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]]>Make Math Intervention Decisions Easier
When students struggle with math, choosing and implementing the right supports quickly can make a world of difference. This guide reviews RTI within MTSS and gives you a ready‑to‑use, four-point checklist for evaluating adaptive, personalized math program efficacy.
Download our guide and use it to create a framework to apply across classrooms, grades, and schools.
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]]>Differentiate with Confidence: Remediation, Intervention, and Acceleration Using Discovery Education Solutions
Learning gaps, different readiness levels, and the need for acceleration can all exist in the same classroom. But with DreamBox Math, DreamBox Reading, and Reading Plus, delivering the right instruction at the right time is possible without needing hours of extra planning.
Download our guide for a look at how our solutions support every instructional approach.
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]]>Nurturing Curiosity for All Students
Follow a teacher through their school day and see how they use Discovery Education to meet students’ needs—sparking engagement, building skills, and nurturing curiosity at every turn.
You’ll explore:
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Student needs in action — from differentiated learning to real-world connections.
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Moments of impact — how lessons transform when curiosity leads the way.
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Discovery Education in practice — programs and resources that fit naturally into the school day.
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Ideas you can use — practical ways to inspire every learner, every day.
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]]>Set Students Up for Success in Reading and Math with the Right Intervention Program
Students and educators have faced significant challenges over the past few years that have affected the achievement gap.
As schools work to engage students there is a renewed focus on implementing intervention programs that engage and motivate students, accelerate learning, and show evidence of improved student outcomes.
Download this free guide to learn five critical steps that inform intervention decisions and implementation.
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]]>The post How to Select, Implement, and Assess a Reading Intervention Program appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>According to a 2019 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, fewer than 40% of students in the United States demonstrate proficient levels of reading. Specifically:
- 35% of students in grade 4 demonstrate proficient reading levels.
- 34% of students in grade 8 demonstrate proficient reading levels.
- 37% of students in grade 12 demonstrate proficient reading levels (2017).
That means that almost two-thirds of our nation’s students struggle to achieve grade-level reading proficiency for the entirety of their primary and secondary school careers. Consequently, nearly every school district has implemented or plans to implement a reading intervention program that yields rapid results.
However, not every reading intervention program is made equal, and there are a lot of factors to consider before you make the investment.
What to Look for in a Reading Intervention
Evidence of Effectiveness
It should come as no surprise that evidence of effectiveness is considered to be the biggest influence on decision-making for the majority of educators. When the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed in 2015, educators increased their focus on programs with evidence of impact to ensure better student outcomes.
“Effectiveness is huge, and most programs have some measures of data,” says Larry Shifflett, Assistant Superintendent of Innovation and Learning for Rockingham County Public Schools. “We rely on our teachers and their expertise to say, ‘here [are] the gains we’re seeing with the kids, and here’s the ease of the program and how it works’…so teacher buy-in is tremendous. They’ll know if it’s a good program or not.
Teacher Judgment
Of course, teacher judgment follows close behind, as a reading intervention can be implemented in a broad range of contexts, including across the whole school, in a subject-area classroom, or through a supplemental program. Teachers will be the ones directing and overseeing student use of the program, so having their buy-in is critical.
Although a wealth of success stories from other schools and districts can point you in the right direction, you should also consider piloting the program in your particular school or district to understand if it’s right for you.
After all, as Shifflett says, “The programs are no better than the people who run them…. We’re professionals, we’re the educators—and the programs are tools and resources we use to move [students] along.”
Flexibility
Therefore, Shifflett advises, when you evaluate reading intervention programs, you should consider their flexibility and ensure that you’re taking into account teachers’ opinions of each program. How well can your teachers work with and around the program to maximize its effectiveness?
As a teacher working directly with students in the classroom, Beth Carabetta, Reading Coach, Maloney High School in Meriden, CT, sets her students up for success by remaining flexible in her instructional approach, allowing students to select the texts of most interest to them, and encouraging students to continue their reading practice outside of the classroom.
