There is a growing body of evidence supporting the use of Ascend Math for math intervention. Here you will find studies and case histories from educators like you who have solved the problem of getting their struggling math students motivated and back on level quickly. Examine the independent studies, success stories, and research found on this website. If you do not find the evidence you’re looking for please let us know.
Profiles of Educator Success
Bibb County Schools, GA
Lead Educators: Dr. Lori Rodgers, Ex. Director of Special Programs,
Joanna Gittens-Summerow, Title 1 Education Specialist
Grades: 6-8
Needs: In 2015, Bibb County schools began a Flexible Learning Program (FLP) utilizing Ascend Math. The students in the FLP are students who are most at risk of failing math and fall into the lowest 25 percentile. Bibb’s FLP is a blended learning model designed as direct instruction coupled with online learning for math.
Results Year One:
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At the beginning of the school year, 58% of students tested below the 4th grade level in math. By April, only 15% remained.
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Only 9% of students tested at grade level 5 or above at the start of the year. By April, that number increased to 64%.
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44% moved up two or more grade levels.
Year Two:
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More than 50% of FLP (most at risk) students increased their score on the state test. By comparison, only 45% of the general student population increased their score.
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On average, these FLP students made greater improvement in their scores than did the non-FLP students.
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Underperforming FLP students showed a percentage of decline slightly better than non-FLP students.
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Bremerton School District, WA
Lead Educator: Kati Carthum, Tech Coordinator
Grades: K-8
Needs: RTI
Results: Across the board, post-assessment results have been above 90%, and all buildings except one received an average gain in score above 20%.
Carbon County School District, WY
Lead Educator: Cathy McAtee, Math Facilitator
Grades: K-11
Needs: Special Education, RTI and/or Tier 2 students, after school enrichment/intervention and gifted and talented students
Results: PAWS (state mandated test) scores increased an average of 17.28%
Douglas Rural Schools, WY
Lead Educator: Lisa Weigel, Principal; John Weigel, Curriculum Director
Grades: K-11
Needs: District-wide RTI model Ascend Math is the math intervention used for all students; advanced learners, at-risk learners, and students with disabilities.
Results: Rural school students have shown tremendous growth gains in math at nearly every grade level! District MAP results indicated all students met individual growth rates in math.
Henderson ISD, TX
Lead Educator: Mindy Rucker, District Math Coordinator
Grades: K-12
Demographics: 60% economically disadvantaged, 48% At Risk, 11% LEP
Needs: Tier 2 math intervention and enrichment
Results: All struggling high school students using Ascend Math made substantial gains. In just six months 60% gained 1 grade level or more. Following the success seen by the high school the middle, intermediate and elementary schools began using Ascend effectively for both intervention and enrichment.
Aspen Valley High School, CO
Lead Educators: George Stone, Principal; Kymn Van Dyken, Teacher (Retired)
Grades: 9-11
Needs: Supplemental math intervention resource to assist in the instruction of students with skill gaps of two or more years below grade level.
Results: 2009-2010 mid-year growth rates of 9th grade students on the Scantron test were three times greater than the district average for 9th graders. 2009-2010 mid-year growth rates of 10th grade students on the Scantron tests were four times greater than the district average for 10th graders.
Brazoswood High School, TX
Lead Educator: Judy Senter, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction (retired)
Grades: 9-12
Needs: Teachers were challenged to improve student proficiency by 2 or more grade levels in one school year.
Results: 60% of students achieved gains of 1 ½ grade levels or more during 4 months on Ascend. 38% of students advanced 2 or more grade levels during the same time frame.
Douglas High School, WY
Lead Educator: Wes Gamble, Math Intervention Teacher
Grades: 9-12
Needs: Tier 2 math intervention for 18-week long semester-based intervention and independent learning. Also Tier 3 math intervention for year-long math standards classes and for special education classes.
Results: Math scores at the school improved by nearly 30 percent. Fifty percent (50%) of students who were at risk to fail the PAWs test showed proficiency on the PAWs after logging time on Ascend Math.
Fair Park High School, LA
Lead Educator: Theda Fielding
Grades: 9-12
Needs: Math scores at Fair Park were scattered across the board with a significant number of ninth and tenth grade students scoring in the third and fourth grade ability level. Ascend Math was implemented to enhance student knowledge prior to entering an Algebra or Geometry class, fill gaps in their understanding, and improve performance on high stakes tests.
Results:
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Students improved from the third grade to the seventh grade level in just 6 weeks.
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Students most at-risk increased their math score on the PLAN (pre ACT) Test from a 10.28 average the previous year to a 12.85 average.
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One student moved from a 4 on the previous year’s test to 15.
