Challenge

Educators progress monitor students in many forms to gather data on what their students know and do not know. It was this desire for measurable and actionable insights that led Temple Independent School District (ISD) in Temple, Texas, to begin a partnership with Edmentum through Study Island in 2011.

“It was a consistent product that was built off research and that was big for our district,” said Ashley Jones, the Director of Digital Learning for Temple ISD. “It’s grounded in the things that our district is pushing, such as student ownership.

Solution

Tiered Intervention

From the beginning of the implementation, the teachers at Temple ISD utilized Study Island to interact with their students in a variety of ways so that they could keep students working toward their goals of success. The STAAR 2.0 item types and Group Sessions that allow for a more gamified experience for students have allowed teachers to do just that.

As Ms. Jones explained, “Study Island has the ability for teachers to be innovative. They can choose to do a Group Session; they could choose to direct kids to Texas programs; they could choose to build an assessment. Teachers are able to use a targeted resource that’s focused on the skills that students need and use that data to inform instruction.”

In each elementary school in the district, Study Island is built into the RTI framework. Because all elementary students take the NWEA® MAP® Growth™ Assessments, those scores are integrated into Study Island to auto-generate targeted practice for each student after each MAP Growth assessment. This targeted practice opportunity has allowed the elementary schools to focus specifically on tier 2 intervention three days a week.

Mellissa Thigpen and Megan Richards are Digital Learning Coaches who support the Study Island implementation within the district to ensure that teachers have the information and training to utilize all the features of Study Island. These coaches allow teachers to schedule time to meet with them individually and support teachers during their conference times to ensure that teachers have their questions answered and are confident as they utilize all the features of Study Island.

Ms. Thigpen stated that, “Study Island facilitates classroom systems for the development of student ownership. While Study Island does the heavy lifting in creating individualized pathways for each student, it leaves the prioritizing and sequencing in the hands of the teachers.”

While Ms. Richards added that, “The individualized pathway progress creates a great opportunity for teachers to progress monitor and conference with students.”

Test Readiness

In addition to the day-to-day usage of the program, teachers of tested grades and subjects at Temple ISD do a dedicated push to prepare students for the end of the year STAAR testing with what the district calls, STAAR Blitz.

“A STAAR Blitz is where teachers spend time planning very targeted lessons on where the gaps are based off of our interim data, and then they do a two-to-three-week window where they target TEKs that students need to work on,” Ms. Jones described. “Study Island does a really good job of having STAAR 2.0 item types."

Result

The continual, successful usage of Study Island across Temple Independent School District’s elementary campuses has provided opportunities for success that show that the dedication and the willingness to continue to learn are worth the overall investment.

From August 2023 to April 2024, students across the district answered over 3.1 million questions and earned over 100,000 Blue Ribbons in Study Island, more than doubling their success within the program from the last school year. Ms. Jones attributes the usage and student growth to the shift in Tier I instruction and RTI practices.

“Every time I’ve spoken with our Edmentum team, we’re learning something new, we’re celebrating, and then we’re getting an opportunity to brainstorm and collaborate,” Ms. Jones explained.

Leadership within the district has worked hard to keep teachers motivated and learning about the program, and the teachers, in turn, have worked hard to keep the students motivated to learn while using it. Educators at Temple ISD have found that partnering with Edmentum has continued to foster an environment of learning and desire to celebrate success that continues to grow year after year.