Thinking Nation

Name

Thinking Nation

Legal name

Thinking Nation

Website

https://thinkingnation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Platform

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Formative & Benchmark Assessment Content (K–12) (EDAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assessment Item Banks, Question Authoring & Test Development Content (EDAGADAG), K–12 Standardized Test Prep & Practice Materials (EDAGADAA)

Keywords

• Social studies curriculum
• K-12 education platform
• AP practice exams
• Historical thinking skills
• Civic education technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Northridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Philanthropy: Thinking Nation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization receiving grants (Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region grant) and public donations to support mission
2. Platform Access Fees: Schools and districts pay per-student fees for platform access with curriculum and assessments; NCSS special offered at $5/student for rest of school year
3. AP Practice Exams: AI-powered AP practice exams sold at $15 per exam for AP U.S. History, AP European History, AP World History, and AP Government and Politics students
4. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting social studies education transformation; EIN 85-0606371

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Thinking Nation sells an inquiry-based social studies curriculum and a digital learning platform to K-12 schools and districts, supported by AI-powered assessment grading, the proprietary THINKS source analysis protocol, Curated Research Papers (CRPs), tiered professional development, and AI-powered AP Practice Exams sold individually at $15 per exam. The organization is structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and also distributes 60 free Library of Congress primary-source formative assessments alongside professional development and a buildable Cubles physical figurine product.

Product overview

Thinking Nation offers a unified suite of social studies education products built around its core curriculum and digital platform. The portfolio includes a historian-approved curriculum emphasizing historical thinking skills, a digital platform with hundreds of supplemental resources, proprietary tools (THINKS source analysis protocol, Curated Research Papers), AI-powered AP Practice Exams ($15/exam), a Four-Tiered Implementation Model (Building, Teaching, Assessing, Empowering), 60 free Library of Congress formative assessments, Professional Development services, a Best Practice Repository, Cubles (buildable figurines), and a podcast. The platform leverages generative AI for grading and personalized feedback. All offerings integrate via Clever LMS and are designed for middle/high school social studies education with a focus on literacy development and democratic citizenship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cubles: Buildable figurines of diverse American changemakers paired with Thinking Nation's critical thinking-based lessons, produced in partnership with Thinking Nation.
• AP Practice Exams

Products and services

• Curriculum Historian-approved K-12 social studies curriculum that empowers students through development of historical thinking skills, with expert historians reviewing materials before classroom use.
• Platform Digital learning platform housing hundreds of supplemental social studies resources for upper elementary, middle, and high school teachers, with student portals for tracking progress across multiple school years and teacher real-time views of completion and grading status.
• AP Practice Exams AI-powered practice exams for AP U.S. History, AP European History, AP World History, and AP Government and Politics, providing realistic practice tests with instant AI-driven feedback and comprehensive performance reports at $15 per exam.
• Cubles Buildable figurines of diverse American changemakers (Statue of Liberty, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt) paired with Thinking Nation critical thinking-based lessons, available via classroom sponsorship at $50 per classroom.
• Library of Congress Formative Assessments 60 free primary source-based formative assessments spanning U.S. History, Ancient Civilizations, Medieval to Early Modern World History, Modern World History, and U.S. Government, with each assessment featuring a Library of Congress document and measuring specific historical thinking skills.
• Professional Development High-quality, tiered professional development designed specifically for social studies educators, facilitating rich collaboration and vertical alignment and enabling teachers to deliver data-driven instruction across the four-tiered implementation model.
• Best Practice Repository Comprehensive library of over 100 teaching strategies and best practices for social studies instruction, including 3-2-1 Prompts, Anticipation Guides, Curated Research Papers, Depth of Knowledge Questions, Socratic Seminars, Gallery Walks, and more than 30 additional instructional strategies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35,000+ students reached in 2024-2025 school year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Archives FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on America's 100 Docs initiative; joint presentations at NCSS; access to National Archives resources for curriculum development
• iCivicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivic Learning Week National Forum co-host; collaboration on civic education initiatives; joint efforts for democracy education
• CublescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Giving Tuesday campaign for America 250; Cubles buildable figurines paired with Thinking Nation critical thinking lessons; collaborative product development
• ClevercoreTechnology or IntegrationLMS integration partner enabling seamless single sign-on and class/account management for schools using Clever
• WETAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to strengthen commitment to connecting classrooms with authentic historical inquiry and civic engagement
• Educating for American Democracy (EAD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlignment of Thinking Nation's New Minimum Standard campaign with EAD roadmap; collaborative sessions connecting work to civic education frameworks
• Social Studies AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint presentation at NCSS and Civic Learning Week; collaboration with Ebony McKiver on alignment matrix connecting EAD to CS3 to XQ competencies
• Democracy Knowledge ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExciting collaborative project announced at Civic Learning Week National Forum; involvement in civic education stakeholder events
• Digital PromiseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on student discussions; presentation at NCSS on strategies to enhance student discussion
• Wende MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Michael Balot-Garza on presentations at California Council for Social Studies
• PBSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to make historical thinking resources available with PBS docuseries 'Great Migration: A People on the Move'
• Center for Civic EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWe the People National Symposium participation; collaboration on civic education research at Georgetown University

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• Actively Learn: Digital reading and social studies platform with scaffolded texts, embedded questions, and teacher analytics — directly comparable in subject coverage (social studies/ELA), per-seat school licensing, and assessment-driven pedagogy.
• Facing History & Ourselves: A long-standing nonprofit providing inquiry-based social studies curriculum, primary-source units, and professional development for middle and high school teachers — directly comparable in pedagogy (inquiry, primary sources), audience (social studies educators), and nonprofit funding model.
• iCivics: Founded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, iCivics is the leading U.S. civic-education nonprofit producing curriculum, games, and teacher resources for K-12 civics — directly comparable to Thinking Nation's social studies/civic mission and a current co-host partner on Civic Learning Week.
• Newsela: Edtech platform delivering leveled nonfiction content and assessments for K-12 ELA and social studies; comparable target customer (schools and districts), per-seat licensing model, and assessment/curriculum integration approach.
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: National history education nonprofit offering curriculum, teacher seminars, AP history support, and primary-source resources to K-12 schools — directly overlaps with Thinking Nation's historian-reviewed curriculum, AP exam support, and PD offerings.
• Common Sense Education: Nonprofit providing K-12 digital citizenship and civic-education curriculum and resources — comparable nonprofit structure, civic-education mission, and free/sponsored resource model aligned to Thinking Nation's Library of Congress grant content.
• DBQ Project: The DBQ (Document-Based Question) Project provides scaffolded document-analysis curriculum and teacher PD for K-12 social studies — a direct precursor and closest functional competitor to Thinking Nation's Curated Research Papers and THINKS source-analysis protocol.

Broad incumbents

• EVERFI: Larger K-12 social-impact edtech platform covering financial literacy, SEL, and civic education with district contracts and sponsor-funded free access — broader portfolio than Thinking Nation but competes for the same district supplemental-curriculum dollars.
• Nearpod: Established K-12 instructional platform with lesson delivery, formative assessments, and social studies content libraries — competes in the same school/district procurement cycle for supplemental curriculum and assessment tools, though with a much broader subject footprint.
• Khan Academy: Free, large-scale educational platform offering official AP practice and prep content across subjects; not a direct competitor for curriculum but a structural free alternative for Thinking Nation's AP Practice Exams and a benchmark for free K-12 content reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thinking_nation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpdHaRb9u9g7fsovaSi80nw?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/ThinkingNationLA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thinking-nation
• Instagraminstagram.com/thinking_nation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thinking Nation