ST Math Texas, Grade 6

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an alignment guide outlining the TEKS, ELPS, and concepts covered, with a rationale for learning paths across grade levels (vertical alignment) and within the same grade level (horizontal alignment) as designed in the materials.

The materials include a course-level alignment guide that identifies the relationship between instructional content and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grade 6. “Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 6” serves as the course-level alignment guide, mapping each ST Math objective and puzzle talk to the corresponding Grade 6 TEKS and organizing instruction throughout the instructional sequence. For example, objectives related to rational numbers, proportional reasoning, expressions and equations, and geometry are aligned to specific grade 6 TEKS, providing educators with an overview of standards alignment and content coverage.

The materials include a rationale explaining how grade 6 mathematical concepts build within the course and across grade levels. “ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions” describes the intentional sequencing of concepts that develop student understanding over time. For example, students develop an understanding of negative numbers and absolute value before progressing to addition and subtraction with negative numbers and later multiplication and division with negative numbers, demonstrating how prerequisite concepts support mathematical learning.

The materials do not include English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) correlations within the grade 6 course-level alignment guide. Instead, ELPS correlations are provided in assessment resources through mappings to individual assessment items rather than within “Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 6.”

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include an implementation guide with usage recommendations and strategies for effective educator use, such as just-in-time supports, advanced learning, or as a course.

The materials include an implementation guide to support educators in planning and delivering instruction with ST Math. The grade 6 “Implementation Guide for Educators” provides guidance for implementing the program in multiple instructional formats, including one-to-one play, whole-class instruction, small groups, stations, intervention, extension, transitions, and warm-ups. The guide also includes sample schedules, implementation models, and recommendations for monitoring student progress and productivity to inform instructional decisions.

The materials provide recommendations for program use to adapt instruction to meet students’ needs across a variety of contexts. The “Implementation Guide for Educators” recommends using student progress and productivity data to provide just-in-time instructional support, review previous objectives, make connections to current learning, and incorporate puzzle talks, manipulatives, and educator questioning to address learning needs. The materials also include weekly and quarterly extension opportunities, “Challenge Objectives,” and “ST Math Special Projects” to extend learning for students ready for additional challenges.

The materials include strategies that support effective educator practices across multiple instructional settings. Guidance is provided for intervention, enrichment, extension, and full-course implementation through differentiated instructional models and recommendations for supporting students at varying proficiency levels. Educators are guided to address misconceptions by offering alternative explanations, breaking complex problems into manageable steps, and applying the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) approach with visual models and manipulatives before moving to abstract mathematical concepts.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a TEKS correlation guide with recommended skill entry points based on diagnostic assessment results.

The materials include a TEKS correlation guide that connects diagnostic assessment results to grade 6 instructional content. The “Auto-Assignment Correlations to the Middle School Supplement (MSS) Pre-Test” groups diagnostic assessment items by content area, aligns student performance to the corresponding grade 6 TEKS, and identifies the ST Math objectives associated with each content area, providing educators with a standards-based guide for targeted instruction.

The TEKS correlation guide includes recommended skill entry points based on diagnostic assessment results. For example, within “Operations and Place Value Concepts,” students who answer five or fewer of the 13 diagnostic items correctly are recommended to begin with the Base Ten concepts and Whole Number Addition objectives before progressing to more advanced grade 6 content. These recommendations provide educators with individualized instructional starting points based on demonstrated prerequisite skills rather than grade-level placement.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include protocols with corresponding guidance for unit and lesson internalization.

The grade 6 materials include lesson-level instructional supports through the “Puzzle Talk Overview” objectives, “Game in a Minute” videos, lesson notes, and objective overview resources. These resources provide learning targets, game explanations, and guidance for delivering individual lessons. However, the materials do not include protocols with corresponding guidance for unit internalization that support educators in understanding and preparing to teach concepts before instruction. The available resources focus on lesson implementation rather than providing structured protocols for analyzing unit content, anticipating student thinking, or preparing for instruction across an entire unit.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance for instructional leaders to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

The “Implementation Guides for Middle School Administrators” (phases one, two, and three) provide administrators with a structured roadmap for leading ST Math implementation from initial planning and professional learning through data monitoring and instructional integration. Across all three phases, the guides equip instructional leaders with implementation tools, team structures, and ongoing support resources to promote consistent program implementation.

The materials include the “Walk-Thru” form, which supports instructional leaders in observing and supporting educator implementation of ST Math. The resource includes embedded links to additional implementation supports and provides step-by-step guidance for classroom observations and coaching conversations.

The “School Action Plan Administrator Resource” provides instructional leaders with tools to monitor the implementation of the materials. The resource supports administrators in identifying educator support needs, monitoring program usage, and guiding educators in implementing the materials as designed.

Evaluation for 1.2a
If designed to be static, materials include detailed lesson plans with learning objectives, teacher and student materials, lesson components with suggested timeframes, and assessment resources aligned with the TEKS and ELPS.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 1.2b
If designed to be adaptive, materials include detailed lesson overviews with learning objectives, lesson components with suggested timeframes, and assessment resources aligned with the TEKS and ELPS.

The grade 6 materials include lesson overviews that provide learning objectives, lesson components, instructional directions, and assessment resources aligned to the TEKS. For example, in “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” the lesson overview identifies lesson objectives, required materials, and embedded assessment items that support monitoring student understanding during instruction. The lesson overviews do not include learning objectives aligned to the ELPS.

The materials include lesson components with suggested time frames through resources such as “ST Math Puzzle Talks Routines & Correlations” and the “Implementation Guide for Educators.” These resources provide recommended durations for instructional routines, puzzle talks, small-group instruction, intervention, extension, and independent ST Math use to support implementation of the adaptive program.

The “Middle School Supplemental (MSS) Pre-Test Teacher’s Guide” and the “Middle School Supplemental (MSS) Post-Test Teacher’s Guide” include ELPS correlations, aligning individual pretest and posttest items to the ELPS.

Evaluation for 1.2c
Materials contain support for families in Spanish and English for each unit, with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student(s).

The grade 6 materials include a family letter in English and Spanish that explains the purpose of ST Math and provides guidance for supporting student participation at home. The letter includes a recommended usage expectation of at least 60 minutes per week, directions for accessing the platform, and instructions for monitoring student progress through minute and puzzle data.

The grade 6 materials include the “Facilitating Questions” resource, which provides families with prompts to support productive struggle and mathematical reasoning during ST Math gameplay. For example, families are encouraged to ask students, “What have you tried to do to solve the puzzle?” and “What did you learn from the animated feedback?” The resource also prompts students to connect prior learning to new challenges by asking, “What did you learn from the previous level that can help you in this new level?” However, the materials do not provide grade-level or unit-specific guidance for supporting the mathematical concepts taught in grades 6–8.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the types of instructional assessments.

