A middle school in Missouri is finding that two web-based programs are helping its students understand mathematics.

With My Big Campus and Khan Academy, math teacher Christine Miller “has found the number of children demonstrating an 80 percent or better level of mastery has ‘significantly increased’ compared to last year,” said an article on SoutheastMissourian.com.

The majority of her students, the article said, “achieved at least a C on their first test last year.”

“However, last year, 66 percent scored at least an 80 percent on their first test,” the article said. “This year, 75 percent of my students scored at least an 80 percent on their first test, Miller said in an email.”

Khan Academy, the article said, is “serving as a supplemental website where students can try their hand at higher math and improve their skills. It is a not-for-profit with a mission of providing ‘free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.’”

Using these online programs has freed Miller’s time to give students extra help, as well as allowing for deeper class discussions, said the article.

"At the junior high, we intervene when a student is missing assignments and/or not mastering objectives,” she said. “We have established a culture with a goal of every student completing every assignment. With the use of technology this year, my students have had more resources and quicker feedback, which has made fewer of those interventions necessary.”

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor