Fremont High-School Students Broke District and School Records for the ISAT and the SAT

Bonnie is the English Department Chair at Fremont High School, where she teaches 10th and 12th graders. Located in a rural setting and facing socio-economic challenges, her students’ reading levels range from grade four to grade thirteen. Bonnie and her department knew from her students’ PSAT scores that vocabulary was a weakness.

“With such varied backgrounds in one classroom, how do you teach them all from one vocabulary list?”

When Bonnie started looking for ways to bridge the vocabulary gap, she came across Membean. Bonnie and her department needed a tool that could provide individualized vocabulary instruction suitable for all their students. She was especially impressed by two things about Membean: other teachers praised its positive results, and they loved its differentiated approach; therefore, she decided to give it a try.

“Membean calibrates to each one of my students. It accepts them where they are and teaches them. Their confidence increases by being part of the learning community—they no longer feel ostracized.’

Since using Membean, Bonnie’s students consistently verbalize their awareness of their vocabulary growth and really enjoy learning vocabulary at their own level. Bonnie notes that she saw an improvement in her students’ analysis of words in context early on while using Membean, where they not only had to know the meaning of the word but apply their understanding of the word and its various uses.

“I wish I could make individualized lists for my students each week, but who has the time? Membean makes it possible for my students to learn from a set of words personalized to them.”

Bonnie says that her students really like that Membean gives them statistical feedback on their training, giving them a clear understanding of what to work on. After using Membean for only six months, Bonnie knew that it was working when her students’ PSAT scores showed improvement from the previous year. Then, after using Membean for a year and a half, Bonnie’s students broke district records for their ISAT scores and school records for SAT scores! Students also rocked the ACT: their average reading scores improved from a 21.1 in 2018 to a 23.2 in 2019!