The materials include definitions and intended purposes for instructional assessments, including pre- and post-quizzes. For example, the guidance explains that quizzes are designed to capture a snapshot of a learner’s current understanding and measure student growth across instructional objectives.

The materials include assessment guidance that explains how assessment results are used to support instructional decisions. For example, the Assessment Support Tool uses diagnostic assessment results to recommend and auto-assign ST Math intervention objectives based on students’ demonstrated learning needs, supporting targeted intervention and differentiated instruction.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

The materials include guidance to support the consistent administration of instructional assessments in the “Student Quiz Experience” article and the “Quiz Recommendations” section. For example, these resources explain when students take quizzes, how quizzes are administered, and provide directions for establishing quiz-taking procedures to support consistency across classrooms.

The materials include guidance on administering assessments to support consistent quiz implementation. For example, educators are provided preparation recommendations, such as having students use scratch paper and restricting the use of calculators and hundreds charts during quizzes. The materials also direct educators to establish quiz-taking norms to support standardized assessment conditions.

Evaluation for 2.1c
Digital assessments include printable versions and accommodations, including text-to-speech, content and language supports, and calculators, that educators can enable or disable to support individual students.

The materials include digital and printable assessment resources. Students may complete assessments online within the ST Math Journey, and the Middle School Supplemental (MSS) pre- and posttest educator guides provide printable versions of the assessments for educator use. The materials also describe a visual-first design intended to support access to mathematical content through visual models, animations, scaffolded learning experiences, and multiple entry points to grade-level content.

The materials do not include digital accommodations for assessments. The platform provides full grade 6 English-to-Spanish translation support, but the materials do not include text-to-speech features, calculator accommodations, or additional content and language supports that educators can enable or disable to support individual students. The Help guidance states that “ST Math does not include text-to-speech features and uses sound effects only to indicate correct and incorrect responses.”

Evaluation for 2.1d
Materials include diagnostic assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks or questions, including interactive item types with varying complexity levels.

The grade 6 materials include diagnostic assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks and questions that demonstrate at least two levels of complexity. The Middle School Supplemental (MSS) pre- and posttests include items that require students to recall and reproduce mathematical knowledge, such as identifying place-value relationships and comparing numbers, as well as apply mathematical concepts and skills to solve problems involving area, perimeter, fractions, decimals, and numerical expressions. These TEKS-aligned assessment items measure both foundational understanding and the application of grade-level mathematical concepts.

The diagnostic assessments do not include more than two levels of task complexity or interactive assessment item types. The MSS pre- and posttests consist of TEKS-aligned multiple-choice questions and do not provide evidence of additional complexity levels beyond recall/reproduction and application. Additionally, the assessments do not include at least two unique interactive item types, such as drag-and-drop, graphing, matching, equation entry, or hotspot items.

Evaluation for 2.1e
Materials include a variety of formative assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks or questions, including interactive item types with varying complexity levels.

The materials include a variety of grade 6 TEKS-aligned formative assessments with more than two unique interactive item types. The article “STAAR’s Redesign and New Math Item Types” identifies interactive tasks embedded within ST Math gameplay, including equation editor, text entry, graphing, hot spot, fraction model, and drag-and-drop item types. For example, students use text entry in “Exponential Notation,” graphing interactions in “Coordinate Plane,” hot-spot interactions in “Soccer Dot Plots Eighths,” fraction-model interactions in “Fraction Grid,” and drag-and-drop interactions in “Equivalent Fractions.” These interactive tasks are embedded in learning experiences and provide formative feedback on students’ understanding of TEKS-aligned content.

The materials include TEKS-aligned formative assessment opportunities with more than two levels of complexity. Puzzle talk discourse questions require students to engage in different levels of mathematical thinking, including comparison and analysis, reasoning, and explanation of strategies. For example, students are asked, “What is the same about this puzzle as the one we just solved together? What is different?,” “For JiJi’s final landing spot, does it matter what order (top to bottom) the colored circles are in?,” and “What strategy did you use to come up with your final answer?” These questions require students to analyze mathematical relationships, justify conclusions, and explain their reasoning, demonstrating multiple levels of cognitive complexity within formative assessment opportunities.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments include scoring information and guidance for interpreting student performance, including rationale for each correct and incorrect response.

The materials include scoring information and guidance for interpreting student performance through the “Understanding Objective” pre- and post-quizzes and “View Student Quiz Data” resources. These resources explain the purpose of the assessments, provide access to student results, and support educators in monitoring student progress and performance on assessments.

The materials do not provide rationales explaining why answer choices are correct or incorrect. While the resources provide scoring information and student performance data, no evidence was found of answer-specific explanations for correct or incorrect responses.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of included tasks and activities to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

The materials provide guidance on using assessment results to address student performance trends. For example, when students score poorly on post-quizzes, educators are directed to revisit the learning objective with students individually or in small groups, access prior learning tasks, have students explain game strategies, connect visual models to symbolic mathematics, and use printed quiz questions to identify learning targets that require additional support.

The materials include assessment-based recommendations that guide educators in selecting appropriate follow-up learning activities. For example, students complete a pretest when they first sign in, and the materials automatically generate auto-assignments based on the assessment results. This sequence provides educators with a recommended pathway of targeted tasks and activities that respond to students’ demonstrated learning needs and support continued progress toward mastery.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for teachers to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

Educators can access quiz data, progress-monitoring resources, class progress posters, quiz trackers, and student data reports to monitor performance, proficiency, and growth over time.

Student-facing resources include goal sheets, accomplishment logs, weekly trackers, percent progress trackers, objective playlists, and data trackers. These support goal setting, reflection, monitoring progress, and tracking growth toward learning goals.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If designed to be static, materials provide prompts and guidance to support educators in conducting frequent checks for understanding at key points throughout each lesson or activity.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 2.2e
If designed to be adaptive, materials provide frequent checks for understanding at key points throughout each lesson or activity.

The adaptive materials embed ongoing opportunities for educators to monitor student understanding and adjust instruction as students engage in lesson activities. For example, puzzle talks include embedded discourse questions that prompt students to explain their thinking, while educator-directed pause points and interactive tasks provide ongoing opportunities to monitor understanding and respond to student needs during instruction.

The materials use embedded checks throughout lessons to monitor student understanding and provide immediate feedback that supports instructional decision-making. For example, each ST Math puzzle serves as a built-in formative assessment, providing immediate feedback through animations that show the mathematical consequences of students’ actions. Students can pause, review, and analyze feedback animations to reflect on errors and adjust their strategies.

Evaluation for 3.1a
Materials include explicit educator guidance for lessons or activities scaffolded for students who have not yet reached proficiency in prerequisite or grade-level concepts and skills.

The grade 6 materials provide targeted instructional supports that help educators address unfinished learning and strengthen grade-level understanding. For example, educators are provided with a structured problem-solving process, facilitation questions, manipulatives, in-game supports, objective replay, and small-group instructional strategies. These help identify misconceptions, reinforce prerequisite skills, and support student progress toward grade-level learning goals.

