Improvements document success for Math and English-language learners
CALGARY, Alberta --- June 15, 2009 --- SMART Technologies announces that two schools in major U.S. districts have reported significant improvements in state standardized test scores following the introduction of SMART products in their classrooms. Equipped with SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards and SMART Response interactive response systems, Hurst Junior High School in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District in Hurst, Texas, has experienced a 25 to 30 percent improvement in math scores. Sunset Elementary in the San Ysidro School District in San Diego County, California, has enjoyed improvements of four percent in math and English language arts scores after the introduction of SMART Board interactive whiteboards. Results at San Ysidro have also shown that SMART Board interactive whiteboards aid in the teaching of students with limited proficiency in English.
Since SMART Board interactive whiteboards and SMART Response systems (formerly Senteo) were introduced at Hurst Junior High school in 2005 and 2007 respectively, seventh-grade student performance has improved 25 to 30 percent in the mathematics portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The pedagogical value of SMART products as demonstrated by this significant improvement in test scores is of great interest to technology coordinators and administrators throughout the area as they seek to implement similar products in their own schools. Hurst is welcoming visitors from across the district and surrounding areas as news about their results with SMART products spreads. The San Ysidro School District standardized on SMART Board interactive whiteboards in 2006 and saw significant improvement in student performance in the mathematics and English language arts portions of the California Standardized Test (CST). The California Department of Education anticipated a five-point increase in CST scores between 2007 and 2008, but at Sunset Elementary, a predominantly Hispanic school with more than 90 percent of students learning English as a second language, test scores have improved 31 points in both math and English—an increase of four percent. This result is more than 500 percent higher than the state goal and represents the greatest increase in test scores of all 42 school districts in San Diego County.
“The SMART Board interactive whiteboard and SMART Response system are what motivate my students to participate,” says Amanda Hatcher, seventh-grade math teacher at Hurst Junior High. “Students are more engaged and excited about the prospect of using the products and better understanding concepts themselves, and I use my SMART Board and SMART Response system every day.”
“The SMART Board interactive whiteboard has put San Ysidro School District on the map for academic excellence,” says Jason Romero, principal of Sunset Elementary. “It has leveled the playing field for our English-language learners it’s the difference between students learning and soaring.”
“Results such as those at Hurst Junior High and Sunset Elementary continue to illustrate the educational benefits of SMART products,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “These teachers have discovered firsthand how using SMART products facilitates a diverse range of teaching and learning, from removing barriers for English-language learners to motivating math students.”
