We have used PLATO as a tool for remediation in math. We have started with one or two students and used the fast track math to determine beginning placement. This first student has enjoyed the curriculum and has made significant gains in grade-level mastery. We are now using this tool for remediation with other math students. PLATO has helped to identify the holes in their math skills and then provided the path to improve those skills as well as move them ahead.
—COMPASS Public Charter School
The PLATO programs are geared for all types of learning styles. The audio is a good tool to use for the auditory learners. Programs show step-by-step instructions and give feedback.
—Horseshoe Bend School District #73
Last year we had two special needs student that showed 23 points in growth on their ISAT scores in math. The best program I have seen is the PLATO Foundational Mathematics. The program goes through all the basics and fills in the holes these students have in their math background.
—Horseshoe Bend School District #73
Teachers are getting excited about using the PLATO program. We have seen ISAT scores rise between 5 and 50 points.
—Boise School District
We use PLATO for ISAT prep, credit recovery, SPED remediation, etc. The circumstance that I have found to be the most successful is being able to set up an individual workstation for students who can’t handle the stimulation of classrooms. They are able to be successful in an individualized setting for the first time in their school career.
—St. Maries JSD #41
We have had positive results with the Real World activities for the Gifted and Talented Program.
—Boise School District
I have had five kids take a PLATO ISAT remediation class as a graduation alternative. These students had previously failed the ISAT. While they were taking the class, they had the opportunity to retake the ISAT. All of them passed!!! It was awesome!
—Lakeland School District #272
While teaching 5th grade, I was able to expose high-achieving students to higher level math (with PLATO), which was great for them.
—Kellogg School District #391
My building is preparing to place some of our 4th, 5th, and 6th grade at-risk students into the PLATO reading courseware in order to better prepare them for spring ISATs. In the past three weeks, I have placed a 6th grader into some assignments in PLATO math. He is on a progress monitoring plan. I have already seen big gains in that student’s classroom performance. I believe after a few more courses, the student will be a much stronger math student and will be performing closer to grade level.
—Lakeland School District #272
(1) Our ISAT scores have risen dramatically. (2) Students like PLATO. (3) All students benefit—low achieving, achieving at grade-level, and advanced students. (4) Teachers that use PLATO believe in it.
—St. Maries School District #41
Three years ago, I became principal of a small K-8 school. Our test scores were not very good. In fact, they were border-line embarrassing. In our three years using PLATO, our ISAT test scores have rocketed. Last year (2005-06), we only had one student who was not proficient in math. Our test scores were 92.68% in reading, 86.42% in language, and 98.99% in math. These test scores are cool, especially considering we sit at an 87% free and reduced lunch rate.
—St. Maries School District #41
PLATO has given me a positive look at levels my 3rd graders have achieved. They are able to move at their ability. The reports are valuable for conferences with parents and students.
—Coeur d’Alene School District
Students are discovering that fractions are fun! PLATO is useful to reinforce what teachers are doing in class.
—Troy School District
One math student who rarely paid attention and failed first semester now uses PLATO. Now he has an A and works ALL hour.
—Kamiah School District
Using PLATO, I can target individual student needs while other students are able to move on. Several light bulbs have gone on in student’s minds because of this one-on-one focused help.
—Kamiah School District
I have been able to successfully meet the needs of two 7th grade students in the mathematics areas. (Using PLATO) both students have been able to make the gains noted in their IEP’s.
—Aberdeen School District
I had a 10th grade Title 1 student who started out doing very basic math. He has come into the (PLATO) lab quite often during the year. His is now getting into PLATO Geometry and PLATO Algebra. He doesn’t think he can do the problem, but after doing the tutorial and practice, he can pass the mastery test! His confidence is soaring.
—Preston School District
I like how the individual courses are linked for the students. For example, if the student is working in Language Arts AALP (PLATO Alternate Graduation Learning Paths) and then is enrolled in an English 1A class all items passed will be marked as complete.
— Jefferson County School District
I like the independent modules students can work on for class credit in the credit recovery paths.
—Jefferson County School District
I use the PLATO grammar modules for classes I teach rather than spend class time doing worksheets or other Daily Oral Language (DOL) activities.
—Jefferson County School District
I used to hate to go to computer lab with my kindergarten students. Now that I use PLATO, I love to go to computer lab and so do my students. I feel like our precious time is being used effectively and efficiently.
—Madison County School District
I teach a PLATO class to our teachers and it’s been exciting to see them change negative assumptions to positive excitement as they learn the program and how it can be used as an effective tool.
—Madison County School District
I had a little boy in the kindergarten class last year. He’s a minority student from a broken home and he was really struggling. Going off the regular assessments and classroom work, he appeared to be very low academically. I started my class doing PLATO and he soared through Beginning Reading A and Math Expeditions A, exempting out of a lot of the lessons. I was so grateful to have this wonderful tool that helped me to tap into his knowledge in a way he could relate to.
—Madison County School District
PLATO has given my Title 1 aides a means of helping their students pass the ISAT. We have seen improvement of scores and the students feel more successful.
—Fremont County School District
In Special Education, we are currently using PLATO for the district-approved alternative graduation mechanism to the ISAT. We have had several students use this program enabling them to graduate by learning skills identified as areas of weakness.
—Fremont School District
The number of students completing credit recovery courses continues to increase. In addition, this trimester we have approximately 25 students participating in the alternative graduation program.
—Minidoka County School District
Last year, with the use of PLATO, two of our juniors increased their ISAT math scores by 25 points and reached proficiency.
—Murtaugh School District
We use PLATO in after-school programs and remediation programs. The aspect I like most about PLATO is that an entire class of kids can receive instruction in the area they need. This allows the teacher to help each student when needed and without preparing 20 different lessons.
