School: Palm Desert High School
State: California
Product: Shmoop Smarter Balanced Prep

The Stats

• 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.

The Full Story

Palm Desert 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.

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 in 2010. 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 (www.shmoop.com), a digital publisher known for its award-winning test prep and certified online courses, offers Common Core test prep for both the Smarter Balanced (SBAC) and PARCC exams. Of course, Shmoop's materials are anything but common: they've demonstrated proven results time and time again. Juniors at Palm Desert High School used Shmoop's SBAC test prep, and their scores knocked the flip-flops off the California average: 80% of PDHS juniors met or exceeded ELA expectations, compared to 56% statewide; and 41% of PDHS juniors met or exceeded math expectations, compared to 29% statewide according to the California Department of Education. 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.

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, while schools and districts can contact sales@shmoop.com for bulk discounts.

Interested in getting Shmoop into your school or district? Email sales@shmoop.com and let our Sales Shmooperstars know who you are and what you're looking for.

Just have a question about something in Shmoopland? Hit us up at support@shmoop.com. It's kind of gross how often we check our email, so we'll get back to you in the blink of a cursor.

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