How Students Master Words and Earn Certificates in Vocab Loco

Vocab Loco isn’t just about learning new words—it’s about mastering them. Our system is built to help students move vocabulary from short-term memory to long-term understanding through consistent practice and reinforcement. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Complete a Word List

Before students can begin mastering words, they must first complete a word list. Once finished, all successfully learned words are added to the student's Banked Words collection.

Step 2: Practice for Mastery

To master a word, students need to pass a proficiency test three separate times. This approach—known as spaced repetition—is designed to strengthen memory and ensure deep understanding.

Step 3: How to Practice

Students can begin mastering words by following these steps:

• Log in and click on “Mastered Words” in the left-hand sidebar.

• Click the “Start Practicing” button to begin a mastery session.

• Note: Students must have banked words in order to begin the mastery process.

• During practice, they’ll see their current progress and mastery rank for each word. Words move through Rank 1, Rank 2, and finally Rank 3 (Mastered).
  
  
  
  

Step 4: Earn a Certificate

Once a student has mastered the number of words set by their teacher’s Mastered Words Goal, they will automatically earn a Word Mastery Certificate.

How to Set the Goal (For Teachers)

Teachers can set the number of words required for certificate eligibility by navigating to:
Customize Program → Mastered Words Goal

This mastery system helps ensure that students don’t just learn words for a week—they retain them for a lifetime. By encouraging review, repetition, and rewards, Vocab Loco transforms passive vocabulary exposure into active word ownership.