Smart and balanced!

High school blows California averages out of the water after implementing Shmoop

Students at Palm Desert High School prepared for the Smarter Balanced assessments with Shmoop and ended the year with scores well above the statewide average.

The overview

Most controversies get their fifteen minutes of fame and then go the way of Deflategate. Not so for the Common Core, which has been the center of heated debates in the education space since its inception. But for all the chatter among teachers and policymakers, students are...left in the dust. More time is spent arguing over the value of CCSS than is spent preparing students for assessments that might mean the difference between flipping burgers and managing a hedge fund. No pressure or anything.

That’s where Shmoop comes in.

Shmoop’s Smarter Balanced Test Prep

Juniors at Palm Desert High School used Shmoop's SBAC test prep, and their scores knocked the flip-flops off the California average. According to the California Department of Education:

80% of PDHS juniors met or exceeded ELA expectations, compared to 56% statewide
41% of PDHS juniors met or exceeded math expectations, compared to 29% statewide

For the toe-counters out there, that's a 24% and 12% edge on the state average for ELA and Math, respectively, after implementing Shmoop.

A word from the Assistant Principal

Assistant principal Charles Mazet attributes much of PDHS's SBAC success to Shmoop's resources. "Everyone was so flustered about the new test, and Shmoop allowed our students to get comfortable with the assessment," he said. "It mirrors the actual test so students knew what they were getting into and could enjoy the studying process."

Whether they love the Common Core or want to burn it to the ground, individual students and teachers can access Shmoop's SBAC prep through a Shmoop subscription.