ensures students maintain active retrieval efforts even when working outside the classroom.
Strengths and tradeoffs of CPM
CPM's biggest strength is its reliance on productive struggle to build deep conceptual understanding, while its biggest weakness is the high risk of cognitive overload for students lacking foundational skills. By forcing students to solve complex problems before receiving the formula, CPM leverages active learning and elaboration. This prevents the illusion of competence often created by traditional drill-and-practice worksheets. The curriculum also employs spaced practice by systematically revisiting past concepts in daily assignments, which strengthens long-term retention. However, problem-based learning requires significant working memory capacity. Students who have gaps in their math knowledge may find the lack of immediate, explicit worked examples overwhelming. Without strong teacher facilitation, the collaborative group work model can lead to unequal participation or shared misconceptions. The platform mitigates some of this friction through its digital homework help, which provides structured hints, but it still demands a high level of intrinsic motivation and peer-to-peer communication.
Who Might Benefit From CPM?
Best for middle and high school classrooms seeking a rigorous, collaborative math curriculum that replaces traditional lectures with active discovery. It is specifically designed for students in grades 6 through 12 who benefit from peer-to-peer explanation and deep conceptual problem-solving. CPM is not a standalone tutoring app or an independent study tool for homeschoolers lacking a trained facilitator. It requires a dedicated classroom environment where teachers can monitor group dynamics, deploy the integrated formative assessments, and guide students through productive struggle to master complex mathematical standards.
Data Transparency
Does Not Meet Data Transparency Standard
CPM reaches Level 1 of 3 (Basic protections), below our data transparency standard. Reaching Level 2 needs the policy to document named service providers and self-service deletion.
19 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated September 2026
CPM Math →Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Not documented: named service providers, self-service deletion
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access7/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“The school is responsible for providing means by which parents and eligible students may review and correct Student Records. To review, correct, update, or delete Personal Information in a Student Record, a parent or eligible student should contact the school directly.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“The school is responsible for providing means by which parents and eligible students may review and correct Student Records. To review, correct, update, or delete Personal Information in a Student Record, a parent or eligible student should contact the school directly.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
“The school is responsible for providing means by which parents and eligible students may review and correct Student Records. To review, correct, update, or delete Personal Information in a Student Record, a parent or eligible student should contact the school directly.”
Can parents delete their child's account?
“Schools may submit deletion requests before end of term by contacting us at the address in Section 11. Parents may also submit deletion requests directly to us.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“CPM does not permit children under the age of 13 to create an account without the consent and at the direction of a parent or school.”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
The policy has a children's privacy section but never mentions COPPA by name.
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“Prior to the transmission of any Student Records, CPM and the school will execute a license agreement or Purchase Agreement in accordance with FERPA, unless the information has been designated by the school as "directory information" under FERPA.”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“CPM does not permit children under the age of 13 to create an account without the consent and at the direction of a parent or school.”
Data Portability2/5
Can users access their personal data?
“The school is responsible for providing means by which parents and eligible students may review and correct Student Records. To review, correct, update, or delete Personal Information in a Student Record, a parent or eligible student should contact the school directly.”
Can users download/export their data?
“Residents of Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, and Oregon have the right to: - Confirm whether we process their Personal Information. - Access and delete certain Personal Information. - Correct inaccuracies in their Personal Information. - Data portability.”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
The policy says requests go through the school or a request form and describes no self-service access tool.
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy mentions data portability but names no export format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not mention an API for data access.
Data Minimization2/6
Is data collection itemized?
“Your school or district may also provide CPM with information to enable access to Licensed Content, including name, email, student number, user ID, grade level, teacher, and class information.”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says it collects names, including names supplied by the school.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy says it collects email addresses, including emails supplied by the school.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“We only collect as much information as is reasonably necessary for the child to access and use the Website.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says it collects IP addresses and does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy does not say it excludes location tracking.
Third-Party Protection5/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“CPM will not provide or sell to any third party any Personal Information in a Student Record, or engage in targeted marketing.”
Are third-party providers named?
The policy lists only categories of third parties, not named providers.
Are providers contractually restricted?