“Students—especially at the high school level—like to have a choice in the materials they’re reading and have some control over what they’re reading, provided that it’s at their level,” says Carabetta. “With the Reading Plus program, that’s definitely something that students have the ability to do.”
“Another thing that’s important to student success is being able to offer anytime-anywhere learning,” she continues. “To really make gains in reading, being able to utilize a program not only within the walls of the classroom but outside of the classroom as well.”
That flexibility and control over what, when, and where students can engage with texts is one of the key characteristics to look for in your reading intervention.
“We were looking for [a reading intervention program] to give [students] confidence and make them feel empowered,” agrees Susan Perrone, Supervisor of Curriculum & Accountability, Meriden Public Schools, who supports Carabetta at the district level. “We wanted to make sure that, as secondary students, they weren’t looking at things that were elementary. We wanted a program that had choice…that motivated them to change…that made them want to learn. Reading Plus really seemed to hit that mark.”
Of course, cost will always be an influencing factor, but choosing an easy-to-use, flexible, and evidence-based product will help you maximize your return on investment.
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]]>At-a-Glance
Type:
Research Brief
Time Period:
SY 2021-2022
Grades:
K-5
Source:
Discovery Education
Product:
DreamBox Math
Share This Report
Researchers in the Osceola School District independently evaluated the effectiveness of DreamBox Math in the fall of 2021 for two of their schools. The team found that progression in DreamBox Math is associated with higher state assessment scores and classified the solution as a “highly successful intervention” for its students. Lastly, after considering the costs associated with the implementation of DreamBox Math, researchers calculated a 196% Return on Investment.
Read more about the results found by the Osceola County Research Team.
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]]>Learn How Discovery Education Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
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Holman Middle School
Pattonville School District, St. Ann, Missouri
The overall vision for Holman Middle School is to provide a rigorous and relevant education for all students. The main goals and priorities for the school year, according to reading specialist Trina Cornell, are to help students reach grade-level reading targets, monitor their progress, and motivate them to become lifelong readers and writers.
Reading Plus' Impact
Holman Middle School has made excellent strides in meeting these goals. During the first year of Reading Plus implementation (2017-2018), students showed significant growth in their reading across the board. Tier 2 students averaged two level gains with 40 hours of work in the program, and Tier 3 students averaged 2.5 level gains with 60 hours of instruction. Holman 7th and 8th graders made average reading proficiency gains above the national average, all completing 60 or more Reading Plus lessons. This success continued in the 2021-22 school year with students averaging 2.7 reading level gains.
Cornell explains that Reading Plus is implemented for students in general reading classes, grades 6-8. Students are assessed through InSight and Measures of Academic Progress® to determine fluency. Students who don’t show proficiency are enrolled in a reading class where Reading Plus is a major component. Upon completion, students test again to exit the class and choose a new elective. “Students who exit the reading program at grade level maintain those levels outside of our reading classes,” says Cornell.
While the results from using Reading Plus are impressive, educators’ means of motivating students to reach and exceed goals has been nothing short of inspiring. Building community among the students and setting goals are major motivators.
Lightbulb Moments
Students thrive on setting goals for themselves and achieving them. They choose what to focus on and what steps they’ll take weekly to meet their goals. At the end of the week, students revisit the goals they set on Friday and make adjustments. They determine whether they reached their goals.
Students also dive into ongoing teacher-led competitions and challenges with vigor. Competitions include:
- Reading Olympics: Students complete five combos and 20 reading lessons at 80% or higher.
- Ready, Set, Go! A beginner competition where students learn the Reading Plus basics.
- Movin’ On Up: A two-week window to encourage students to level up in reading or vocabulary.
- Crushin’ It with Your Class: Students compete for highest average in reading and number of mastered vocabulary words.
The results are amazing, according to Cornell. Students love winning prizes. The excitement and recognition keep them engaged and moving forward. Reading Plus has also changed the way educators decide to teach.
Personalized Teaching & Learning
Being able to personalize their learning is critical, and Reading Plus allows students to do that seamlessly.