Fort Stockton High School, TX 
Lead Educator: Gil-Rey Madrid
Grades: 9-12
Needs: Students with a history of unsatisfactory math performance are placed in the Ascend Math program. The Fort Stockton High School student population is 86% Hispanic, 50% At Risk and 58% economically disadvantaged.
Results: 58% of students grew one level or more. 27% achieved 2 or more levels, and 8% achieved 3 or more grade levels in one year.
St. Pius X High School, TX
Lead Educator: Marge Harris
Grades: 9 and up
Needs: Students were struggling with Algebra 1. Ascend Math is used to bring students up to 9th grade level so they could be more successful in Algebra I.
Results: For the past six years students have experienced success with Ascend. Several have jumped 4 levels in one semester! Most improve by 1-2 levels in that time. It has made their learning in Algebra I easier, and Ms. Harris uses lessons from Ascend to back up lessons in algebra.
Valley High School, AZ
Lead Educator: Brian Wessel
Class: Algebra I & II
Needs: Prior to using Ascend Math, 95% of intervention students achieved less than one grade level of improvement.
Results (in less than one semester) 24% of the students achieved 4 grade levels of growth or more. 9% achieved 5 grade levels or more of growth. By the conclusion of the school year they are expected to reach a 10% mastery of level 8.
Youngker High School, AZ
Lead Educator: Esther Celaya, Kelly Bosworth
Class: Intro to Algebra, Algebra 1
Needs: Many students come in with below grade level skills in math. Using Ascend allows them to teach their objectives while students improve on prior knowledge and fill in skill gaps.
Results: 83% of students gained one grade level or more and 54% gained two or more levels this school year.
Avon Intermediate School, IN
Lead Educator: Dr. Brian Scott
Grades: 5, 6
Needs: Differentiation for students ready to experience skills above grade level.
Results: NWEA MAP testing showed a 35.3% increase in 6th grade scores and a 3.2% increase in scores from 5th graders.
Banks Stephens Middle School, GA
Lead Educator: Ronnie Shipman, Teacher
Grades: 6-7
Needs: Tier 2 math intervention
Results: 100% of the struggling students using Ascend Math passed the CRCT (Georgia State Mandated Test) including those with disabilities.
Braden River Middle School, FL
Lead Educator: Glen Dallman, Teacher Intensive Math
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Remediation for students scoring level 1 on FCAT
Results: During the first year with Ascend Math 75% of students improved at least one level on FCAT. Subsequently, nearly half increased 2 or more grade levels. At the end of the 2012-13 school year 89% of students using Ascend increased their developmental scale score on the FCAT.
Crisp County Middle School, GA
Lead Educator: Dr. April Garner
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Ascend Math is used to meet the needs of middle school students who have consistently failed the GA Math CRCT state assessment.
Results: CRCT (state test) passing rates for struggling 7th graders improved from 10% to 83%.
Passing rates for struggling 6th graders improved from 25% to 63%. Passing rates for struggling 8th graders improved from 0% to 42%.
Crosby Middle School, TX
Lead Educators: Robert T. (Todd) Hicks, Principal, Alicia Jordal, Instructional Technologist
Grades: 6-8
Needs (Challenges): Tier 3 math intervention On the state assessment, CMS students were not at the level they believed they should be. Changing math TEKS (state standards) caused greater gaps in understanding for students who were already struggling in math.
Results: Students who did not meet grade level previously were placed in Tier 3 math class. The first six weeks working with Ascend, 60% achieved one or more grade levels in math.
Emmet Belknap Intermediate School, NY
Lead Educators: Lynn Hewitt, School Psychologist, Gary Wilson, Principal
Grades: 5-6
Needs (Challenges): Tier 2 math intervention Needed a math intervention product with a strong research base, aligned to NY state standards. Most importantly, they needed to serve more struggling students than was previously possible with their limited staffing.
Results: Students who previously averaged .5 grade levels of growth, achieved nearly four times the growth using Ascend Math.
Fort Stockton Middle School, TX
Lead Educator: Gil-Rey Madrid, Principal
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Tier 2 math intervention. Students entering Fort Stockton had math skill gaps of up to 6-7 years. Previous math intervention attempts did not work.
Results: The school significantly increased their eighth grade pass rate on the state assessment from 74% to 86%. Some students achieved proficiency on the TAKS after spending only 3 weeks on Ascend Math during an intensive intervention initiative.
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Frontier Middle School, MO
Lead Educator: Angie Rushing
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Supplement math instruction for students identified for level 2 RTI.
Results: 23% of students using Ascend gained three grade levels. 32% moved up two levels. 19% of students using Ascend got back up to grade level.
