Saturn Elementary School Earns Statewide Recognition with 90% Passing Florida's Reading and Math Assessment
Digital Courseware from Pearson Levels Playing Field for At-Risk and Low-Income Children
CHANDLER, Arizona – April 16, 2010 – Even with a very diverse student population, including 45 percent who are mobile, 35 percent who are exceptional students and 70 percent who receive a free or reduced price lunch, Saturn Elementary in Cocoa has consistently achieved high test scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). With the help of the education services and technology company Pearson’s SuccessMaker® Enterprise digital courseware, Saturn Elementary has been achieving distinction as a high performing school since 2001. “Saturn Elementary has been awarded the ‘A’ rating for eight years in a row, as designated by the Florida Governor’s A+ Plan. We have been designated as the number-one high performing Title I school for Brevard County School District. Additionally, we are rated sixth for high performing Title I schools in the state of Florida. In our district, which is the highest performing district in the state of Florida, we ranked 14th out of 94 schools based on the FCAT scores from the 2008-09 school year,” said Saturn Elementary School Principal Michael Miller.
Saturn’s student population achieving a level three or higher, which is considered proficient on the FCAT, in math and reading has been higher than 80 percent since 2005 and has consistently improved. Of these successes, Miller said, “With SuccessMaker Enterprise we have been able to reach our goal of improving FCAT test scores in reading and math. In 2009, we had 89 percent of the students pass reading and 90 percent of the students pass math.”
Integrating educational technology into the school curriculum has led to Saturn’s success, according to Miller. With more than 150 computers in several labs, each student, from kindergarten through sixth grade, learns with SuccessMaker Enterprise digital courseware daily for 40 minutes to improve their reading and math skills. Once the program assesses the skill level of each student, they work at their own pace receiving individualized instruction and reinforcement of concepts taught in the classroom.
Saturn’s teachers and the principal review weekly reports from SuccessMaker Enterprise to identify areas of weakness and target specific students who need extra help. Title I Teacher Marla Myers explains, “I can meet teachers each Monday with the specialized reports and discuss strategies that they can use in their classroom to improve the individual [skills] that are weak in reading and math. We also can create specialized curriculum in SuccessMaker for students to improve on their weaknesses while they are in the lab.”
Miller added, “Many schools throughout the state have come to observe our implementation and gain insight into how the teachers are monitoring the individualized data.”
In fact, all segments of the student population have made gains in their FCAT test scores, including those students most at risk. The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teachers have drawn on SuccessMaker Enterprise’s data to accomplish annual learning gains with their students who would not have been able to attain a level three on the FCAT, which is the level of proficiency. During the 2008-09 school year, 73 percent of Saturn’s ESE students passed reading and 76 percent passed math with a level three or higher.
More information about SuccessMaker Enterprise can be found at: www.pearsonschool.com/successmakerenterprise.
To view the pdf formatted success story about Saturn Elementary School: click here.
