Popular Penguin Continues to Provide Positive Math Results For Chicago Public Schools

News Release: POPULAR PENGUIN CONTINUES TO PROVIDE POSITIVE MATH RESULTS FOR CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
New Analysis Shows Schools Using ST Math Made Significant ISAT Gains Compared to Other Schools
Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 20, 2012 — The nonprofit MIND Research Institute today released an analysis of 2012 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) test results showing that students using ST Math® — a visually based, digital math program featuring the animated penguin named JiJi — made significant gains in math proficiency compared to similar schools.
Twenty-three CPS schools that fully implemented the blended learning ST Math program for two years in a row saw an 11.4 point increase in percent of students who met or exceeded standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), while similar CPS schools without ST Math only grew 3.6 points.
“I have seen the impact ST Math has had on students in K-8th grade, both as a principal and as a district leader,” said John Price, Deputy Chief of Schools for the CPS. “With ST Math implementation in the upper grades at Audubon where I was principal, 100 percent of students that reached minimum completion goals [of the ST Math software curricu¬lum] passed the ISAT test, including 100 percent of students that had failed the ISAT two or three times previously.”
A portion of the schools in the analysis participated in the philanthropically funded Chicago Math Initiative that MIND launched in 2009 to increase math achievement at lower-performing schools, and close the achievement gap often seen in urban areas. To support the national and Chicago-based Math Initiatives, MIND received more than $1.5 million from organizations including Cisco, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SAP, Wells Fargo Foundation and the University of Phoenix Foundation.
By providing a strong foundation in both math skills and understanding at an early age, MIND aims to prepare more students for advanced study and careers in high-demand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
“We’re excited to see that ST Math is making a significant difference in math skills of Chicago school children, and that CPS continues expanding the program,” said Shannon Schuyler, PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Responsibility Leader. “PricewaterhouseCoopers is a proud sponsor of MIND’s innovative instruction model and is a strong partner in further educating the next generation of leaders.”
In the analysis, MIND examined ISAT scores at 23 CPS schools that implemented ST Math with 2,583 students in grades three, four and/or five in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. These were then compared to a group of 8,140 students in 118 CPS schools that did not use ST Math during that time. The analysis included schools where ST Math had been implemented for two years, at least 80 percent of students were using ST Math, and students completed at least 50 percent of the program for their grade level.
”MIND Research Institute, with the help of generous philanthropic support, aims to elevate math performance in high need schools across the country through deploying visual math content,” said Andrew R. Coulson, presi- dent of MIND’s education division. “We’re pleased to report his year’s results achieved by Chicago teachers and students using ST Math, which show the third year in a row of success at scale.”
MIND Research Institute is a Getting Smart Advocacy Partner.