City Springs Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore saw academic gains among its students after using Waggle from Triumph Learning, producer of K-12 texts and interactive digital tools. The practice solution aims to provide students with challenging practice in a supportive environment to master mathematics and English language arts skills.
City Springs Elementary/Middle School is a high-poverty Baltimore City Public Charter School operated by the Baltimore Curriculum Project with 743 students in grades preK–8, 99 percent of whom use the free or reduced lunch program. After the school’s first year using Waggle, more students met projected growth in Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) scores from the Northwest Evaluation Association™, the school’s interim assessment, over the prior year in reading and math. In reading, the percentage of students meeting projected growth increased 25 percent or more in every grade, for 2015 with Waggle compared to 2014 without Waggle. In math, the increase was more than 20 percent in every grade except grade 7, where there was a 13 percent increase.
Principal Rhonda Richetta noted that these were the highest gains that they have experienced to date and felt that Waggle played a significant role in the student outcomes.
“This was different from our previous online learning experiences,” said Tiffany Key, third-grade teacher at City Springs. “The students looked forward to Waggle every day and worked hard. We saw significant improvement.”
“City Springs is an excellent example of the success students can experience when working in Waggle and engaging in productive struggle,” said Aoife Dempsey, CTO at Triumph Learning. “By being able to practice in an online environment that promotes persistence and rewards for effort and proficiency, students are mastering skills and becoming comfortable with more rigorous online assessments.”
