New Web-Based Program Helping HISD Close the Achievement Gap
A pilot program currently operating in 15 HISD elementary schools and three HISD middle schools is leading the way in closing the achievement gap between students who are economically disadvantaged and/or members of minority groups and those who are not.
Reasoning Mind, a Web-based math program developed for students in grades 2 through 7, has been so successful in district schools that on May 7, 2009, HISD officials held a press conference at John Cornelius Elementary School to share the exciting results (PDF) with the public.
“Even though Cornelius is already an exemplary campus and our students are doing very well, we are always looking for ways to improve,” explained Principal Karen Jackson. “We wanted something exciting in math for our students because we are a math and science Magnet school.”
The results of that decision speak for themselves. On the math section of the 2009 administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), Cornelius fifth-graders performed at virtually the same level as their peers in Highland Park ISD on the previous year’s test, with 100 percent passing and 74 percent earning “commended” status.
By comparison, Highland Park ISD, whose student body is composed of only three percent minority students with no economically disadvantaged youth, was not far ahead, with a 100-percent passing rate and 78 percent of its fifth-graders earning “commended” status. Cornelius students are 98 percent minority and 86 percent economically disadvantaged.
The results are equally compelling on an individual-school basis. At John Codwell Elementary School, fifth-graders using the Reasoning Mind curriculum significantly outperformed their peers, with 30 percent more passing the math section of the TAKS in 2009 and more than twice as many earning “commended” status. Similarly impressive results were noted at Reagan Mading Elementary and James Mitchell Elementary Schools, as well as in other ISDs, even among specific student populations, such as those with limited English proficiency or special needs.
“Widespread, across the state, we have got the results,” explained Reasoning Mind Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Forrest Hoglund. “I don’t care who they are, these students have come way up the curve, and they love it. Ninety-two percent say ‘Reasoning Mind’ when asked how they would prefer to learn math.”
According to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who joined HISD officials and Reasoning Mind representatives at the conference to celebrate the good news, the best aspect of the program is that it allows students to work at their own pace. “This doesn’t take the place of the teacher,” Perry said. “It frees them up to work more with individual students.”
As a result, children who need more assistance can receive it without holding back the rest of the class, while gifted pupils can work ahead if they want to, building ever-more-advanced skills—even beyond their current grade level.
“This is a self-paced, Web-based math education system where every student is on his or her own specific trajectory of learning,” said Reasoning Mind President and CEO Alexander Kachatryan. “And this character you see (the “RM Genie”) does the teaching. Students are engaged, excited, and they experience success.”
The governor urged state lawmakers to provide funding for the Reasoning Mind program and predicted that it would be implemented rapidly throughout the state as well as nationally. “I’m quite confident that this is a program that is a game changer in our public schools in Texas,” said Perry. “And when Texas does something, then the rest of the country will follow suit, and our country can get back into a more competitive position when it comes to math and science.
