In Austin ISD, one of the fastest-growing metroplexes in the nation, elementary school teachers once relied on a patchwork of curricula and resources to teach math. In 2023, shortly after rolling out STEMscopes Math as a supplemental resource, the district conducted a comprehensive audit of its elementary curriculum materials across all content areas.
“We did a massive rewrite in math to prepare for the 2024-25 school year,” said Jennifer Jones, director of elementary STEM for Austin ISD. “We needed something with a strong lesson design to support deeper conceptual understanding in math, so we adopted STEMscopes Math as our core curriculum resource.”
Since then, Austin ISD has implemented STEMscopes Math in 74 elementary schools and 20 middle schools. “We now have consistency from kindergarten through grade 8,” said Jones.
That shift has translated into measurable growth on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The percentage of third graders performing at or above grade level in math rose to 42% in 2025, up from 39% in 2024. “Nearly every student group saw gains as well,” said Jones.
STEMscopes Math is a problem-based kindergarten through Algebra 1 curriculum built by teachers, for teachers. It integrates print, digital, and hands-on materials to deliver engaging, standards-aligned instruction that supports all learners, including multilingual learners. Each chapter or “scope” is developed around the research-based 5E lesson model — Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate — with additional phases for Intervention and Acceleration.
“We believe in the STEMscopes Math design. It’s what STEM education should look like,” said Jones. “Most of us who are educators did not get taught math in this way, so it requires a shift in mindset — but it’s had major benefits for our students.”
In Austin ISD, students typically start each day with a Daily Numeracy activity or an activity to strengthen fluency skills. After that, teachers kick off the lesson with an Engage activity to capture students’ attention and identify knowledge gaps to inform their instruction. Next, students move into the Explore phase, where they participate in interactive, hands-on activities and rich mathematical discussions within real-world contexts.
“The Explores give students a chance to engage in productive struggle,” said Jones. “Students do the thinking and the talking, rather than just listening to the teacher explain something. Teachers facilitate and question, but it’s the students who are doing the work.”
Assessment is integrated throughout each STEMscopes Math lesson so teachers can evaluate student progress and mastery. According to Jones, activities in the Explain phase (such as Show What You Know) and Evaluate phase (such as Decide and Defend) help students articulate their thinking and reinforce their learning.
“The assessments help teachers see who knows what and where to take them next,” she said. “Then teachers will use the Elaborate resources during differentiation time for intervention or acceleration.”
This hands-on approach has not only deepened students’ learning but has also increased their interest and enjoyment in math. “We’ve definitely seen more true, active engagement — not just compliance,” she said.
With STEMscopes Math, math instruction in Austin ISD now includes plenty of discussion and debate among students. At the end of each Explore activity, for example, students can engage in Math Chats where they connect concepts and evaluate their peers’ processes and strategies.
“Our teachers now realize the power of student discourse,” said Jones. “When students participate in hands-on activities and talk about their experiences, it helps them grow their knowledge and internalize it. We’re also seeing far more flexible thinking and a greater willingness to grapple with challenging problems. It’s helping students understand different strategies and ways of thinking, and build stronger problem-solving skills.”
Language supports have been especially important in Austin ISD’s diverse student community, which supports more than 100 languages and includes children from all economic levels and backgrounds. To foster equity in the classroom, STEMscopes Math incorporates a variety of tools to support multilingual learners — and all students.
“In math, all students are language learners,” said Jones. “STEMscopes Math provides embedded tools — such as visuals, sentence stems, and language supports — so students can access the content.”
STEMscopes Math also provides all student resources in both English and Spanish. “Teachers no longer have to hunt for resources in Spanish or translate on the fly. In STEMscopes Math, the resources are already there at their fingertips,” she said.
According to Jones, the vertical alignment in STEMscopes Math makes it easier to develop student expectations across grade levels, which supports the district’s efforts to create more consistency in classrooms and schools.
“We’re starting to see the impact of students using STEMscopes Math from one year to the next,” said Jones. “First grade is seeing the effects from students’ learning in kindergarten, and soon second grade will see the benefits from two years of use.”
In Austin ISD’s first year using STEMscopes Math as its core curriculum resource, third grade STAAR results reflected positive growth. In its second year in 2025-26, teachers have begun to see growth on district assessments as well.
“We developed common district assessments for elementary math for the first time this year. To date, we’ve given two assessments per grade level, and people are enjoying digging into data and seeing students mastering the content,” said Jones. “Students who were below passing are moving closer to proficiency, and students who were passing are stretching higher. I attribute that to STEMscopes Math, the professional learning that supports teachers in implementing the curriculum, and good observation and feedback from principals and coaches.”
Several campuses have seen particularly strong results. “One of the things they always talk about is their use of high-quality instructional materials for Tier 1 instruction, which is STEMscopes Math,” said Jones. “It’s nice to continuously hear they feel it’s making a huge impact on their students.”
For Austin ISD, STEMscopes Math represents both progress today and potential for tomorrow.
“We still have a ways to go, but when I think back to when we began this journey to go all in on STEMscopes Math, the difference is remarkable,” said Jones. “Students are becoming more confident, and teachers feel more confident in math, too. I don’t see the same anxiousness, or pushback, or constant questioning of ‘Why are we doing this?’ Instead, everybody’s in. It makes me excited for our students to have these opportunities that weren’t there before.”
Energized by the momentum, Jones is eager for what’s next.
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