Round Rock ISD Bolsters ELL Program with Promethean Solutions

ATLANTA -- Promethean, a global leader in interactive learning technology, today applauds the successful efforts of educators at Round Rock ISD in Central Texas, to improve student achievement with its innovative “Digital Learning Classroom” (DLC) project.

Round Rock ISD, a progressive district with a student population of 39,000, examined the potential of Promethean’s ActivClassroom to bolster academic success while closing the achievement gap for the district’s ELL students, increasing overall student achievement for the district’s diverse population.

“We wanted to use quantitative data to determine the extent to which Promethean could help close the achievement gap of ELL and mainstream low income students in mathematics and reading,” said Laura Alcorta, Director of Student Diversity and Learning.

Through the DLC Project, the district’s study evaluated third and fifth grade test scores of classrooms using the Promethean ActivClassroom, compared to similar classrooms without the technology. “When reviewing the Texas TAKS data for 2007, Round Rock’s goal of increasing student achievement for ELL students was realized,” said Alcorta.

Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is Texas’ high stakes assessment mandated by NCLB legislation. The TAKS Commended achievement level indicates performance at a level that is considerably above the state passing standard and shows a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills at the grade level tested. In third grade math, 50.0% of ELL students received the TAKS Commended rating, compared to 8.5% in other classrooms. For fifth grade math, the percentage for TAKS Commended rating was 35.9% in Promethean classrooms, compared with 28.2% in other classrooms. For TAKS Reading Performance in third grade, the percentage of ELL students who achieved the TAKS Commended level was 10% higher than comparable classrooms without the Promethean technology. In fifth grade, the TAKS pass rate for ELL students was 100% in Promethean classrooms compared to 73.2% in other classrooms without the Promethean technology.

“Based on these findings, we found that Round Rock significantly increased student achievement levels for ELL students using Promethean through the Digital Learning Classroom project,” said Ms. Alcorta. “Based on the learning gains witnessed this year, we are confident even greater results will be realized in the second year of implementation.”

“We are excited about Round Rock’s outstanding results,” said Mark Elliott, President of Promethean North America. “Their success validates and reinforces our commitment to education, with teachers and students at the forefront of everything we do.”
About Promethean: Promethean is a global leader in interactive learning technology that empowers teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate learners. Developed by and for educators, its award-winning products help teachers to prepare digital lessons quickly and with greater ease. The technology enables them to create, customize and integrate text, web, video and audio content, so they can more easily capture students’ attention and accommodate different learning styles.

The company supplies ActivBoard, the world’s most durable interactive whiteboard technology; ActivStudio, a software platform for secondary teaching; and ActivPrimary, the only product designed specifically for use in primary schools and kindergarten. It also offers hand-held ActiVotes that permit instantaneous assessment of pupils’ comprehension of lessons. Beyond the classroom, Promethean offers training and support to ensure maximum results and return on investment.

Promethean USA is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with flagship headquarters in Blackburn, UK. For more information on its major products visit www.prometheanworld.com.

For more information, please visit www.prometheanworld.com