—Murtaugh School District
Thanks to PLATO, two of our students last year were able to graduate with their class. One had to retake Algebra from his freshman year when he didn’t care too much about grades. The other one, in a similar situation, had to make up an English course and a math course and he was able to do that in time to graduate with his class as well.
— Murtaugh School District #418
Students from Mexico with no English speaking skills have thrived in PLATO Spanish language math and have successfully transitioned into English versions.
—Gooding School District
Students who were making no progress in regular math classes and were major disruptions have been on-task, interested, and vocal supporters of PLATO math.
—Gooding School District
The Alternate Graduation learning paths, developed with PLATO, have successfully met the needs of our seniors who have not passed the ISAT math tests.
—Gooding School District
At our school, we have started a PLATO credit recovery class after school. None of the students skip that class. The students think it is great being able to recover credit at the high school instead of going to another district.
—Shoshone School District
We use PLATO for an autistic ten-year-old who has been in a self-contained classroom. He uses it for numbers in math, and using the keyboard to log in is teaching him letters. In second-grade, we use it for accelerated students and summer school k-6 students. ESL students use the language and Spanish algebra.
—Dietrich School District
PLATO has helped us with several students who were not doing grade level material in math. We’ve used it to help those students get credits toward graduation and/or gain skills they wouldn’t otherwise get.
—Dietrich School District
Being a Title 1 math teacher, it is challenging to meet every student’s needs on a daily basis. Because PLATO can be adaptable to each student’s ability, I have used PLATO as an intervention to "fill in the gaps" of each student. Also, students come to me with their assignments from their regular math class finished or nearly finished and PLATO is used as a sponge activity for the early finishers. The use of PLATO as a daily part of my classroom provides routine and organization. Students know their expectations and follow the routine well. Also, because the lessons are completely adaptable and have a wide variety, students are not stuck in a mundane routine!
—Buhl School District
One of the great things about PLATO is that students are able to work independently on their assignments. The number of students that should be served by Title 1 is relatively high in my school district. Using PLATO has allowed me to serve more students than would normally be possible. Actually, because my school uses PLATO, I created a special class for students that need extra concepts, which takes place during my prep hour. This allows me to serve more students than normally possible, without the extra work of a classroom teacher, such as grading papers. Students in my PLATO class demonstrated a great advancement in ISAT scores between fall and winter. I am pleased with the effects of PLATO in my students’ concept knowledge and abilities!
—Buhl School District
The majority of our users really like using PLATO. We show some very good gains in spring ISAT scores, especially with our 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school program. In addition, we like the PLATO Credit Recovery learning paths and are looking at utilizing PLATO with our Alternative Graduation Mechanism.
—Valley School District
PLATO Credit Recovery has been very successful. We have several students able to graduate this year because they have finished courses they needed.
—Valley School District
At the beginning of the year, I gave all my English classes the PLATO grammar assessment pre-test. I was relieved to see that most of the students were fairly strong and knowledgeable in this area. This has allowed me to spend more time in their weak areas rather than to re-teach things they already knew.
—Shoshone School District #312
Last year, one student did very well on one section of the ISAT test. The teacher had not covered that particular subject. When asked how she knew the answers, the student said that she learned it on PLATO.
—Shoshone School District #312
Several of our students have recovered credits in English and math using PLATO. We had one student in particular who came to us from another district and was far behind in credits. Using PLATO during summer and the school year, he is getting back on track. He hopes to receive his diploma after summer school this year.
—Butte County School District
So far this school year over 70 students while in the Juvenile Detention Facility have earned credit that transferred directly back to home schools.
— Bonner County Juvenile Detention Center
I can tell you that we are loving PLATO here. During the regular school day and especially in the after school program, the students are liking it; they are progressing thru the lessons, and they are learning. We do not have any quantifiable numbers to show you that reflect the increase in learning from the use of PLATO, but from my own observations and from the other teachers, they think PLATO is very good for their students. To illustrate how the students enjoy the program, one third grade class was going to miss their weekly PLATO session because of a fire drill. The teacher gave them the choice of having their recess or going to the lab. They voted to skip recess that day so they could go to the lab and do PLATO. Anecdotal evidence is not quite as powerful as hard data, but it is real and effective with decision-makers. I asked one of our veteran teachers how she liked PLATO. Her reply was simply, "What's not to like?" Thanks again for all of your help and support with getting this set up here in Marsing. It has been a significant and positive addition in our teaching toolbox for our students.
—Marsing School District
Middleton is using PLATO in variety of settings. It has become a very important program to our District, and we have seen it very specifically impact our student's ISAT scores. In 2005-2006, I piloted a before and after-school program with 60 at-risk students at Mill Creek Elementary who were not proficient on the ISAT in the fall. During the after-school program, students completed homework for ½ hour and then worked on PLATO for ½ hour in the computer lab. We monitored the student's ISAT data from Fall to Spring. In the spring the results were as follows:
I was thrilled with the results for our most at-risk students who were 0% proficient in the fall. This year we have used several grants to expand the after-school program to all five of our district schools to service students in grades 2-12. We are focusing on our most at-risk students including LEP, Economically Disadvantaged, SPED and Title I. Students will again have ½ hour to complete homework and then worked on PLATO for ½ hour in the computer lab. We are using grant funds to provide transportation after the program. That was the only challenge we faced last year. The students who need the program most often do not have access to transportation after the program is over each afternoon. We still continue to use PLATO for remediation and acceleration during the school day. PLATO is also part of our district's Credit Recovery and Alternate Graduation Mechanism.
—Director of Elementary Education, Middleton School District
I like that the program explains the process(es) in an easy to understand format so that the student is not getting frustrated because she ' still doesn't get it.'
—Contact Teacher, Idaho Distance Education Academy