Midlothian Students with Disabilities Post Big Gains in Math

An innovative, comprehensive curriculum that employs assistive technology and hands-on learning for K-8 students with disabilities is helping fuel dramatic gains in their math skill in neighboring Midlothian School District 143.

An independent study done for the Developmental Learning Program in the Midlothian district found that a group of 43 K-8 students with mild to severe disabilities posted an average 112 percent gain in their math skills over a three-year period (2011-2012 to 2013-2014). The study results were recently made public in a white paper posted by Minneapolis-based AbleNet Inc., creator of the math curriculum called Equals Math.

“The most striking result from this year’s data is that every student in this study continued to make progress in developing his or her math skills,” said Ben Satterfield, Ed. D., study author and a research consultant for the Center for AT Excellence, a network partner of Georgia Tools for Life at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

AbleNet CEO Jennifer Thalhuber said, “ We are gratified by the outstanding results that students with disabilities in the Chicago suburban school district, Midlothian, have demonstrated as a result of the implementation of Equals Math. They have combined excellent instruction with a group of dedicated educators to see powerful results in students. It is our hope that we can repeat the success we’re seeing in this suburban school district to the students with disabilities in the Chicago public school system.”

Why should all parents care about this issue?

Equipping teachers with effective and proven curriculum for their students is important because the costs of providing special education services are a growing concern at all levels of public education. This is especially true given the trend towards a significant increase in the number of students who need special education and that their proportion of total education expenditures are growing.

During the past decade, the number of U.S. students enrolled in special education programs has risen 30 percent. And the population of students served under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) has grown at nearly twice the rate of the general education population. During the 25-year period between 1980 and 2005, the IDEA population rose by 37 percent while general education population increased by only 20 percent.

Satterfield said one key strength of the Equals Math curriculum is that it can measure incremental improvement in student math achievement and the curriculum is flexible enough to serve students with a wide variety and severity of disabilities.

Karen Ross-Brown, AbleNet manager of curriculum development and training, credits the success of the Equals Math curriculum to lessons that covers all areas of math in a systematic, comprehensive way and its strong instructional practices and math methodologies.

Meanwhile, teachers at the Midlothian district’s DLP speak highly of the Equals curriculum and its teacher strategies. One said, “I am so proud of the growth I have seen from all of my math groups over the years since we began using Equals. I have seen kids do things I never thought they would do.”

For further information, visit AbleNet at ablenet.com.