PASADENA
TX
SOUTH HOUSTON HS, PASADENA ISD
EFFECTIVENESS BRIEF
First-Time Success
for Struggling Students
BARRIERS TO SUCCESS
In Pasadena Independent School District (ISD),
South Houston High School has historically received
the least-prepared incoming 9th graders each year.
In fact, in 2011-2012, South Houston had the lowest
passing rate for the STAAR Algebra 1 EOC in Pasadena
ISD. Despite attempts to boost math skills, when the first
year of STAAR results arrived, South High School was still
disappointingly behind the district and state averages.
Texas state law also requires that any student who
doesn’t meet the passing standard be offered
remediation for their re-tests. Administrators and
teachers began looking for a viable way to get their
students back on track in math. Historically, remediation
offered outside of the school day was poorly attended
and generated very little return on results for the money
spent on related personnel and transportation.
The challenge was determining how to offer remediation
for failing math students during the school day using
resources that weren’t a waste of funding. Because
South Houston had successfully used Think Through
Math (TTM) as a remediation tool previously, a plan was
devised to begin a deeper implementation of TTM to
boost remediation and target intervention in order to
help their struggling math students achieve a level of
success they hadn’t experienced in the past.
We understood that the students who
were struggling were the same students
who had been struggling for years in
their state math assessments.
2,515 students
9th – 12th grades
78% at poverty or below
11% English Language Learners
77% Hispanic, 9% Black, 3% White
Think Through Math Implementation
Began implementing in 2012-2013
546 students used TTM
Approximately 45 lessons per student completed
Approximately 25 lessons passed per student
Total of nearly 18 hours per student spent on TTM
ON A MISSION
In order to implement TTM in a way that would fully
impact students who needed it most, incoming 9th grade
students who had failed their 8th grade STAAR Math
exam were double-blocked into both Algebra 1 and an
additional math class taught by an Algebra 1 teacher.
During the first year of TTM, in 2012-2013, there were
36 students who spent 2 math periods each week in
the computer lab using TTM. The other 3 math periods
were used for practice, enrichment, and extension
opportunities utilizing resources that teachers typically
don’t have time to get to, such as manipulatives and
multiple representations. In 2013-2014, South Houston
increased the number of intervention classes from 2 to 3,
reaching 56 students (approximately 12% of the incoming
9th graders in Algebra 1) following this same model.
In the second year of TTM implementation, students
who had passed their Algebra 1 course–but failed their
Algebra 1 STAAR exam–were promoted to their next
Grade 9 Teacher
thinkthroughmath.com
Stats for South Houston High School,
Houston, TX
877.315.4918
1
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PASADENA
TX
SOUTH HOUSTON HS, PASADENA ISD
EFFECTIVENESS BRIEF
math class, Geometry. However, in order to build on
the momentum previously gained through continued
exposure to TTM, students were also placed in a
remediation course to fill in the remaining gaps in math
knowledge that would allow them to pass their STAAR
exam during the December administration. Teachers who
were very familiar with TTM, and remediation strategies
in general, taught the remediation classes. As in year one of
TTM implementation, students used TTM in the computer
lab during two remediation math periods per week.
OUTCOMES
During 2011-2012, only 67% of students at South Houston
passed their STAAR Algebra 1 EOC. In 2012-2013 after
using Think Through Math as part of their intervention
plan, 80% of students at South Houston passed their
STAAR Algebra 1 EOC, taking the campus from last place
to second place in their district. This left approximately
130 remediation students who still needed intervention
based on the first class of STAAR testers. With continued
exposure to TTM, over 50% of these remaining
remediation students were successful on their Algebra 1
assessment during the very next testing opportunity.
Intervention students using TTM raised their scores by
13% on average, though some experienced even greater
gains, raising scores 30% or more! In addition, of the 53
students who were enrolled in the remediation course
during the 2013-2014 school year, 70% of the students
passed and the average percent gain was 12%. 87% of
the remediation students increased their scores over
their first attempt and 63% increased by at least 10%
over their first attempt. In the spring of 2014, the state of
Texas released data separated by first time testers and
re-testers. Again, over 50% of the re-testers from South
Houston passed.
Average % score of intervention students
50%
40%
37% NEEDED TO PASS
32%
30%
20%
10%
0%
In the words of Thomas Edison, ‘Many of
life’s failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when
they gave up’.
45%
APRIL 2013 STAAR GRADE 8 1ST ADMIN SPRING 2014 STAAR EOC, ALGEBRA I
% passing rates for 1st time testers
**2014 data is for first time testers only.
100%
Content Specialist
BEFORE TTM INTERVENTION
80%
In 2013-2014, South Houston was able to achieve a 76%
passing rate for all students, with an 89% passing rate
for first time STAAR Algebra 1 EOC testers. Of students
using TTM at least two math periods per week, during
the 2012-2013 intervention class, an overwhelming 71%
passed their STAAR Algebra 1 EOC. For these students,
it ushered in a new era in personal achievement, as it
was the first time since elementary school that many of
them had passed a state math assessment.
thinkthroughmath.com
877.315.4918
AFTER TTM INTERVENTION
83%
80% 78%
89% 86%
67%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2012
2013
SHHS
2014
STATE
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SOUTH HOUSTON HS, PASADENA ISD
EFFECTIVENESS BRIEF
PASADENA
TX
Average % score of remediation students
60%
40%
40%
37% NEEDED TO PASS
28%
20%
0%
FIRST ALG 1 EOC ATTEMPT
SPRING 2014 STAAR EOC, ALGEBRA I
% passing for retesters
100%
For administrators, teachers and especially students at
South Houston High School, Think Through Math created
more than just increased testing performance. TTM
helped lay the groundwork for future math achievers.
As the dedicated educators and students at South
Houston discovered, all students are capable of
experiencing math success, it sometimes just requires
unlocking the door in a way that facilitates a math
experience that allows students to feel successful in
their math pursuits and learning in general.
Think Through Math was the key to
unlocking meaningful intervention and
remediation. Using TTM created the kind
of measurable results that makes everyone
proud of the effort expended.
Grade 9 Teacher
50%
55%
51%
38%
0%
36%
FALL 2012
39%
30%
FALL 2013
SHHS
thinkthroughmath.com
SPRING 2014
STATE
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