The Reading Plus dashboards are favored by teachers and students alike. Teachers can collect information that helps them personalize lessons at each student’s right level. “On the Teacher Dashboard, we use the Assignments tab and the Student Overview tab daily,” explains Cornell. “The Student Overview tab has a great deal of information about each student, updating in real time. It gives us a beautiful snapshot of our students as readers—demonstrating where they have been, where they are and where they are headed.”
Students, on the other hand, love the Student Dashboard, which updates in real time as they complete lessons. They track their progress, set goals and make decision on what they want to learn. “It gives them the big picture—current reading rate, words read, closeness to leveling up, words mastered and types of stories that they enjoy reading,” says Cornell. “Choosing their backgrounds and avatars allows students to make this their own personal space and allows them to take ownership of their space in the program.”
By working with students at their skill levels, teachers have seen huge gains in their reading, confidence and motivation to reach their goals. At the same time, giving students a wide range of reading materials to choose from keeps them coming back for more.
Learn How Discovery Education Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
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Wylie Independent School District
Wylie, TX
Texas School District Makes Numbers Add up with DreamBox Math
Wylie Independent School District began using DreamBox Math in one of its junior high schools, Raymond Cooper Junior High, beginning in 2019 through DreamBox’s Pilot Program. After seeing initial success, the district expanded its use of DreamBox Math to three junior high schools with about 900 students at each campus. That deployment benefited considerably from the work of Tracene Nechamkin, Wylie ISD math learning specialist.
As with a number of DreamBox customers, Wylie was using another digital math program when they began exploring DreamBox Math. Although it performed adequately for younger students, when students reached junior high, problems arose. “By that time students just didn’t care for it, and we got a lot of push back,” says Nechamkin. “We wanted a program that would help all students grow, and that also aligned with MAP® (Measure of Academic Progress) testing.”
DreamBox Math Enables Flexible Learning Environments
DreamBox Math also supports Nechamkin’s approach to teaching math. Students should do some discovery, rather than just completing a set series of problems. The value of discovery is that students can construct their own understanding and knowledge through their experiences and reflections. This approach leads to greater student engagement. During hybrid/remote learning, the district experienced a shortage of substitute teachers, and DreamBox Math helped fill in the gaps when students finish their classwork. Not long ago Nechamkin was in a history class. The students finished their assignments early, so she asked them if they would rather read or use DreamBox Math. They chose the latter. “It’s great that they can log in to DreamBox Math and start learning right away.” she says.
The three junior high schools using DreamBox Math have each adopted their own model. Teachers typically give students time on the math program during enrichment sessions, or when there is extra time in a class, in addition to using it as an intervention tool. DreamBox Math enhances classroom instruction and is an ideal tool for all learners because it meets them where they are and helps them advance in the way they learn best.
Kris Chesnut, a math teacher in Wylie’s Cooper Junior High, uses DreamBox Math as a homework tool for both remote and in-class students, with a goal of five lessons per week per student. It’s also useful as an intervention tool for students who need additional support.
“After sharing the simple approach to DreamBox Math lessons, my students were pleased with the length of the assignments and enjoyed the hands-on manipulatives.” he says.
“And I can definitely see better results in class from my students who are avid DreamBox users. One of my favorite things to hear when introducing a new topic is the kids saying, ‘Oh we already did this in DreamBox.’ It’s nice that some topics are already introduced to them, and I can spend more time either reinforcing or extending the lesson.”
Compared with other online learning methods, DreamBox Math supported teachers by bringing students up to speed quickly and could adapt to individual student needs. Students can monitor their own progress and success through the Student Weekly Goals feature and also use the DreamBox Math student dashboard to ensure they’re completing the recommended five lessons per week. Now moving into its third year of use in Wylie’s three junior high schools, DreamBox Math has won over students and teachers.