The materials provide instructional resources to help educators scaffold learning for students who are experiencing difficulty with prerequisite or grade-level content. For example, within ST Math Help, the “Foundational Practices” section includes a video that models an educator supporting a student who has not yet reached proficiency in a grade-level concept or skill. The “ST Math and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support” article further explains instructional approaches and resources that help educators address unfinished learning and move students toward grade-level proficiency.

Evaluation for 3.1b
Materials include explicit educator guidance for language supports, including pre-teaching and embedded supports for developing academic vocabulary and unfamiliar references in text.

The grade 6 materials include explicit educator guidance for language supports, including embedded supports, for developing academic vocabulary and unfamiliar references in text. For example, puzzle talks use details, discourse questions, and look-fors to guide educators in introducing, reinforcing, and monitoring vocabulary use. In “Absolute Values and Opposites,” students first identify and discuss the distance of numbers from zero on a number line. After students share their observations, the educator introduces the term “absolute value” and connects it to the distance a number is from zero, helping students develop understanding of the academic vocabulary through discussion and visual representations.

The grade 6 materials do not include explicit educator guidance for pre-teaching academic vocabulary or addressing pre-teaching unfamiliar references in text. Because the program does not incorporate written text, opportunities for pre-teaching unfamiliar textual references are not provided within the materials. Although the article “Language Learning in ST Math/Supporting Academic Vocabulary” identifies strategies such as vocabulary logs, anchor charts, word walls, sentence stems, vocabulary games, and spiral vocabulary use, these strategies rely on classroom routines rather than explicit guidance embedded in the program materials.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include explicit educator guidance for enrichment and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level and above grade-level content and skills.

The grade 6 materials provide instructional opportunities that deepen students’ understanding of grade-level mathematics through meaningful extension experiences. The article “Extending ST Math” provides specific guidance for extending learning through math mats, game mats, special projects, journal reflections, and curriculum connection activities. For example, students may create word problems, develop new mathematical representations, complete project-based tasks, or participate in structured extension routines that deepen understanding of grade-level concepts beyond the core ST Math objectives.

The grade 6 materials provide educators with options for advancing learning beyond the core grade-level curriculum. The “Extending ST Math” article outlines options for advanced learners, including assigning challenge objectives, providing bonus and challenge content, and adjusting a student’s grade-level pathway within ST Math. These options allow educators to extend learning beyond grade-level expectations and provide continued mathematical challenge for students who have demonstrated advanced proficiency.

Evaluation for 3.1d
Digital materials include accommodations, including text-to-speech, content and language supports, and calculators that educators can enable or disable to support individual students.

The grade 6 materials include text-to-speech accommodations within puzzle talks when text is present. However, educators cannot enable or disable this feature for individual students. The materials do not include calculator accommodations or content and language supports that educators can enable or disable.

Evaluation for 3.1e
Materials include educator guidance on offering options and supports for students to demonstrate understanding of mathematical concepts in various ways, such as perform, express, and represent.

The grade 6 materials provide multiple opportunities for students to communicate mathematical understanding through a variety of learning experiences. The “Extending ST Math” article provides options such as math mats, game mats, special projects, journal reflections, curriculum connection activities, and challenge content. Additionally, the “ST Math Special Projects – JiJi Choice Board” offers multiple project options for students to demonstrate learning, including creating a storyboard, designing new levels, writing a math story, creating a game, developing a user guide, writing a letter to JiJi, creating a new visual representation, or designing a student-selected project. These options allow students to express and represent mathematical understanding through a variety of formats.

The grade 6 materials equip educators with instructional resources that support multiple approaches for demonstrating mathematical understanding. The “Extending ST Math” article includes guidance for using math mats and game mats to support mathematical thinking beyond the digital environment, journal reflections to support written expression of mathematical reasoning, and curriculum connection activities that guide students in creating word problems and new mathematical representations. The materials also provide structured extension routines, weekly challenges, and project-based activities that support students in performing, expressing, and representing their mathematical understanding through multiple approaches.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance for educators to build knowledge by activating prior knowledge, anchoring big ideas, and highlighting and connecting key patterns, features, and relationships through multiple means of representation.

The grade 6 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to anchor big mathematical ideas during instruction. Puzzle talks provide educators with detailed facilitation guidance, including lesson steps, look-fors, and discourse questions that support guided, collaborative, and independent learning while focusing discussions on the underlying mathematics. For example, in the “Intro to Proportional Relationships” puzzle talk, the educator guidance prompts educators to facilitate discussions about ratios represented by a monster’s body parts as students use multiplicative reasoning to determine missing values. The guidance directs educators to emphasize the relationships among ratios, multiplicative comparisons, and proportional reasoning, helping students connect these concepts to the lesson’s central mathematical ideas.

The grade 6 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to highlight and connect key features and relationships through multiple means of representation. Each puzzle talk includes details, look-fors, and discourse questions that guide educators in emphasizing mathematical relationships as students work through the lesson. For example, in the “Intro to Proportional Relationships” puzzle talk, the guidance prompts educators to use connecting cubes, tables, ratios, fractions, and decimals while facilitating discussions about part-to-part and part-to-whole relationships. Educators guide students in comparing these representations and explaining how each model represents the same proportional relationship. For example, students recognize that the ratio 1:4 can be scaled to 3:12, and later determine that ratios such as 3:6 and 9:18 represent the same multiplicative relationship. Educators use discourse questions and look-fors to guide students in recognizing these patterns through visual models, connecting cubes, tables, ratios, fractions, and decimals.

The materials do not include explicit prompts or guidance for educators to activate students’ prior knowledge before instruction. Although lesson-planning resources reference prerequisite concepts and skills, the materials do not direct educators to intentionally elicit or build on existing understanding before introducing new grade-level content.

Evaluation for 3.2b
If designed to be static, materials include educator guidance for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using various instructional approaches.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include multi-tiered intervention methods for various types of practice and structures and educator guidance to support effective implementation.

The grade 6 materials organize intervention supports across multiple instructional settings and levels of student need. For example, “ST Math and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support” describes supports across tiers one, two, and three. This includes guided practice facilitated by educators, independent practice through personalized assignments and ST Math objectives, and collaborative practice through puzzle talks and discourse activities. The materials also support implementation in whole-group, small-group, and individual instructional settings through targeted intervention and enrichment opportunities.

The grade 6 materials equip educators with implementation resources that support targeted instruction and intervention. For example, “ST Math and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support” provides guidance for using facilitation guides, personalized assignments, data reports, and progress-monitoring tools to identify student needs and implement appropriate supports. In addition, “ST Math Puzzle Talks” includes a facilitation guide, discourse strategies bookmark, sentence stems, instructional videos, and sample scheduling templates. These support implementation of puzzle talks for whole-class instruction, intervention, reteaching, extension, and small-group learning.

