Research Summary

SQUARE PANDA™️ LEARNING APPS
CLASSROOM EFFICACY
Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD), Mountain View, California
2018-2019 School Year
About Mountain View
Whisman School District

STUDY GROUP 1: Kindergarten, Struggling Students
Hypothesis

Situated outside of San Francisco,

Struggling students who use the Square Panda playset
and learning apps will show greater improvement on
standardized literacy tests than students who don’t receive
the same Square Panda intervention.

MVWSD is challenged with a highly
diverse socioeconomic student population,
especially with early literacy skills andparticularly with language learning.

Intervention•Teachers received standard Square Panda classroom roll-out training•

Test group students used the Square Panda playset and learning apps as part ofexisting literacy center rotations two to four times per week

Methodology•Regular Kindergarten classes across five schools within the same district•

Two schools received Square Panda playsets and learning app access and three randomly
selected schools did not; all were selected by the district•

340 Kindergarten students total• 136 in test group (with Square Panda products)•204 in control group (without Square Panda products)•All students were tested on letter sounds immediately before and after intervention•

Of the 340 students, 60 tested as “struggling” in literacy prior to the intervention period

Conclusion
The research trial showed encouraging
trends to support the efficacy and use of theSquare Panda playset and learning apps for
Kindergarten students struggling with early
literacy skills.

An additional 13% of struggling students
became achievers in classrooms withthe Square Panda learning apps.

With Square Panda
products

Without Square Pandaproducts

The data specifically shows a correlation
between utilization of the Square Panda
products and higher test scores.

school.squarepanda.com/To learn more,contact K12sales@squarepanda.com

STUDY GROUP 2: Kindergarten, High Performing Students
Hypothesis
High-performing students in classrooms where Square Panda products
are used will retain or further improve their literacy skills compared tohigh-performing students in classrooms where Square Panda products arenot used.
Mountain View Whisman School District
Intervention
2018-19 Data• Teachers received standard Square Panda• 5,344 Students
classroom roll-out training• 62% Non-white• Test Group students used the Square Panda• 10 Schools (PreK - 8)playset and learning apps as part of• 34.5% Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
existing literacy center rotations, two to four
• 24.4% English Language Learners
times per week.
(50 languages represented)

Methodology• Regular Kindergarten classes across five schools within the same district• Two schools received Square Panda playsets and learning app access and three randomly
selected schools did not; all were selected by the district• 340 Kindergarten students total•

136 in test group (with Square Panda products)•

204 in control group (without Square Panda products)•All students were tested on letter sounds immediately before and after a 10-week intervention period•

Of the 340 students, 280 tested at grade level or higher in literacy prior to the intervention period

Conclusion
The research trials show encouraging
trends to support the efficacy and use of
the Square Panda playset and learningapps in the classroom, even for students
who are already ahead. Advanced
Kindergarten students improve more withSquare Panda product use.

An additional 7% of performing students
moved to “exceeding standards”
with Square Panda learning apps.
With Square Panda
products

Without Square Panda
products“Square Panda is a great tactile, multisensory way for our youngest students to build
their letter and word recognition skills. Students gain skills at a faster rate. The datashows a 13% gain in one trimester for [English Language Learners and English-only]
struggling readers versus 12% in 4 years using other programs. With a 7% gain foradvanced students from “meets standards” to “exceeds standards”, Square Panda isa tool that provides enrichment as well as remediation in our diverse socioeconomic
district student population. We are excited to move forward with a district wide rollout
of Square Panda for our kindergarten students this school year.”

Ayindé Rudolph Ed.D.
Superintendent, Mountain View Whisman School District

school.squarepanda.com/

To learn more,contact K12sales@squarepanda.com