In the future, Nechamkin sees digital learning tools like DreamBox Math as a cornerstone of education. The benefits are clear, with increased student engagement by supporting different learning styles and helping to prepare students for the future. “I think we’ve turned a corner, and there’s no going back,” she says. “Teachers are more comfortable using technology in the classroom, and students enjoy using digital learning tools for learning. It’s going to be a huge part of education going forward.”
Learn How Discovery Education Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
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]]>Compton Unified School District Focuses on Three Areas to Ensure ROI on DreamBox Math
Success Stories
Compton Unified School District
Los Angeles, CA
Located in the south-central region of Los Angeles, Compton Unified School District (CUSD) is one of 80 school districts in Los Angeles. When Superintendent Dr. Darrin Brawley arrived at CUSD over 10 years ago, the district had low on-time graduation rates, low achievement scores, and students who needed extra support and services. Brawley believed that CUSD teachers and students deserved the support necessary to thrive. He developed an approach that would eliminate the opportunity gap for students in technology by partnering with organizations such as Digital Promise, Apple, Verizon, Boeing, Microsoft, and Google.
After over a decade of careful planning, targeted support, and thoughtful strategy and execution across every stakeholder level, the district has experienced a dramatic upward shift. It’s marked by increases in student achievement rates, a graduation rate nearing 90%, dramatic facilities improvements, and a focus on STEAM throughout all schools.
DreamBox Math's Impact
Focus Area 1: Communication
Clear and aligned communication about a program’s purpose, value, and expectations.
Ineffective tools, unused solutions, and program churn can be a distraction, a waste of funds, and have a negative impact on student learning. In fact, a recent study suggests that as much as 67% of educational software product licenses go unused. Educators cite poor communication about available technologies as a key reason.
Fortunately, the leadership team at CUSD has adopted a strategic approach to ensure teachers are not only aware of available programs, but also understand the program’s purpose. Dr. Brawley explained that providing clarity of the rationale, benefits and expectations for programs like DreamBox Math improves the program’s success within the organization. “We must focus on the purpose. If you can’t get to the why of a decision, it becomes difficult for people to see the usefulness of a program.” Dr. Brawley continued, “Imagine being a teacher, and being concerned about implementing three different tools for support. As leaders, we must communicate the purpose of each tool and make sure teachers know that the use of each tool is intentional.”
For Dr. Brawley, communicating the purpose and intention of DreamBox Math began by helping teachers understand what made the program unique and effective. “We saw DreamBox Math was different because it meets students where they are, provides support and adapts to their needs as they master different math concepts. With the pandemic,DreamBox Math was the perfect tool to address learning gaps in mathematics. We doubled down on our message about the importance of how DreamBox Math provides students with lessons at their current level of mastery and adapts to fill in those missing links.” This continuous messaging to stakeholders at every level has been helpful to drive program adoption and ensure effective tool usage. By 2020, teachers clearly understood the benefit of the program and saw positive student results correlated with DreamBox Math lesson completion.
Another important component of the CUSD communication strategy was to reassure educators that DreamBox Math would not be a heavy lift or a burden on the day-to-day classroom demands. Rather, it would add to the learning experience.
District leaders understand that teachers balance many competing priorities. They’re responsible for student instruction, implementing programs, student behavior, classroom management, and so much more. The district strives to provide programs proven to have a positive impact on learning outcomes and make teachers’ jobs easier. To ensure a successful adoption, it was critical to communicate that DreamBox Math is not one more thing, but the right thing to help students and teachers. It has been crucial to the program’s success.
Focus Area 2: Ongoing Data Review
Leverage data from multiple sources, analyze and share data, use data to inform decisions, and repeat.
As a data-driven organization, CUSD leaders must consistently assess where students are, what tools and approaches have a positive impact on student achievement, and what practices to replicate across the district. Dr. Brawley says, “We have an intense focus on continuous improvement and the cycle of inquiry. We are constantly looking at where we are and what it is that we need to do. We also benchmark ourselves against surrounding school districts to see how close we are in performance, who is leading the way and how much will it take for us to surpass them?”