Evaluation for 3.2d
Materials include enrichment and extension methods that support various forms of engagement, and guidance to support educators in effective implementation.

The grade 6 materials include enrichment and extension methods that support various forms of engagement. For example, “Extending ST Math” provides hands-on activities through math mats and game mats, reflective activities through journal pages and exit tickets, creative applications through special projects, and curriculum and real-world connection activities. Additional opportunities include bonus and challenge objectives, fact objectives, collaborative discussions, and activities that extend learning beyond grade-level content.

The grade 6 materials include guidance to support educators in the effective implementation of enrichment and extension methods. For example, “Extending ST Math” provides structured extension routines tied to objective completion, weekly practice, and quarterly showcases, and offers guidance on implementing special projects, activity pages, collaborative discussions, and real-world connection activities. The materials also provide educator guidance for assigning bonus and challenge objectives, previewing upcoming content, and advancing students to higher grade-level content when appropriate.

Evaluation for 3.2e
Materials include prompts and guidance to support educators in providing timely feedback during lesson delivery.

The grade 6 materials embed questioning strategies that help educators respond to student thinking throughout instruction. For example, puzzle talks embed discourse questions that prompt educators to ask students to explain their reasoning and mathematical thinking throughout guided, collaborative, and independent learning activities. In addition, the “Supporting Struggling Students” article provides facilitation questions and sentence stems aligned to the problem-solving process, enabling educators to respond to student thinking and provide immediate feedback while students are engaged in learning.

The grade 6 materials provide instructional resources that help educators monitor student understanding and adjust instruction throughout lesson delivery. For example, puzzle talks include details and look-fors that identify expected student responses, common misconceptions, and suggested educator actions for addressing misunderstandings during instruction. In activity P3 of the puzzle talk, the look-fors provide exemplar responses, identify a possible misconception, and include guidance for responding to the misconception. Additionally, the “Supporting Struggling Students” article provides educator guidance through a quick-reference guide to support strategies, facilitation resources, example videos, and in-game tools such as animation controls and annotation features that help educators deliver targeted feedback in real time.

Evaluation for 3.3a
If designed to be static, materials include educator guidance on providing and incorporating linguistic accommodations for all levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 3.3b
If designed to be adaptive, materials include embedded linguistic accommodations for all levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

The grade 6 materials include embedded linguistic accommodations designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language across multiple levels of English language proficiency. The “Language Learning in ST Math” guidance provides differentiated supports for preproduction, beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners. For example, preproduction learners use visual supports and complete sentence frames with key vocabulary; beginning learners use simple sentence stems to describe mathematical thinking; intermediate learners use academic vocabulary in multistep explanations; and advanced learners respond to open-ended prompts requiring detailed mathematical reasoning and precise academic language. These supports provide a progression from simple language production to increasingly sophisticated mathematical discourse.

The grade 6 materials include embedded linguistic accommodations that engage students in using increasingly more academic language across at least three additional levels of language proficiency. Materials include puzzle talks, problem-solving process routines, sentence stems, sportscasting, co-explaining, translanguaging, journal writing, and mathematical discussions. These guide students from using words and short phrases to explaining procedures, justifying solutions, describing mathematical relationships, and communicating mathematical reasoning using content-specific vocabulary. The educator guidance explicitly supports the development of academic language across preproduction, beginning, intermediate, and advanced proficiency levels, and encourages students to use increasingly sophisticated language as they engage with mathematical concepts.

Evaluation for 3.3c
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

The “Incorporating ST Math into Texas Bilingual/ESL Programs” resource describes the six Texas-approved bilingual and ESL program models and explains how ST Math can be integrated within each model to support language development and mathematics instruction. Additionally, the “Language Learning in ST Math” resources provide educators with implementation tools, such as translanguaging strategies, multilingual vocabulary logs, dual-language dictionaries, scaffolded sentence stems, and puzzle talk supports to help emergent bilingual students engage in academic discourse and develop mathematical language.

The grade 6 materials provide educators with implementation resources to support the effective use of instructional strategies within state-approved bilingual/ESL programs. The “Language Learning in ST Math” resource includes guidance for implementing language supports during mathematics instruction through translanguaging strategies, dual-language dictionaries, multilingual vocabulary logs, scaffolded sentence stems, and puzzle talk routines. These implementation tools intentionally support oral and written academic discourse while developing mathematical vocabulary in students’ home languages and English.

Evaluation for 3.3d
Materials include embedded guidance to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse.

The grade 6 materials include embedded guidance for educators to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral discourse. In “Language Learning in ST Math” and puzzle talks, educators use discourse questions, look-fors, and the problem-solving process to guide students in discussing mathematical ideas, explaining reasoning, and connecting new concepts to prior learning. Educators are also encouraged to leverage students’ full linguistic resources during discussions, supporting both comprehension and cross-linguistic connections while building academic language.

The grade 6 materials embed instructional resources that help educators support students’ mathematical language development through written discourse. For example, journal pages, quick writes, multilingual vocabulary logs, and graphic organizers provide structured opportunities for students to record definitions, examples, drawings, reflections, and connections to prior mathematical experiences. These tools support students in developing mathematical language while documenting concepts across languages and representations.

The grade 6 materials provide specific language-development activities that integrate oral and written discourse into mathematics instruction. For example, the “Labeling Strategy Planner” directs students to label and discuss puzzle elements using problem solving process sentence stems, such as “I notice ___,” while allowing students to communicate in English or their home language through speaking and writing. Educators then facilitate whole-group discussions using student-generated labels to support vocabulary development, comprehension, background knowledge, and cross-linguistic connections.

Evaluation for 3.3e
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Practice opportunities throughout learning pathways (including instructional assessments) require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS.

The grade 6 materials include practice opportunities that require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS through increasingly complex representations of rational numbers. ST Math organizes learning pathways into objectives, each composed of multiple games. Each game consists of multiple levels, and each level contains a series of puzzles. Students work through these activities within each objective to explore and apply mathematical concepts. For example, in the “Negative Numbers and Absolute Value” games, students interpret and compare positive and negative integers in real-world temperature contexts, plot integers on a number line, and order and compare values represented with absolute value. Students then extend these concepts to positive and negative fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. This progression requires students to apply conceptual understanding across multiple representations rather than perform isolated procedures. As students progress through these activities, they work with rational numbers in different forms and build on their understanding of previously introduced concepts.

The grade 6 materials include instructional assessments that require students to demonstrate understanding of the concepts addressed within each objective. The “Middle School Assessment Teacher’s Guides” map assessment items to specific TEKS across content areas, and objective-based pre- and post-quizzes are aligned to the standards and learning goals of each objective. For example, the pre- and post-quizzes for “Negative Numbers and Absolute Value” assess students’ understanding of rational numbers and number line representations after completing the associated learning pathway.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Questions and tasks, including enrichment and extension materials, increase in rigor and complexity, leading to grade-level and above grade-level proficiency in the mathematics TEKS.

