About WordSmart
Pioneers in effective learning environments and retention, WordSmart is an award-winning, privately owned company located in San Diego with over 100 employees responsible for Course and Content Development, Tutoring, and Educational Consulting.
Schools, companies, institutions, families, and over 100,000 students use WordSmart as part of their learning curriculum.
Background
David A. Kay formally incorporated WordSmart Educational Technology in 1993. Mr. Kay is widely regarded as an industry pioneer and has been actively involved in the computer industry for more than three decades. As the Vice President of Marketing, Mr. Kay spearheaded the growth of KayPro Corporation (KayPro Personal Computers) from a small electronics company into a $100 million industry leader.
WordSmart’s products are based on the work of Johnson O’Connor, a pioneer in the field of educational testing. Despite the prevailing assumption decades ago that intelligence was predetermined, O’Connor believed that intelligence was not strictly innate. He proposed that both innate aptitudes and learned information constituted intelligence, and that it could be heightened and improved. Evidence of significant improvement on intelligence tests after preparation supported this theory. Trying to understand this dynamic component of intelligence, O’Connor found that an extensive vocabulary is the single most important indicator of lifetime success, whether financial, professional, or personal.
About Our Research
From preschool to continuing education, our mission is to improve the base of knowledge—vocabulary—through easy-to-use interactive software at an affordable price.
More than 70 years of research at the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation Inc. has shown that vocabulary is the single biggest indicator of success—be it financial, personal, or otherwise.
A strong vocabulary improves reading comprehension and speaking skills, helping you interact with the world around you. Also, it gives you the power to expand your own thoughts and communicate them better.
Our software is developed with you in mind. An initial test determines your ideal learning level. Afterward, the program continues to assess your progress to ensure that you are continuously learning at your optimal level. This way, your intake is efficient and internalized, long-term.
Each lesson, from basic phonics to SAT preparation and beyond, is presented in 5 unique multi-sensory modes to integrate multiple learning pathways. Your needs are catered to, whether you are a visual, audio, or hands-on learner.
This means that WordSmart software is customized, and increases in difficulty as your vocabulary and reading comprehension grow. This is ideal for all learning levels. Advanced students use it to excel while challenged students use it to close the gap.
Books by Johnson O'Connor
Born that Way, 1928
Psychometrics, 1934
Too Many Aptitude Women, 1941
Ideaphoria, 1945
Aptitudes and Languages, 1944
Structural Visualization, 1948
The Unique Individual, 1948
English Vocabulary Builder, 1948
5 Dictionaries the WordSmart Program is Based On
A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (referred to as: Oxford English Dictionary or O.E.D.)
The Century Dictionary-an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language (referred to as: The Century Dictionary)
Cyclopædia or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (referred to as: Chambers Dictionary)
Websters - an American Dictionary of English Language (referred to as: Websters1828)
An Universal Etymological English Dictionary - (referred to as: Bailey's Dictionary)
