A little history goes a long way…

Pre 2012

Fluintcy known as Freethrows was tested in software form over the past decade in a variety of schools in Arizona. Tests lasted only a day in after school and summer school programs.

2012-2017

Fluintcy moved to the private sector and began testing in an at risk school in South Phoenix. The game went through numerous changes as we discover new applications to the sciences behind the game. We presented this project to two educator conference, SREB and ACTE to a standing ovation.

Spring 2018

After much testing in a controlled classroom we decided to open the program up to teachers from friends and family to try it out. Six teachers answered the call in January and used the game in the classroom providing incredible feedback. After a lot of tinkering we decided to expand the test and started approaching local districts. Word of mouth began to spread and by the end of the school year we had 25 classrooms testing the program in a variety of settings. Early reports were very positive as students enjoyed the game like a video game. Engagement went up at the end of the school year after state tests were administered.

Summer 2018

Over the summer we presented the program at two conference, NAESP and HSTW and received incredible responses from both groups. More schools decided to test it out in Fall and we readied ourselves for more schools to come on board. We didn’t expect the response we would get.

Fall 2018

We started the new school year with a sprint but prepared for a marathon. Quickly we went from 25 classrooms to 150 spanning 20 states as teachers gave it a try. We had many successes but also experienced some setbacks as we gathered real world data on how it fits in classrooms around the country. In some cases it was a perfect fit, in others it was a bit too much. Learning from these experiences we made numerous improvements as students went beyond level 20. By the end of fall 50% of the teachers made it but those who did had remarkable results for their efforts.

Spring 2019

2019 begins a new year as we steadily plod forward towards the finish line, the state wide exams. This will be where the rubber meets the road. If we keep at the pace we are going, the gains will be no only significant but remarkable!

Mid Year Assessment Yield Favorable Outcomes

Things are looking quite positive! Our initial read of the data you have provided have shown some profound impact from the math fluency project! Thank you all who have sent us your data and findings from the mid-year benchmarks!

Here is a short summary of what we have seen that's quite remarkable.

13% Test Increase

A class had 13% increase in their test over other control groups! Too many, 13% may not seem like a lot but in education, that's ASTRONOMICAL! This was at a highly at risk school where the teacher sacrificed 10 minutes a day out of a 50 minute period to run the math game with her students. Loosing 50 minutes of direct instruction a week, there was a concern that these students would fall behind but when the test was administered, these students gained 13% over the other students.

In our tests in past years, we've seen this effect and many teachers comment that after they implemented the game it enhanced the class, amping up their normal instruction. At the half year mark, it's evident that these kids are amped up and on a great trajectory toward 25% and maybe even 50% by the end of the school year!

Benchmarking for State Exams

We all know teaching to the test is not great for our kids but it happens, but how does the math fluency game enhance the state exams. One school showed quite a bit of gain in the group that used it consistently. We compared data from classes in the same grade and they were 17% higher in their scores. That's quite the difference! We are currently gathering data on other benchmarks to measure growth over 3 months.

A Culture Success for Native Americans

I've previously reported this but one of the most dramatic effects we've seen is how it's changed the culture and attitudes of students in the classroom. We saw this play out especially at our Native American schools, changing the attitude from me, myself and I to us, we and team. Student take the lead and are data driven with goals and personal progress. They are proud of their academic accomplishments. We are still gathering data and looking for the scale scores for growth but from what we have gathered, the classes that had this running showed similar improvement over the classes who didn't.

Blending Makes it Better

In one school we worked with an amazing teacher who used the Math Fluency Game and alternated with another program. The combination of the two was quite remarkable. As mentioned before, we amp or and enhance the classroom and that's what we saw play out here. We were able to see a comparison on how these students were engaged with the other program and compare them to other teachers in the school, and it was quite significant. Their engagement levels were through the roof! When the benchmarks from December came back we saw growth. In the next couple weeks we will be able to provide growth data from their initial benchmark, which will be quite remarkable!

Much Data More to Come

This is just a small sampling of what we've seen and are looking forward to seeing more data as you turn them in. I know many of you administered your benchmark tests in January, we are looking forward to that data!

E For Engagement

It's all about engagement. Time and time again what I hear most is about how this game engages students in and out of class. If we didn't have math gains, that alone has made this project special, but we all can see that there is improvement and not by a small margin. Not only did math scores go up, but it is showing a positive effect in other areas. This is seen clearly as the classes that are running it showed the highest level of attendance. Learning can be fun! As we move forward in building our system, we will be putting in tools that will increase engagement even more. Look forward to the next generation of the math fluency game soon!

Exciting New Changes Ahead

In the next week we will be announcing our next stage and plans for the math fluency project. Keep a look out for our next big announcement!