Each ST Math game contains multiple levels that progressively increase in complexity. Students demonstrate mastery of each puzzle before advancing to subsequent levels, which require increasingly sophisticated mathematical reasoning and allow students to progress beyond grade-level expectations through the adaptive learning pathway.

The grade 6 materials include enrichment and extension opportunities that increase in rigor and complexity, supporting grade-level proficiency in the mathematics TEKS. The “Challenge” section provides additional games and challenge objectives that extend grade-level learning by offering problem-solving opportunities and applying previously learned concepts in new mathematical contexts.

The grade 6 materials include enrichment and extension opportunities that support above-grade-level proficiency in the mathematics TEKS. Students who demonstrate mastery continue to increasingly rigorous challenge objectives beyond the core instructional pathway. In addition, cognitive training activities strengthen working memory, reasoning, and problem-solving skills, supporting students as they engage successfully with increasingly complex mathematical tasks.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Materials demonstrate coherence across concepts horizontally within the grade level by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships.

The grade 6 materials demonstrate coherence across concepts horizontally within the grade level by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships among mathematical concepts. “Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 6” presents the full grade-level instructional sequence in one view, showing how ST Math objectives and puzzle talks address multiple related TEKS within and across content strands. For example, proportional reasoning objectives align to TEKS 6.4C, 6.4E, 6.4H, and 6.5A. These are supported by puzzle talks focused on proportional relationships, ratios, ratio tables, and ratio graphs, illustrating how related concepts build on one another throughout the grade.

The “ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions” further demonstrates horizontal coherence by illustrating how grade 6 objectives are intentionally connected across content domains rather than taught in isolation. The visual learning progressions highlight relationships among concepts and show how students build understanding of major mathematical ideas through connected learning experiences within the grade.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Materials demonstrate coherence vertically across concepts and grade bands, including connections from grades 3–12, by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships.

The grade 6 materials include resources that demonstrate vertical coherence across elementary and middle school mathematics. The “ST Math Texas Objective Learning Progressions” and “ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions” illustrate how major mathematical ideas develop and increase in complexity from grade 3 through grade 8. For example, the progressions connect multiplication, fractions, expressions, equations, multistep equations, and linear functions, demonstrating relationships among concepts across the elementary and middle grades.

The materials do not demonstrate vertical coherence across concepts and grade bands from grades 3–12. While the learning progressions illustrate connections through grade 8, the provided materials do not include vertical progressions or connections that extend mathematical concepts into grades 9–12. As a result, the materials do not fully meet the indicator’s expectation for coherence across grades 3–12.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Materials demonstrate coherence across lessons or activities by connecting students’ prior knowledge of concepts and procedures to the mathematical concepts to be learned in the current grade level and future grade levels.

The grade 6 materials demonstrate coherence across lessons and activities by connecting students’ prior knowledge of concepts and procedures to the mathematical concepts and procedures learned in the current grade level. In the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” students apply previously learned concepts of fractions, decimals, equivalent fractions, and place value while developing understanding of percents. Students use hundredths grids and base-ten models to represent equivalent fractions, decimals, and percents. Students also apply previously learned procedures for representing fractions, generating equivalent fractions, and reasoning about tenths and hundredths to develop new procedures for converting among fractions, decimals, and percents.

The “ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions” demonstrates coherence across grade levels by showing how current grade 6 concepts and procedures prepare students for future mathematical learning. For example, the progression shows proportional reasoning developing into proportional relationships in grade 7 and later supporting function concepts and graphing linear functions in grade 8. Likewise, solving equations and inequalities in grade 6 progresses to solving one- and two-step equations in grade 7 before extending to solving linear equations in grade 8, demonstrating explicit connections between current learning and future mathematical concepts and procedures.

Evaluation for 4.3a
Materials provide spaced retrieval opportunities with previously learned skills and concepts across learning pathways.

Students first develop skills for identifying and writing ratios and equivalent ratios in “Intro to Ratios.” They then retrieve and apply those skills in “Intro to Proportional Relationships” to represent ratios using concrete models, fractions, and decimals. Students continue to use these skills to determine missing values in “Ratio Tables,” and later apply them when graphing proportional relationships and interpreting coordinates in “Ratio Graphs.” This progression requires students to repeatedly practice and retrieve previously learned skills in ratio and proportional reasoning across multiple objectives and representations.

Students first develop the concepts of ratios and equivalent ratios in “Intro to Ratios.” They then deepen their understanding of multiplicative comparisons and proportional relationships in “Intro to Proportional Relationships.” These concepts are revisited in “Ratio Tables,” where students identify patterns and proportional relationships, and again in “Ratio Graphs,” where they connect ratios to coordinate pairs and graphical representations. By encountering the same mathematical concepts across multiple contexts and representations, students repeatedly retrieve and strengthen conceptual understanding over time.

Evaluation for 4.3b
Materials provide interleaved practice opportunities with previously learned skills and concepts across learning pathways.

The grade 6 scope and sequence shows students repeatedly applying related mathematical skills in different contexts throughout the year. For example, students first develop skills with ratios and proportional reasoning in “Proportional Reasoning,” “Representing Ratios and Rates,” and “Finding Unit Rates.” These skills are later applied in “Percents,” where students use proportional reasoning to estimate, compare, and represent percents, and again in “Linear Relationships (G6),” where students analyze proportional relationships and graphs. This design interleaves previously learned skills with new learning rather than teaching skills in isolation.

The scope and sequence demonstrates that concepts are revisited and connected across multiple objectives. For example, students are introduced to the concepts of negative numbers and absolute value in “Negative Numbers and Absolute Value,” revisit these concepts in “Coordinates and Distances” through rational numbers on the coordinate plane, and later apply them in “Addition and Subtraction with Negative Numbers,” “Multiplication and Division with Negative Numbers,” and “Order of Operations with Positive and Negative Integers.” By revisiting the concepts of integers, opposites, and absolute value across multiple objectives and representations, the materials interleave prior learning with new mathematical content throughout the learning pathway.

Evaluation for 5.1a
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical concepts and complex, real-world situations.

The materials provide questions and tasks that allow students to interpret and analyze mathematical concepts, models, and representations. In the puzzle talk “Integers on the Number Line,” students interpret positive and negative integers represented on a number line and analyze relationships between values by comparing opposites, ordering integers, and connecting numbers to real-world contexts, such as sea level, temperature changes, owing money, and having money.

The materials provide questions and tasks that allow students to evaluate mathematical reasoning, solutions, and representations. In the puzzle talk “Integers on the Number Line,” students justify why pairs such as “5 and −5” represent opposite values, determine whether solutions involving multiple negative signs make sense, and evaluate their reasoning through discussion prompts, such as “Which numbers are opposites of each other? How do you know?” and “Why do you think that owing money and having money are opposites?” Students support their conclusions with mathematical reasoning and verify the accuracy of their thinking.