Glenbrook Middle School, MA
Lead Educator: Dorian Jones
Implementation: Tier 2 Intervention, Grades 6-8
Needs: Ascend Math was adopted as a Tier 2 intervention to help fill in gaps that were shown on state testing. Their goal was to pass the state test with a proficient or higher and to match the target scores on their aimsweb MCAP and MCOMP probes.
Results:
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By winter, 80% of 6th graders met or surpassed their target goal on MCAP and MCOMP probes.
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All 7th graders met their target goal.
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Students in all grades improved on their MCAP and MCOMP probes.
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Students in all grades surpassed the district’s goal for growth on the state test.
Holabird STEM Program, MD
Lead Educator: Amy Boyd
Classes: Algebra I and Basic Math
Needs: Prior to using Ascend, 97% of the students tested at least one grade below grade level, with about 70% of those students testing three or more grades below their current academic grade.
Results: Holabird saw dramatic improvement with students quickly moving up in grade level. The number of students testing at 3rd grade level decreased by 92%. 6th graders testing at 5th grade level increased by 100%. 7th graders testing at 5th grade level increased 280%. 60% of students gained 2-3 grade levels in less than one school year.
Howard Middle School, GA
Lead Educators: Joanna Summerow, Dr. Sharon Daniel
Implementation: Blended Learning, Grades 6-8
Needs: Howard Middle School was labelled a Focus School due to the large gap between their lowest achieving and highest achieving subgroups. Following their use of Ascend Math Howard Middle was removed from the Focus School designation.
Results:
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At the beginning of the school year, 58% of students tested below the 4th grade level in math. By April, only 15% remained.
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Only 9% of students tested at grade level 5 or above at the start of the year. By April, that number increased to 64%.
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44% moved up two or more grade levels.
Judson ISD (Kitty Hawk and Woodlake Hills Middle Schools), TX
Lead Educator: Lori Robinson, Secondary Mathematics Specialist
Grades: 4-8
Needs: Improve math results for students that did not meet expectations on the TAKS (state mandated) test.
Results: The students made impressive progress. Each grade posted average pre to post assessment gains of 25-45%.
R. Dan Nolan Middle School, FL
Lead Educator: MaryAnne Maginot
Grades: 6-7
Needs: Math intervention for a growing number of students scoring below level on the FCAT. With no time to provide differentiated instruction during class time, a special intervention class was created as an elective. Later on, students were required to work with the program at home.
Results: All students increased growth significantly. Nearly half of them gained 2 or more years growth in math. The average gain on the FCAT was 22.17%
Sanders Middle School
Lead Educator: Brian Wessel, math interventionist
Grades: 6-8
Needs: History of failure. 60% of students in the district did not meet expectations.
Results: In head to head testing of students identified for math intervention those using Ascend Math greatly outperformed the students not using the program. After just two months using Ascend, more than four times as many students were at grade level or above.
Swanton Middle School, OH
Grades: 6-8
Needs: All students at Swanton use Ascend as a part of their regular class curriculum and for timely intervention as needed.
Results: During the 2011-2012 school year students increased overall school math scores 30% over the previous year on state mandated tests. Ascend Math results indicate another substantial increase in 2012-13.
Wentzville South Middle School, MO
Lead Educators: Charlene Rock and Kristi Glendinning
Grades: 6-8
Needs: RTI Helping students fill in math gaps quickly.
Results: 72% of students using Ascend completed at least one grade level. 49% completed two levels or more. 30% are expected to reach grade level some climbing 3 levels or more.
The Academy at Minds in Motion, OH
Lead Educator: Tricia Fote
Grades: K-8
Needs: Ascend Math is used to supplement the Academy’s hands on approach to learning math. It is used to primarily to assist students in progressing at a faster rate and also to fill in gaps in learning.
Results: Many students progressed well beyond grade level with 83 students (93%) exceeded 1 grade level growth and 29 students (32.5%) gained 2 or more levels. Academy students use Ascend Math on iPads.
Lakeside Christian Academy, FL
Lead Educator: Steven Baltic
Grades: K-8
Needs: Ascend is used to move students who were working below grade level, up to and beyond grade level. Students enrolling in the private school come from a wide diversity of demographics and abilities, especially in math.
Results: More than 75% of students gained one grade level or more with 27% gaining from two to six grade levels. Students averaged 27% improvement between their pre and post assessments.
Sanders Elementary School, AZ
Lead Educators: Jim Girard, Math Interventionist
Grades: K-5
Needs (Challenges): Sanders serves a 98% Native American student population with high poverty. The school did not make AYP in 2010/11. Students had math skill gaps of several years.
Results: After one year with Ascend Math Sanders improved from a 27 percent to 40 percent passing rate in state math scores. Their school rating jumped from a failing grade to a “C” rating. Improvement continues with a “B” rating expected in year two.
