Successmaker Enterprise Software Purchase - Harford County ...

Harford County Public Schools – State Discretionary Grant – HSA FY10
Success Maker is part of a Proven Formula for Success
By Rosemary Heher, Coordinator of Mathematics Instruction
Maryland has 24 public school systems, which participate in state assessments, as mandated by the federal No Child
Left Behind Act. Recently, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) identified middle school students in
the Worcester County Public School system as ranking first in the state on the Maryland School Assessments
(MSA) in Mathematics, as reported in MSDE’s 2006 Master Plan Update report. In addition, the 2007 MSA
Mathematics scores for grades 3 through 8 rank Worcester County Public School students first in the state in Grades
3, 6, 7, and 8. (Grade 4 ranks second; Grade 5, eighth.)This extraordinary success does not happen by chance. It is
a product of a clear vision and a well-developed and executed plan. The plan is dependent on many factors, including
hiring and retaining the highest quality teachers; developing and implementing a state-approved mathematics
curriculum; and providing students with engaging materials of instruction. In addition to these factors, our school
system believes that academic success is most attainable when students are provided with individualized instruction.
Individualized instruction can be achieved through small class sizes, as well as differentiated instruction, which takes
into account how, and at what pace students learn. Worcester County Public Schools prides itself on having the
smallest class sizes in Maryland. Small class sizes enhance a teacher’s ability to provide one-on-one instruction to
students who need it. In addition to small class sizes, a new computer mathematics program has been adopted
district-wide to further individualize our school system’s mathematics program. The Success Maker program, a
computer-driven learning environment from Pearson Digital Learning, provides students with individualized
mathematics instruction that engages and challenges students at their level and pace. Our school system can
proudly say that SuccessMaker is part of a proven formula for success in mathematics. The results continue to add
up. For nearly a decade, Worcester County Public Schools has utilized computer software to supplement math
instruction. As more challenging computer software programs became available, our school system decided to pilot
Success Maker at Ocean City Elementary School when the school transitioned to its new building. The program was
an instant success with students and teachers, and was expanded soon after to all students in the school system in
grades 1 through 6.
Success Maker is being used as a supplement to daily mathematics classes, adding an additional hour of math each
week. Students can also access Success Maker programs in their after-school academies, summer school
academies, and during their math enrichment experiences. Pearson Digital Learning also provides an online
component, which allows parents and students to access Success Maker elements from their homes.
In the Success Maker mathematics lab, students work in a highly interactive computer graphics environment led by a
Success Maker manager. Students enroll in Math Concepts and Skills/2, a skills-based program; Math Investigations,
a program requiring students to demonstrate higher-order thinking and communication skills; and Algebra Topics
which introduces symbolic manipulations and functions. Students are initially assessed using specialized adaptive
software, which places them within their individual ―math comfort zone,‖ where they are able to solve most of the
math problems. Students are then challenged to expand their repertoire of skills through increasingly more difficult,
creative problem-solving activities. The software provides students with immediate feedback.
Success Maker’s data management system monitors the progress of each student, enabling teachers to intervene
with timely follow-ups in the classroom. While progress is, instantaneously monitored, periodic reports are generated
for teachers and parents to review. Many of our schools issue a pair of weekly-individualized reports for every student
enrolled in Success Maker. The first report describes a range of skills each student has mastered. The other report
identifies a student’s single lowest skill area and provides computer-generated activities to help the student build
strength in that skill. Teachers set aside time during the week to work one-on-one with each student until the student
has mastered the identified lowest-skill area. Once a student has achieved mastery with this skill, Success Maker
then targets the next lowest skill area and the process continues. By using these differentiated reports and
customized activities, all stakeholders (students, parents, and teachers) are continually aware of the progress each
student is making in the program. Children tell us that they enjoy the flat screen TV monitors, the colorfully animated
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