Reach for the STAAR: How Progress Learning Boosted Scores at Fox Elementary
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) exam is the most important summative assessment in the state. It determines whether students are ready to move on to the next grade level according to the state-mandated curriculum standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Because the STAAR assessment is so crucial, Fox Elementary School in Spring, Texas, decided to give the standards-aligned platform, Progress Learning, formerly Education Galaxy, a try. They implemented the platform at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year and (spoiler alert!) the results were stellar.
How Did Fox Elementary Use Progress Learning?
Fox Elementary educators used Education Galaxy from Progress Learning every day in all their 3rd-5th grade classrooms to prepare for the STAAR assessment and ensure their students mastered Texas standards. They incorporated various tools, from Alien Arena to Galaxy Stars to Liftoff Adaptive Intervention, in ELA, math, and science courses for both English and Spanish-speaking students.
When we asked teachers what they loved about the platform, they said they loved how they could easily see where students were struggling and assign them standards-aligned lessons that best fit their learning needs. When we asked students what they liked, they said they enjoyed the games and how fun the platform was. Effective and fun—talk about a win-win!
What Were the Results?
Before we dive into the results, it’s important to understand how the STAAR is graded. Raw scores are converted onto a scale with four different performance standards: approaches grade level, meets grade level, masters grade level, and did not meet grade level. To understand how students did on the exam, Fox Elementary measured what percentage of students met each of these criteria; in other words, what percent approached grade level, did well enough to meet grade level, and then went on to master grade level.
At Fox Elementary, every single grade increased their scores in every subject and performance standard. In 3rd grade math, the number of students approaching grade level grew year-over-year from 68% to 83% and the number of students who mastered grade level tripled. The same 68% of 3rd graders who approached grade level during the 2020-2021 school year went up to 77% in 4th grade math during the 2021-2022 school year. Teachers and parents agree: there is no doubt that the use of Education Galaxy from Progress Learning played a part in this growth.
In 5th grade math, approaches grew from 77% to 92%, meets grew from 43% to 62%, and masters grew from 25% to 37%. With the daily use of Education Galaxy, Fox Elementary became the 2nd highest scorer in the district for 5th grade science.
The results are clear: Education Galaxy from Progress Learning, not only helps students master Texas standards, it also helps them reach for the stars, grow, and succeed at every grade level and stage in life.
Fox Elementary is just one of the many schools using Progress Learning to successfully boost standardized test scores. If you want to do the same for your school, request a demo today!