The materials provide opportunities for students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical concepts in real-world situations. In the puzzle talk “Integers on the Number Line,” students model authentic contexts on a number line, including temperature changes and positions above and below sea level, and use integer reasoning to evaluate relationships and solutions within those situations. These tasks require students to apply conceptual understanding to meaningful contexts rather than perform isolated calculations.

Evaluation for 5.1b
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to create concrete models and representations of mathematical situations.

The materials provide opportunities for students to create concrete models of mathematical situations. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” students use connecting cubes or unit cubes to build ratio models and represent relationships between quantities. In “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” educator guidance directs educators to provide base-ten blocks so students can model percentages, such as 37 percent, and connect concrete models to fractional and decimal representations.

The materials provide opportunities for students to create representations of mathematical situations. In the puzzle talk “Integers on the Number Line,” students use a number line mat to plot integers and then draw visual representations of the values they modeled. In “Solving One-Step Equations,” students represent visual tower models with symbolic equations and use variable stacks game mats, solve-equation game mats, number-line math mats, algebra tiles, and dry-erase materials to communicate mathematical thinking through multiple representations.

Evaluation for 5.1c
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to apply conceptual understanding to new problem situations and contexts.

The materials engage students in extending mathematical ideas to unfamiliar situations, requiring them to transfer and build on prior learning. In the puzzle talk “Rational Numbers and Distances on the Coordinate Plane,” students extend their understanding of plotting points by locating rational numbers on the coordinate plane and determining distances between pairs of points. Similarly, in “Absolute Values and Opposites,” students apply their understanding of absolute value as distance from zero to a new context by finding and describing the distance between any two numbers, connecting integer concepts to more complex mathematical situations.

The materials encourage students to transfer conceptual understanding across multiple mathematical representations and increasingly complex situations. For example, in the “Addition and Subtraction with Negative Numbers” objective, students first add and subtract integers on a number line, then represent adding a negative number by removing height from a vertical bar, and finally apply these concepts to determine the temperature difference between two thermometers. This progression requires students to use the same underlying concepts in new contexts while deepening their understanding of integer operations.

Evaluation for 5.2a
Materials provide tasks that are designed to build student automaticity and fluency necessary to complete grade-level mathematical tasks.

The materials foster student automaticity by engaging students in repeated application of mathematical concepts and skills. ST Math uses a mastery-based learning pathway in which students progress through increasingly challenging puzzle sequences and continue working until they demonstrate mastery. For example, in the learning objective “Multiplication and Division with Negative Numbers,” students progress from multiplying positive and negative numbers to finding missing multiplicands and solving increasingly complex visual models, building automaticity through repeated application of prerequisite skills and concepts.

The materials promote student fluency through sequenced learning experiences that reinforce mathematical understanding while preparing students for grade-level mathematics. In grade 6 puzzle talks such as “Intro to Ratios,” “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” and “Ratio Tables,” students repeatedly apply proportional reasoning, equivalent ratios, fractions, decimals, and ratio tables across multiple puzzles and discussions. Students build and represent ratios using connecting cubes, game mats, tables, fractions, and decimals. At the same time, students identify patterns, generate equivalent ratios, and justify solutions, developing fluency with grade-level ratio and proportional reasoning concepts.

Evaluation for 5.2b
Materials provide opportunities for students to practice the application of efficient, flexible, and accurate mathematical procedures throughout learning pathways.

The materials strengthen students’ procedural understanding by encouraging them to apply and refine multiple mathematical approaches over time. In the learning objective “Solving Equations and Inequalities,” students progress from solving one-step equations to solving multi-step equations using symbolic manipulation, reciprocal reasoning with fractions, area models, and number lines. The progression requires students to apply multiple procedures, compare solution methods, and select appropriate strategies as problems become more complex. This supports procedural efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy.

The materials build procedural proficiency by providing repeated opportunities to apply mathematical strategies in a variety of contexts. In the grade 6 puzzle talk “Finding Unit Rates,” students determine unit rates using visual models, ratios, division, tables, proportions, and unit-price contexts. Discourse questions and look-fors guide students to compare solution methods, justify their reasoning, evaluate different representations, and identify appropriate operations based on the problem structure. This supports the development of efficient, flexible, and accurate mathematical procedures.

Evaluation for 5.2c
Materials provide opportunities for students to evaluate mathematical representations, models, strategies, and solutions for efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy throughout learning pathways.

The materials develop students’ ability to examine and compare mathematical approaches while refining their reasoning across connected learning experiences. In the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” students use hundredths grids, fractions, decimals, and percentages to represent equivalent values and compare multiple solution methods. Discourse questions and student discussions require students to justify connections among representations, determine whether solutions represent equivalent values, and evaluate which representations most effectively communicate mathematical relationships.

The materials encourage students to analyze multiple mathematical approaches and determine which representations and strategies best support problem solving. In the division progression, including “Visual Division,” “Exploratory Division,” “Division Snake Sliders,” and “Number Line Division,” students solve problems using equal-group models, number lines, place-value models, partitioning strategies, and division algorithms. As the complexity of the numbers increases, students compare representations and procedures, evaluate the accuracy of solutions, and determine when one strategy is more efficient or flexible than another.

Evaluation for 5.2d
Materials contain guidance to support students in selecting the most efficient approaches when solving mathematics problems.

The materials help students evaluate and refine problem-solving strategies to determine the most effective solution methods. In the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” prompts guide students to model equivalent fractions, decimals, and percentages using multiple approaches and to compare the effectiveness of different representations. Educator guidance includes discourse questions and exit-ticket reflections that ask students to explain which strategy proved most efficient and why, supporting students in evaluating and selecting increasingly efficient mathematical approaches.

The materials promote decision-making by encouraging students to compare multiple solution methods and justify the most efficient approach. For example, in the puzzle talk “Prime Factorization,” educator guidance asks students to represent the number “96” as a product of primes, write equivalent exponential expressions, compare different factorization methods, and determine whether the order in which factors are found affects the result. These questions prompt students to analyze multiple strategies, recognize that different approaches can yield the same prime factorization, and identify the most efficient method for solving similar mathematical problems.

Evaluation for 5.3a
Materials explicitly state how the conceptual and procedural emphasis of the TEKS are addressed.

The materials explicitly state how the TEKS’ procedural emphasis is addressed. The curriculum guide explains that ST Math’s visual, game-based approach provides meaningful contexts for applying mathematical reasoning, problem solving, and communication to meet the TEKS. Throughout the grade 6 learning objectives, students progress through game sequences that develop procedural skills aligned to TEKS content. For example, the “Division Algorithm” learning pathway moves students from solving division problems with visual supports to applying the standard algorithm to increasingly complex whole-number problems.