To track growth and measure program efficacy at the sites, the district hosts bimonthly data chats. Site and district leaders leverage and analyze data from a plethora of sources, including state dashboards, internal benchmarks, diagnostic assessments, common assessments, and insights and reporting from DreamBox Math. The bimonthly chats have been valuable for educators to triangulate data from DreamBox Math with math scores in order to measure growth for students using the program for the recommended amount of time. DreamBox reports update immediately whenever students start lessons, thereby enabling up-to date, continual reporting throughout the year with insights about concepts students learn, progress they make, and productive struggles they might encounter.
CUSD educators have also found data exploration valuable to drill into math achievement subgroups and explore which DreamBox Math strategies are most effective for serving students in Tiers II and III and how to provide continuous growth for students in Tier I.
As one example, during the 2021-22 school year, 8th grade Compton students completing the recommended five lessons per week (approximately one hour per week) demonstrated an average growth of 1.1 grade levels within DreamBox Math. This accelerated growth is in addition to any growth students demonstrated in their regular math classroom. For 8th graders who started the year below grade level, time spent in DreamBox Math often addressed unfinished learning from prior grades.
The student progress overview report below is one example of how DreamBox Math provided differentiation so this student could understand integer addition and subtraction topics from 7th grade, fractions and decimals concepts from 6th grade, and key skills from 5th, 6th, and 7th grades related to expressions and equations. These are essential algebra readiness concepts that 8th grade teachers typically don’t have enough time, resources, or data to support every student. Fortunately, this student was still receiving grade-level instruction during math class, because DreamBox Math only requires one hour per week. Learning 8th-grade standards in math class was in addition to the 1.2 grade levels they grew within DreamBox Math.
Last, the chats have also been useful for analyzing their DreamBox Math usage data and program growth against other schools. Together, they explored different approaches for improving teacher participation, new ways to celebrate student success, and areas to replicate in their schools.
Focus Area 3: Engagement
Motivate students and empower them to get excited about learning and take pride in their achievements.
To meet the desired learning goals, DreamBox Math recommends that students complete five math lessons every week (about one hour per week). CUSD aimed to meet these goals, but during bimonthly data reviews, educators noticed that there were pockets of high usage across certain schools and grades. There was room for improvement for the entire district, so the leadership team began to develop DreamBox Math challenges among schools, grades, classrooms, and students. They encouraged site administrators to engage teachers and students to log in to DreamBox Math and complete at least five lessons per week.
CUSD began to see patterns of top-performing schools and classrooms. The district office highlighted and recognized winners at the school, grade, class, and student level every week. Within months of issuing their first challenge, DreamBox Math usage had exploded for both students and teachers. The district created new challenges, including completing 10 lessons per week, completing lessons during school breaks, and completing 150,000 lessons in January 2022. Data showed that the cohort of students completing five or more lessons tripled from the previous year.
The enthusiasm for DreamBox Math has resulted in far more than lesson completion. District data indicates that student progress in the number of math standards in which they are proficient. When staff walks through classrooms, they can hear students having academic conversations with teachers and peers about what they’ve learned in DreamBox Math.
Shawnte Clewis credits much of the success of DreamBox Math to the district’s efforts to celebrate students’ accomplishments. By celebrating student usage, fostering healthy competition, and motivating students to push themselves, in 2021-22, CUSD students in grades K – 8 completed nearly 1.5 million lessons. Those who completed five or more lessons per week gained an average of 20.74 California Common Core Content Standards.
Measuring Program ROI
In addition to the marked progress students demonstrated while using DreamBox Math, the program also saved CUSD teachers countless hours by automatically differentiating instruction to meet students where they are. The return on investment for DreamBox Math can also be measured by determining the cost of intervention efforts had the program not been adopted, rather than intervention led by a CUSD teacher. An analysis of the district’s spending and performance data concluded that Compton Unified School District demonstrated three times the return on their DreamBox Math investment. Looking ahead, the district intends to continue employing DreamBox Math for all students and continue its engagement efforts.
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