“We may contract with third-party service providers to help us better understand our site visitors — these providers are not permitted to use the information except to help us conduct and improve our business.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“We do not use Personal Information to perform targeted advertising.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“CPM does not use any third-party providers who collect or maintain information from children.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You can set your browser to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent.”
Deletion & Retention2/5
Can users delete their account?
“If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or wish to correct, update, delete, or limit use of any Personal Information, contact us through our security and privacy request form.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
The policy says deletion is done by request and describes no self-service deletion tool.
Specific data retention timeline?
“Within one week following expiration of the applicable semester, class, or program, all related data including student Personal Information shall be deleted from CPM's servers using industry best practices.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
The policy ties deletion to the end of the term or license, not to account inactivity.
Post-deletion handling described?
The policy says data is securely deleted or de-identified but does not say what happens after deletion, such as to backups.
Advertising1/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
The policy rules out targeted advertising and sharing data for ads but never says whether the product shows ads.
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy does not say the product is free of third-party ads.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“CPM does not use or disclose Student Records for targeted marketing.”
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not say the product has no ads or offers an ad-free option.
What This Means
The policy review did not meet our data transparency standard. The checks above show the documented findings and unknowns. A missing statement does not establish how the app handles data in practice.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of CPM Math against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how CPM works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About CPM
Is CPM free?
CPM is not free for individual users. It is an enterprise-level curriculum purchased by school districts, and pricing requires contacting the vendor directly for a customized quote based on implementation size and required professional development. Parents and students typically access the platform and its digital resources for free as long as their child's school has paid for the active district-wide license.
Is CPM good for middle school and high school students?
Yes, CPM is specifically designed for students in grades 6 through 12. Its problem-based structure aligns well with the cognitive development of adolescents, encouraging peer collaboration and abstract reasoning. Because middle and high school math requires complex logical deduction, this interactive peer-to-peer learning model helps older students verbalize their thought processes, defend their mathematical reasoning, and solidify their grasp on advanced secondary math standards.
What does CPM teach?
CPM teaches comprehensive secondary mathematics, covering middle school math foundations through high school algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus. It aligns closely with standard educational math benchmarks and state standards. Rather than teaching these subjects through rote memorization, it forces students to learn the underlying mechanics of mathematical formulas, ensuring they can apply algebraic and geometric concepts to novel, real-world problems.
How does CPM compare to traditional math textbooks?
Traditional textbooks typically provide direct instruction and worked examples followed by repetitive practice, which can create a false illusion of competence. CPM flips this model, using problem-based learning where students tackle complex scenarios first to discover the underlying mathematical concepts. This approach leverages productive struggle and active retrieval, forcing students to deeply engage with the material rather than simply plugging numbers into a provided formula.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated CPM?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well CPM teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 1, Basic protections.
Is CPM COPPA compliant?
A COPPA reference was not found in the reviewed privacy policy. This does not determine whether the app complies with COPPA. Policy review note: The policy has a children's privacy section but never mentions COPPA by name.
Is CPM FERPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references FERPA. A policy reference alone does not establish FERPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy has a FERPA Compliance section.
Does CPM have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: This sentence opens Section 9, which has its own heading, "Children Under 13 / Children's Privacy Policy."
Does CPM sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: CPM states it will not sell personal information in student records.
Can you delete your data from CPM?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can ask CPM to delete their personal information.
Follow TLS Research
Subscribe to future TLS research updates: app reviews, findings, and what the evidence shows.
Screenshots
Latest News
All CPM NewsWhy Math Class Is Shifting From Lectures to Team-Based Learning
Discover how structured study teams and spiral practice are replacing traditional math lectures, and learn what this means for your child's learning.
Why Traditional School Group Work Fails and How to Fix It
Discover why traditional school group work fails and how structured collaborative teams improve math scores, narrow learning gaps, and build belonging.
How Math Teachers Are Shifting From Memorization to Active Thinking
Discover how the upcoming NCTM 2026 conference and research-backed methods like Building Thinking Classrooms are transforming math education for students.
Take Action
For CPM
If you represent CPM Educational Program and have a correction or new evidence, send the relevant source so we can review and update this page.
Submit a correctionDetails
- Pricing
- Contact vendor for pricing.
- Grade Levels
- 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
- Website
- Visit site