California Math Curriculum for Middle School

The digital platform is a game changer for me.  The video tutorials are explicit, engaging, and well-paced.  The Formative Check provides immediate feedback on student progress, making it quick and easy to differentiate and provide support where needed.  Since implementing the program 2 years ago, I have seen student growth and mathematical understanding that I've never seen in 20 years of teaching.

Our students have seen exponential growth after implementing Big Ideas Learning’s program with fidelity for two consecutive years. The lessons are concise and challenging.  Additionally, we use the Progressions and Resources to meet with students either individually or in targeted small group instruction, to revisit specific skills as necessary, to enrich their understanding, and monitor their progress. The way the curriculum spirals supports the continuity of understanding in students from year to year.

As teachers, we all know anything new is always viewed with some level of skepticism. In our first year using Big Ideas, 63% of our grade 3-5 students met or exceeded their desired growth on our Spring 2022 state testing. As a team, we set a goal of 65% for Spring 2023 and committed to following the Big Ideas pacing and rigor. We were thrilled when our Spring 2023 growth for grades 3-5 on our state testing was 76% of students met or exceeded their desired growth! As we plan for 2024, we know teaching the program with fidelity is the way to go!

At the end of 2022 after our first year of BIM, our students were asked, "How often do you use ideas from school in your daily life?" and only 50% answered, "Almost always" or "Frequently". We made some adjustments to be sure all teachers were teaching the program with fidelity including keeping up the pace to cover all of the material. At the end of 2023, 65% of our students answered "Almost always" or "Frequently". We are thrilled at that increase as we seek success in how our students can see the connection between what happens in the classroom and what happens in life! Our teachers shared that the program is a big part of helping our students make that connection!

Big Ideas Learning allows teachers to have various tools at their fingertips (both print and digital) to help students practice and come to a deeper understanding of an array of math concepts. The proof of the program's success is in the data from the beginning-of-the-year assessments compared to the middle and end-of-year assessments. We are thrilled with the results and look forward to seeing how our students continue to grow this year as we head into the third year of using the program!