An article published by the Rodel Foundation of Delaware describes how Kuumba Academy took a serious approach to remediating the problem of poor math achievement. They adopted a Singapore Math curriculum, and with it, they gave their teachers “intensive, on-going professional development to deepen teachers’ understanding of math instruction at the elementary level.” The school also implemented parent workshops and a “Bring Your Parent to School Day,” which would help parents and guardians understand the sometimes very different approaches Singapore Math takes.

One minor incorrect point the article states is that Singapore Math uses math sprints to strengthen math skills. Sprints were developed by Yoram Sagher, a US professor, to supplement math fact practice in the Singapore Math curriculum. Using them can help, although they are not the only effective math skills practice approach.

Adopting the Singapore Math curriculum, along with training teachers well and using sprints, led to a complete turnaround in the school’s math test results. As the article states:

Since Kuumba began its partnership with the Vision Network, the school has seen phenomenal growth in math scores. Not only are students no longer falling behind, they are exceeding state performance in many grades in math. In just 3 years, Kuumba went from 49% of students meeting the standard school-wide to 87% proficient, as measured by the DSTP.