The materials do not explicitly specify the conceptual emphasis of the TEKS. Although visual models such as “Visual Division” develop conceptual understanding before students apply the standard division algorithm, the materials do not identify or explain the conceptual expectations of the TEKS within lesson guidance or learning overviews.

Evaluation for 5.3b
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to use concrete models, pictorial representations, and abstract models as required by the TEKS.

In the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” students first build proportional relationships with connecting cubes to create concrete models of ratios. Students then represent the same relationships using tables, graphs, and equations, moving from concrete models to pictorial and abstract representations while discussing proportional reasoning and equivalent ratios.

The materials provide opportunities for students to use pictorial and abstract representations to model mathematical concepts throughout the learning pathways. For example, in “Representing Ratios and Rates,” students transition from visual game models, such as hungry monsters and fruit representations, to ratio tables, coordinate graphs, and symbolic equations. Similarly, in “Exponents,” students use growing visual patterns to model exponential growth before representing the relationships with exponents, tables, and number lines, reinforcing connections among multiple mathematical representations.

Evaluation for 5.3c
Materials include supports for students in connecting, creating, defining, and explaining concrete and representational models to abstract (symbolic/numeric/algorithmic) concepts, as required by the TEKS.

The materials guide students in building mathematical understanding by creating concrete representations and linking them to increasingly abstract ideas. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” guidance directs educators to provide connecting cubes so students can build representations of ratios, using different-colored cubes for each body part. Students then connect these concrete models to ratio tables, equations, and proportional relationships, moving from hands-on models to abstract mathematical representations.

The materials guide students in describing mathematical relationships by defining and explaining how concrete representations connect to symbolic and numerical representations. In the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” educators provide base-ten blocks and ask students to model 37 percent, with one flat representing 100 percent. Students define, explain, and justify the relationships among the concrete model, hundredths grid, fractions, decimals, and percentages before representing the same quantities symbolically, explicitly connecting concrete representations to abstract mathematical concepts.

Evaluation for 5.4a
Materials provide opportunities for students to develop academic mathematical language using visuals, manipulatives, or other language development strategies.

The materials provide students with opportunities to develop their academic mathematical language in a wide variety of ways. For example, in the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” students use visual models, connecting cubes, and structured discussion to describe proportional relationships and write ratios comparing monster body parts. Educators ask, “What ratios can we write to represent the relationships between monster body parts?” to encourage students to explain mathematical relationships using precise academic language.

The materials provide opportunities for students to strengthen academic mathematical language through visual models, manipulatives, and educator-facilitated discussion. For example, in the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredths Squares,” students use hundredths grids to model percentages while educators ask questions such as, “What do the rods/columns represent?” and “How many rods/full columns will we use when making 37 percent? Why?”

Evaluation for 5.4b
Materials include embedded educator guidance to scaffold, support, and extend students’ use of academic mathematical vocabulary in context when communicating with peers and educators.

The materials include guidance for educators to scaffold and support students’ use of mathematical vocabulary throughout instruction. For example, the “Sentence Stems” resource provides language frames for each stage of the problem solving process, including prompts such as “I think . . .,” “The answer is ___ because . . .,” and “I can show my thinking by ___,” to support students as they communicate mathematical ideas with peers and educators.

The materials include guidance for educators to extend students’ use of mathematical vocabulary through discussion and collaborative learning. For example, the “Back to Screen Strategy Planner” directs one student to describe what is happening in a puzzle while a partner represents the description with a drawing, manipulatives, or a game mat, then compares their representations. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” students extend this language by explaining ratios and comparing monster body parts as educators ask, “What ratios can we write to represent the relationships between monster body parts?”

Evaluation for 5.4c
Materials include embedded guidance to support student application of appropriate mathematical language and academic vocabulary in discourse.

The materials provide embedded instructional supports that encourage students to communicate mathematical thinking using appropriate mathematical language and terminology. For example, in the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” educators use discourse prompts, such as “How could you represent this ratio another way?” to encourage students to explain ratios and proportional relationships using mathematical vocabulary. The accompanying look-fors guide educators in identifying students who use this mathematical language during classroom discussions.

In the puzzle talk “Prime Factorization,” educator guidance directs students to write the number “18” using only prime factors, explain why the expression represents the prime factorization of 18, and rewrite the expression using exponents. Throughout the discussion, educators introduce and reinforce academic vocabulary, such as “prime factorization,” “prime factors,” and “exponents,” prompting students to explain their reasoning using precise mathematical language.

Evaluation for 5.4d
Materials include embedded guidance to facilitate mathematical conversations allowing students to hear, refine, and use math language with peers.

The materials provide embedded instructional supports that engage students in mathematical conversations with their peers. For example, the “Puzzle Talk Facilitation Guide” provides sentence stems, hand signals, and discussion routines that encourage students to listen to classmates’ mathematical thinking and respond by agreeing, disagreeing, or building on one another’s ideas. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” discourse questions prompt students to compare ratios and discuss different solution strategies, allowing students to hear mathematical language used by their peers.

The materials provide embedded instructional supports that help students refine and use mathematical language during peer discussions. For example, in the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships,” educators use discourse questions, such as “Did everyone write the same ratio? If not, what is different?,” to prompt students to compare responses, discuss mathematical reasoning, and refine their use of vocabulary related to ratios and proportional relationships through classroom discussion.

Evaluation for 5.4e
Materials include embedded guidance to anticipate a variety of student answers including exemplar responses to questions and tasks, including guidance to support and/or redirect inaccurate student responses.

The materials provide educators with expected student responses that help educators monitor student understanding throughout the lesson. For example, in the puzzle talk “Intro to Solving One-Step Equations,” the look-fors identify expected responses, such as recognizing that red blocks represent negative numbers, connecting visual models to equations, and explaining how inverse operations lead to the solution.

The materials provide educator guidance that helps educators respond to misconceptions through questioning and discussion rather than simply providing answers. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Solving One-Step Equations,” discourse questions, such as “What’s different between the red blocks and the blue blocks?” and “How could we represent this situation with an equation?,” prompt students to reconsider their thinking and connect the visual model to symbolic equations.

Evaluation for 5.5a
TEKS process standards are integrated appropriately into the materials.

The materials intentionally embed the mathematical process standards within lessons and activities to support meaningful engagement with grade-level mathematics. For example, “ST Math and the TEKS Process Standards” maps each puzzle talk facilitation routine to its corresponding grade 6 TEKS process standard. The document aligns Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, Analyze and Learn, and Connect and Extend with TEKS 6.1(A)–(G) and links those routines to puzzle talk activities used throughout the program. For example, Analyze and Learn aligns to TEKS 6.1(E) and 6.1(F), while Connect and Extend reinforces mathematical communication through structured discussion prompts.