Click here for Gallup Independent Article
Taylor County Elementary, FL
Lead Educator: Kathy Kreidler
Grades: 3-5
Needs: Taylor County Elementary makes use of Ascend math to provide an effective math intervention program for their lowest quartile students including their ESE (special education) students.
Results: Taylor County Elementary uses Discovery Education Assessment to track progress. Their mid-year assessment showed:
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93% of 3rd graders increased scale scores.
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91% of 4th graders increased their scale scores.
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86% of 5th graders increased their scale scores.
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Ascend Data confirms overall: 53% of students gained one grade level with an additional 38% gaining two grade levels.
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Cleburne ISD, TX
Lead Educator: Judy Senter, Curriculum Specialist
Grades: 5-8, Algebra 1
Needs: Alternative Ed program
Results: Pre to post assessment results showed 24-44% gains on average.
“Our students have responded extremely well to individualized computer based
instruction. Discipline levels have dropped and we plan to continue using Ascend for these students upon their return to the traditional classroom.”
Judy Senter
Place Bridge Academy, CO
Lead Educator: Annette Garcia, Math Science Facilitator
Grades: 1-8
Needs: Tier 2 and Tier 3 Math Intervention With more than an 80% ELL population, Placebridge is also a magnet school for mild/moderate and multi-intensive needs students
Results: Students averaging 68.9% on a pre-assessment grew dramatically after using Ascend, averaging 93.6% on their post assessment.
Snowy Peaks High School, CO
Lead Educator: Brett Tomlinson, Principal; Susie Dorle, Math Teacher
Grades: 9-12
Needs: RTI, credit recovery, and intervention/extension. With high school students ranging in math abilities from 3rd to 10th grade, Snowy Peaks High School set out to fill math skill gaps and bring students back up to grade level while individualizing instruction.
Results: 70 % of students improved on their NWEA math scores.
Texas Challenge Academy, TX
Lead Educator: Candra Cade, Principal
Grades: 9-12
Needs: RTI, credit recovery At least 75% of students at Challenge High School were functioning at three to four grades below 9th grade. Many repeated the same grade level two to three times.
Results: In just three months, all students using Ascend have made significant progress gaining a full year or more with 19% gaining two or more years’ grade level growth over a three month intervention.
Calcasieu Parish, LA
Lead Educators: Dr. Betty Washington, Director of Special Services; Kim Wimberley, Teacher
Grades: 9-12
Needs: Tier 3 intensive intervention. Incoming students were unprepared for the rigorous math curriculum offered in high school.
Results: In a randomized test conducted at the district level, 73% of 100 students who were at risk to fail passed their math course with a grade of C or greater after utilizing Ascend Math.
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Fort Stockton Middle School, TX
Lead Educator: Gil-Rey Madrid, Principal
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Special Education in addition to At Risk, and failing math students
Results: After just 6 months of use, 86% of special ed students passed the TAKS (Texas mandated test) greatly surpassing their ambitious goal of 75%.
Grissom Middle School, IN
Lead Educator: Amy Rauch, Director of Secondary Education
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Did not make AYP in the category of special education.
Results: After just 5 months using Ascend 80% of special ed students grew 1 or more grade levels while 56% grew 2 or more grade levels.
Leo Junior/Senior High, IN
Lead Educator: Michael Sauers
Grades: 7-10
Needs: Ascend was chosen for a remedial math class for students with special needs as well as struggling general education students identified for RTI (response to intervention).
Results: Students using Ascend grew 1.8 grade levels on average. Of these students 13% grew three or more grade levels. Students increased their post-assessment percentage by an average of 35.5%
Memorial Middle School, GA
Lead Educators: Stacey Adams, Teacher; Pam Joseph, Special Education Teacher
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Special Education Supplement grade level math instruction for students with disabilities having a wide variance in academic abilities.
Results: Students achieved average gains of 48%. Two thirds of the class grew one or more grade levels. One student grew an astounding seven grade levels and moved on to honors classes.
Ronan Middle School, MT
Lead Educator: Kathy Knapp
Grades: 5-8
Needs: Ascend is used to support students with special needs and those not proficient in math.
Results: Within 7 months, 21% of 6th grade students and 60% of 5th graders were back on grade level. 82.6% of special ed students gained one or more levels.
West Hills Middle School, UT
Lead Educators: Kim Baker, Principal; Randy Curtis, Teacher
Grades: 6-8
Needs: Summer math camp for students who failed the CRT in math
Results: In just two weeks, 56 students achieved at least one grade level, 26 achieved 2 grade levels, and 1 achieved an amazing 3 grade levels.
