SAXON MATH EXPERIMENT IN HOUSTON ISD:

Letter from Saxon Publishers, Incorporated

June 11, 1996

Superintendent Dr. Rod Paige

Houston Independent School District

3830 Richmond Avenue

Houston, Texas 77027

    GOOD NEWS                                          GREAT NEWS                         WONDERFUL NEWS 

Dear Dr. Paige:

The results of the Saxon math pilot show that Houston Independent School District (HISD) is leading the way in a turnaround in mathematics education in America.  During the 1995-1996 school year, we gave seventy-one Houston elementary schools Saxon math books for one class at each grade K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.  The gains in student achievement are huge.

Two Houston principals played a hunch and purchased additional Saxon math books for all of their classes.  Their hunches paid off with spectacular results.  At Field Elementary School, Principal Mary Nikirk reported that the percentage of third graders who passed the math portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) in the spring of 1995 was 45 percent. This year, 94% passed.  The fourth grade passing rate increased from 2.7 percent to 96 percent, and for the fifth grade it increased from 53 to 67 percent.  At Stevenson Elementary School, Principal Mary Cherbonnier reported the passing rate for fourth grade students increased from 69 percent to 93 percent.  The fifth grade rate increased from 61 percent to 85 percent.

Most of the elementary schools that accepted our offer for a free pilot did not use Saxon books in all their classes.  At Burrus Elementary, last year only 34 percent of the fifth grade students passed the TAAS math test.  This year, 100 percent of the Saxon students passed.  The Saxon students helped pull the pass rate for the whole school up to 90 percent.  Last year at Rhoads Elementary, only 72 percent of the third grade passed.  This year 97 percent of the Saxon students passed.  This pulled the whole school up to the 93 percent pass level.  the fifth grade had a 44 percent pass rate last year.  This year, the 100 percent pass rate of the Saxon students pulled the pass rate of the whole school up to 75 percent.

These gains resulted from using Saxon math for only one year.  Think of what the pass rate will be after Houston elementary students get to use Saxon math for all five years!  The Texas Education Agency will have to increase the difficulty of the TAAS test to get any type of curve at all.  Otherwise, almost all students will pass the TAAS test at .....

You get the picture.

What happened to using the Saxon texts in HISD schools?  If anyone knows, please tell us!