The materials integrate the TEKS process standards into lesson activities that engage students in mathematical reasoning, communication, and problem solving. For example, in the puzzle talk “Intro to Solving One-Step Equations,” students observe visual models, predict and justify solution strategies, test multiple approaches, and analyze results as they solve one-step equations. Educator guidance prompts students to compare representations, explain how coefficients affect the unknown, and justify whether solutions are positive or negative through structured discourse, thereby embedding the TEKS process standards within grade-level instruction.

Evaluation for 5.5b
Materials include a description of how process standards are incorporated and connected throughout the learning pathways.

The materials describe the embedded mathematical process standards within lessons and instructional activities to support students’ mathematical thinking and problem-solving. “Problem Solving Process and TEKS Process Standards” maps each grade 6 TEKS process standard to the corresponding puzzle talk facilitation routine used throughout the program. For example, the puzzle talk “Intro to Solving One-Step Equations” guides students through Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, and Analyze and Learn as they solve one-step equations and explain their reasoning during the discourse component.

The materials describe how the mathematical process standards build on one another across lessons and units, creating a cohesive progression of mathematical reasoning and problem-solving throughout the learning pathway. “Problem Solving Process and TEKS Process Standards” connects each TEKS process standard to recurring instructional routines and companion resources, including puzzle talks, exit tickets, game mats, math mats, suggested manipulatives, and journals. In the puzzle talk “Intro to Solving One-Step Equations,” students connect visual models to symbolic equations and communicate mathematical thinking through discourse questions, such as “How could we represent this situation with an equation?”

Evaluation for 5.5c
Materials include an overview of the TEKS process standards incorporated into each lesson.

The materials do not include a lesson-level overview identifying the TEKS process standards incorporated into each lesson. For example, the “ST Math and the TEKS Process Standards” resource identifies the mathematical process standards supported throughout the program and directs educators to the corresponding ST Math resources.

The materials do not provide educators with a lesson-specific summary of the TEKS process standards that support instruction. Individual lessons and puzzle talks do not include an overview identifying the applicable process standards, requiring educators to rely on a separate program resource rather than lesson-level guidance.

Evaluation for 6.1a
Materials provide opportunities for students to think mathematically, persevere through solving problems, and to make sense of mathematics.

The materials engage students in analyzing mathematical relationships, selecting solution strategies, and explaining their reasoning through puzzle talks and structured discourse routines. For example, during the puzzle talk “Integers on the Number Line,” students progress from identifying and representing integers to explaining opposite quantities in real-world contexts while justifying their mathematical thinking through educator-guided discussion.

The materials provide opportunities for students to persist through challenging problems by testing strategies, reflecting on feedback, and revising their thinking. Resources such as the article “Promoting and Supporting Perseverance” and the “Persevering in Problem Solving” graphic organizer prompt students to reflect on prior attempts and refine their strategies. For example, the organizer asks students, “Here is what I learned in the previous levels/puzzles . . .,” “Something I learned from the feedback that might help my strategy is . . .,” and “Next I am going to try . . .” before continuing their problem solving.

Evaluation for 6.1b
Materials support students in understanding, explaining, and justifying that there can be multiple ways to solve problems and complete tasks.

The materials provide opportunities for students to recognize that mathematical problems may have multiple valid solution strategies through structured discourse and problem-solving routines. The articles “Puzzle Talk Resources” and “Math Discourse Facilitation Strategies,” along with the problem-solving process, encourage students to predict, test, compare, and evaluate different approaches while explaining their mathematical reasoning.

The materials encourage students to describe, compare, and justify different solution methods by explaining the reasoning behind each approach. For example, during the puzzle talk “Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages with Hundredth Squares,” students use visual models, manipulatives, and symbolic representations to represent equivalent fractions, decimals, and percentages before comparing how each representation models the same mathematical relationship.

Evaluation for 6.1c
Materials are designed to require students to make sense of mathematics through multiple opportunities for students to do, write about, and discuss math with peers and/or educators.

The materials engage students in mathematical tasks that require them to make sense of mathematics by solving problems, explaining their reasoning, and collaborating with peers. For example, the puzzle talk “Intro to Ratios” brings students together to observe, discuss, and reason through ratio relationships while responding to details and discourse questions that encourage students to share their thinking, build on classmates’ ideas, and justify mathematical conclusions.

The materials encourage students to record, explain, and justify their mathematical thinking through written responses. Exit-ticket discourse cards and the weekly math journal prompt students to reflect on their learning by responding to prompts, such as “What did you learn from today’s Puzzle Talk?,” “Write a word problem that matches this puzzle,” and “How did explaining your thinking help you understand the problem better?”

The materials include collaborative discussions that encourage students to explain their reasoning, respond to others’ thinking, and communicate mathematical ideas using precise language. Puzzle talk facilitation guides provide sentence stems, such as “I think we should ___ because ___” and “Another strategy to solve this is by ___,” while educator prompts encourage students to compare solution methods, explain mathematical relationships, and build on the ideas of their classmates.

Evaluation for 6.2a
Materials support educators in guiding students to share and reflect on their problem-solving approaches, including explanations, arguments, justifications, and multiple points of entry.

The materials provide educators with structured guidance for facilitating mathematical discussions that encourage students to explain their reasoning, defend their solution strategies, and reflect on their mathematical thinking. Resources such as the article “The Problem-Solving Process” include quick reference guides, sentence stems, and journal pages organized around routines, such as Predict and Justify and Connect and Extend. Puzzle talk discourse questions provide multiple entry points that support participation from students with varying levels of understanding.

Puzzle talk discourse questions guide educators in facilitating discussions that prompt students to compare strategies, respond to others’ reasoning, justify mathematical arguments, and apply ideas from prior learning to new situations. For example, during puzzle talks, educators use prompts, such as “What is your prediction?,” “What strategy will you use to test it?,” “What do you think will happen when you test your prediction and why?,” and “What will happen if . . .?,” to encourage students to explain their reasoning, justify their approaches, evaluate the ideas of others, and refine their thinking as they solve mathematical problems.

Evaluation for 6.2b
Materials include prompts and guidance to support educators in providing explanatory feedback based on student responses and anticipated misconceptions.

The materials include guidance to help educators provide explanatory feedback based on student responses. Puzzle talk facilitation guides, puzzle talk look-fors, and the discourse section provide prompts that help educators extend student thinking, encourage reflection, and use student responses to deepen mathematical understanding. For example, the puzzle talk “Intro to Proportional Relationships” includes educator look-fors that identify expected student reasoning and discourse prompts, such as asking students to generate additional ratios that preserve multiplicative comparisons, enabling educators to build on student responses through targeted questioning and discussion.

The materials do not include prompts or guidance that prepare educators to address anticipated misconceptions with explanatory feedback. Although puzzle talk look-fors identify expected student reasoning and provide discussion prompts based on those responses, the materials do not identify common misconceptions or provide planned educator guidance for responding to specific student errors.