McPherson Magnet, Orange, California

Success Story: Improving Standard Math Test Scores by 37 Percentage Points Over 4 Years

Our math scores in SBAC have increased every year since we adopted the C-STEM Robotics program in 2016. This year (2019), we saw that 88% of our students met or exceeded the math standards in 3rd grade, in comparison with 51% in 2015. This is an increase of 37 percentage points in four years.

— Joe Erven, Principal

Coding with C-STEM has been amazing for me. Through team work, I was able to solve many obstacle courses through C-STEM. Using the program has made me better at measuring and I am able to add numbers (both positive and negative) to figure out how far the robots need to go. I am excited about continuing to use C-STEM.

Colin Crespi, a 3rd grade student

 

Math scores in SBAC standard math test for 3rd grade students 
increased by 37 percentage points over 4 years using the C-STEM Program

McPherson Magnet is a K-8th grade math, science, and technology focused school in the city of Orange, California. Under the leadership of Principal Joe Erven, they have been implementing C-STEM Math and Robotics Program over the last several years in 6th-8th grade and have seen a 72% increase in number of students meeting or exceeding the 3rd grade math SBAC standards over the past 4 years.

Principal Joe Erven said that “This year we started a rotational model in our 3rd-5th grade classes to ensure that C-STEM Robotics is implemented for our elementary students through their math rotations. This implementation was initiated because of the results we have seen with our 3rd grade classes. C-STEM Robotics has been taught by Mr. Greg Miller in his 3rd grade classes since 2016. We have seen amazing growth on the SBAC and, we believe, that the C-STEM program has contributed to those successes. Our math scores in SBAC have increased every year since we adopted the C-STEM Robotics program in 2016. This year (2019), we saw that 88% of our students met or exceeded the math standards in 3rd grade, in comparison with 51% in 2015. This is an increase of 37 percentage points in four years. Our school now has the highest math scores for 3rd grade among 27 elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District. Mr. Miller has taken a group of our 3rd grade students to present their skills at the C-STEM RoboPlay Competition at University High School in Irvine. We believe that with continued implementation of the C-STEM curriculum, we will continue to see growth on the SBAC as well as increased student engagement with mathematics 3rd-8th grade.”

This year, McPherson Magnet has several robotics competitions for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. They have been highly engaged with the mathematics curriculum. Colin Crespi, one of the 3rd grade students shared his thoughts about C-STEM and his experience with its curriculum: “Coding with C-STEM has been amazing for me. Through team work, I was able to solve many obstacle courses through C-STEM. Using the program has made me better at measuring and I am able to add numbers (both positive and negative) to figure out how far the robots need to go. I am excited about continuing to use C-STEM”.

Principal Joe Ervin and Greg Miller were featured speakers on C-STEM’s Engaged Learning Spotlight webinar series. They discussed the implementation model of C-STEM Robotics across the 3rd-8th grade continuum and its success at McPherson Magnet.

Click the image below to access a recording of their Youtube presentation:

Click the image below to access their Powerpoint presentation: