ST Math Texas, Grade 7

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 7. The Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 7 serves as the course-level alignment guide by mapping each ST Math objective and puzzle talk to the corresponding grade 7 TEKS and organizing instruction across the instructional sequence. For example, objectives related to proportional relationships, expressions and equations, geometry, and probability are aligned to the specific grade 7 TEKS, providing educators with an overview of standards alignment and content coverage.

The materials include rationale that explains how grade 7 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 proportional reasoning through unit rates and equivalent ratios before extending their understanding to proportional relationships and the constant of proportionality, demonstrating how prerequisite concepts support mathematical learning.

The materials do not include English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) correlations within the grade 7 course-level alignment guide. Instead, ELPS correlations are provided in assessment resources through mappings to individual assessment items, rather than within the Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 7.

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 7 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 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 7 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 7 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 the proportional reasoning content area, students are assigned prerequisite ST Math objectives based on their diagnostic performance before progressing to grade 7 concepts involving proportional relationships, unit rates, and the constant of proportionality. These recommendations provide educators with individualized instructional starting points based on demonstrated prerequisite skills.

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

The grade 7 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 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 7 materials include lesson overviews that provide learning objectives, lesson components, instructional directions, and assessment resources aligned to the TEKS. For example, in Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers, 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 pre- 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 7 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 sixty minutes per week, directions for accessing the platform, and instructions for monitoring student progress through minute and puzzle data.

The grade 7 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 grade 7 materials include definitions and intended purposes for instructional assessments, including pre- and postquizzes. 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 grade 7 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 grade 7 materials include assessment-administration guidance 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 grade 7 materials include printable pre- and postquizzes that educators can use in digital or printed formats. Assessment guidance also includes recommendations for quiz administration, such as using scratch paper and restricting calculators and hundreds charts during assessments.

The materials do not include digital accommodations for assessments. The platform provides full 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 grade 7 ST Math does not include text-to-speech features and only uses sound effects for 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 7 materials include diagnostic assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks and questions that demonstrate at least two levels of complexity. The Middle School Supplemental (MSS) pretest and posttest 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 Middle School Supplemental (MSS) pretest and posttest 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 hot-spot 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 7 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 within learning experiences and provide formative information about student 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 postquizzes 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 postquizzes, 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.

The materials include tools to help educators track student progress and growth. For example, 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.

The materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth. For example, 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 that provides immediate feedback through animations showing the mathematical consequences of student 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 7 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 include instructional resources that help educators provide additional support for students who have not yet mastered prerequisite or grade-level concepts and skills. For example, the article “ST Math and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support” provides educators with guidance and resources for supporting students who have not yet demonstrated proficiency in grade-level standards. Additionally, within ST Math Help, the Foundational Practices section includes a video that models a real-life educator-student interaction, demonstrating how educators can scaffold instruction for a struggling student and respond to unfinished learning during instruction.

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 7 materials include explicit educator guidance for language supports, including embedded supports, to develop 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 P1 of “Constant of Proportionality and Tables,” students copy and complete a table and identify the unit rate, activating their prior knowledge of this term. After students work through the puzzle, the educator introduces the term “constant of proportionality” and relates it to the unit rate they found in the table.

The grade 7 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, the materials do not provide opportunities to pre-teach unfamiliar textual references. 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 7 materials provide instructional opportunities that deepen students’ understanding of grade-level mathematics through meaningful extension experiences. The “Extending ST Math” article 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 7 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 7 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 7 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, 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 7 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 7 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to anchor big mathematical ideas during instruction. In the Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, educator guidance includes discourse questions and instructional explanations that guide educators in helping students determine a unit rate, represent ratios as fractions, and identify the constant of proportionality. For example, educators ask, “What do you notice when you reduce the fraction to its lowest form?,” and use the educator guidance explaining that “when the unit rate in a table is the same, or constant, for all the rows of the table, we call it the ‘constant of proportionality.’” These prompts guide educators in emphasizing the central idea that proportional relationships are defined by a constant unit rate.

The grade 7 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to highlight and connect key features, relationships, and patterns through multiple means of representation. In the Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, look-fors and discourse questions guide educators in helping students represent proportional relationships using tables, ratios, fractions, unit rates, equations, and animations. For example, educators prompt students to write the ratio of bananas to monsters as a fraction, identify the unit rate, and explain how the constant of proportionality relates to every row in the table. Educators use the look-fors to monitor students as they connect equivalent fractions, such as 6/2 and 12/4, to the constant ratio of 3/1, reinforcing the relationships among fractions, tables, and proportional reasoning. In the Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students identify patterns in proportional relationships by analyzing how quantities change together across multiple rows of the table. Educators ask students, “What number goes here? How do you know?” and “How can you use the unit rate to determine the missing values in the table?” Students recognize patterns, such as multiplying the number of monsters by a constant value to determine the number of bananas, pears, pies, or fish-food portions, and verify those patterns through tables, fractions, unit rates, and visual animations. The discourse questions and look-fors guide educators in helping students connect these repeated multiplicative patterns across representations.

The materials do not include explicit prompts or guidance for educators to activate students’ prior knowledge before instruction. Although the lesson-planning resources include Notice and Wonder and Predict and Justify routines that reference prerequisite concepts, the materials do not direct educators to intentionally elicit or build on students’ 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 7 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, including 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 7 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 that 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 7 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 application 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 7 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. It also provides guidance for 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 7 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 materials provide instructional resources to help educators monitor students’ understanding and adjust instruction throughout the lesson. For example, puzzle talks include details and look-fors that identify expected student responses and common errors, helping educators monitor understanding and adjust instruction during lessons. In activities P1–P4 of the grade 7 puzzle talk, the look-fors provide exemplar student responses and common errors students may make, supporting educators in delivering timely and targeted feedback. Additionally, the “Supporting Struggling Students” article provides a quick reference for support strategies, facilitation resources, example videos, and in-game tools, such as animation controls and annotation features, that enable real-time feedback during instruction.

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 7 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 7 materials include embedded linguistic accommodations that engage students in using increasingly more academic language across at least three additional levels of language proficiency. Through puzzle talks, problem-solving process routines, sentence stems, sportscasting, co-explaining, translanguaging, journal writing, and mathematical discussions, students are guided 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 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 7 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 7 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 7 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 7 materials include practice opportunities that require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS through multiple representations of rational numbers and rational number operations. For example, in the Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers games, students relate fractions represented with circular models to points on a number line, add and subtract fractions using visual models, and then extend this understanding to adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers on a number line. This progression requires students to connect visual models, numerical representations, and operations with rational numbers in increasingly complex contexts.

The grade 7 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 postquizzes are aligned to the standards and learning goals of each objective. For example, the pre- and postquizzes for Dot Plot and Summary Statistics assess student understanding of data analysis concepts 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.

The grade 7 materials include questions and tasks that 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 them to progress beyond grade-level expectations through the adaptive learning pathway.

The grade 7 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 students’ understanding of grade-level concepts through additional problem-solving experiences and opportunities to apply previously learned mathematics in new contexts.

The grade 7 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 7 materials demonstrate coherence across concepts horizontally within the grade level by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships among mathematical concepts. The Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 7 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, the proportional relationships objective aligns to TEKS 7.4B and 7.4C, and is supported by puzzle talks focused on equivalent ratios, proportionality, and ratio building. This illustrates the relationships among ratio, rate, and proportional reasoning throughout the grade.

The ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions further demonstrates horizontal coherence by illustrating how grade 7 objectives are intentionally connected across content domains rather than taught in isolation. The visual learning progressions show how concepts within the grade build upon one another, highlighting the patterns, relationships, and big mathematical ideas that connect students’ learning experiences throughout the grade-level curriculum.

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 7 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 7 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 Adding and Subtracting Integers on the Number Line puzzle talk, students apply previously learned concepts of integers, number lines, and integer operations to develop fluency in adding and subtracting integers. Students use previously learned procedures for locating integers on a number line and reasoning about positive and negative values to solve increasingly complex addition and subtraction problems and explain how operations affect movement on the number line.

The ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions demonstrates coherence across grade levels by showing how current grade 7 concepts and procedures prepare students for future mathematical learning. For example, proportional relationships and scale and linear graphs in grade 7 progress to function concepts and graphing linear functions in grade 8. Similarly, solving one- and two-step equations leads to solving linear equations in grade 8, demonstrating explicit connections between students’ current learning and the concepts and procedures they will encounter in the following grade.

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

Students first develop skills for calculating and representing unit rates using visual models in Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models. Students then retrieve and apply those skills in Unit Rates with Decimal Prices, where they use division to determine unit costs and represent rates in real-world contexts. Students further revisit these skills in Constant of Proportionality and Tables, where they use unit rates to determine missing values in tables and identify the constant of proportionality. This progression requires students to repeatedly apply previously learned rate and proportional reasoning skills in increasingly complex representations and contexts.

In Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models, students develop the concept that a unit rate represents a division relationship and can be expressed as a fraction. The concept of unit rates is revisited in Unit Rates with Decimal Prices, where students connect unit rates to unit costs and real-world proportional relationships. Students then deepen their understanding of Constant of Proportionality and Tables by connecting unit rates to proportional relationships and recognizing that a constant unit rate across a table represents the constant of proportionality. By revisiting these concepts across multiple objectives and representations, the materials provide opportunities for students to 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 7 scope and sequence shows students repeatedly applying related proportional reasoning skills across multiple objectives. For example, students develop skills with equivalent ratios and proportional relationships in Scaling with Equivalent Ratios, Determining Proportionality, and Build Ratios. These skills are then applied in Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models, Unit Rates with Decimal Prices, and Constant of Proportionality and Tables, where students use ratio reasoning, unit rates, and proportional relationships in new contexts and representations. This design interleaves previously learned skills with new learning experiences throughout the pathway.

The scope and sequence demonstrates that concepts are revisited and connected across multiple objectives. For example, students develop the concepts of proportional relationships, equivalent ratios, and unit rates in Proportional Relationships and Unit Rates, Tables, and Graphs (G7). These concepts are revisited in Multi-Step Percents and Applying Rates and Ratios,” where students apply proportional reasoning to percent increase, percent decrease, and rate problems. The concepts are revisited in Scale and Linear Graphs (G7), where proportional relationships are connected to linear relationships, represented by graphs, tables, and equations. By revisiting related concepts across multiple objectives, the materials interleave prior conceptual understanding 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 Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students interpret proportional relationships represented in tables, analyze patterns to determine the constant of proportionality, and identify missing values. Students examine relationships between quantities and use mathematical reasoning to explain the connections among values in the table.

The materials provide questions and tasks that allow students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical representations and solution strategies. In the puzzle talk Linear Relationships on the Number Line and with Equations, students interpret relationships represented on number lines and equations, analyze how the representations model the same relationship, and evaluate solutions by testing answers in the puzzle context to determine whether their reasoning is correct. Students justify and revise their thinking based on the results.

The materials provide opportunities for students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical concepts in complex real-world situations. In the puzzle talk Unit Rates with Decimal Prices, students analyze real-world purchasing scenarios to determine unit rates, interpret rates in context using the word per, and evaluate strategies for finding the cost of a single item. Similarly, in Scale and Linear Graphs, students interpret and analyze graphs representing the motion of a tortoise, a hare, and automobiles; compare graphical representations; determine relative speed; and identify which situation each graph represents.

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 Unit Rates, Tables, and Graphs puzzle talk, students use ornaments game mats, hungry monsters game mats, grid math mats, coordinate grid math mats, counting cubes, an xy-coordinate pegboard, and dry-erase materials to model ratios, rates, unit rates, tables, and graphs. Students manipulate these tools to build proportional relationships, determine unit rates, and connect concrete models to mathematical situations.

The materials provide opportunities for students to create representations of mathematical situations. In the Unit Rates, Tables, and Graphs and Describing Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talks, students create tables and coordinate graphs, as well as equations and written representations, to model proportional and linear relationships. Students represent rates as fractions and division expressions, plot points on coordinate grids, write equations that match given situations, and use mathematical language to explain and justify their reasoning.

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 Angle Measurement Relationships puzzle talk, students develop an understanding of complementary, supplementary, and vertical angles through exploration and measurement. Students then apply those concepts to increasingly complex situations by determining unknown angle measures, writing and solving equations, and using multiple-angle relationships within the same problem. Students generalize properties of angle pairs and use those relationships to justify solutions in new mathematical contexts.

The materials encourage students to extend mathematical concepts by applying prior understanding in increasingly sophisticated contexts. For example, in the lesson on parentheses, students first develop a conceptual understanding of how parentheses affect an equation, then apply that understanding by creating and modeling their own equations with parentheses. Similarly, in the Scaling with Equivalent Ratios puzzle talk, students apply their understanding of equivalent ratios to solve for unknown values, use fraction reasoning, and create equivalent ratios with unit rates, requiring them to transfer proportional reasoning to new mathematical situations.

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. In the learning objective Properties of Operations, students progress through multiple game levels that require them to repeatedly apply arithmetic and algebraic properties, the order of operations, and parentheses while evaluating numerical expressions and rewriting expressions with variables. The mastery-based progression requires students to demonstrate success before advancing, providing repeated opportunities to independently apply prerequisite skills until they become automatic.

The materials promote student fluency through sequenced learning experiences that reinforce mathematical understanding while preparing students for grade-level mathematics. In the learning objective Properties of Operations, students progress through scaffolded puzzle sequences that move from evaluating numerical expressions to rewriting equivalent algebraic expressions using properties and variables. Repeated application of these procedures across multiple levels develops fluency in grade-level algebraic reasoning and in expressing equivalence.

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 Two-Step Equations, students progress from solving one-step equations to solving increasingly complex equations using symbolic manipulation, reciprocal reasoning with fractions, area models, and number lines. Students apply and compare multiple procedures while receiving immediate feedback, supporting the development of efficient, flexible, and accurate solution strategies.

The materials build procedural proficiency by providing repeated opportunities to apply mathematical strategies in a variety of contexts. In the grade 7 Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students determine missing values and the constant of proportionality using multiple procedures, including identifying unit rates, scaling completed rows, simplifying ratios written as fractions, and multiplying or dividing by the constant of proportionality. Discourse questions and look-fors guide students to justify their reasoning, compare solution methods, evaluate the accuracy of their work, and select appropriate strategies for solving problems involving proportional relationships.

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 Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students determine missing values using unit rates, scaling strategies, and the constant of proportionality while responding to questions, such as “How can you use the unit rate to determine the missing values in the table?” and “What is the constant of proportionality for this table?” Educator guidance encourages students to compare solution methods and justify their reasoning, while exit ticket reflections ask, “Which strategy did you find the most efficient and why?,” prompting students to evaluate and select increasingly efficient mathematical approaches.

The materials encourage students to analyze multiple mathematical approaches and determine which representations and strategies best support problem solving. For example, in the puzzle talk Unit Rates with Decimal Prices, students explain how equations represent visual models, justify the reasonableness of their answers, and discuss how equations communicate their mathematical thinking. These prompts require students to compare representations, evaluate the accuracy of their solutions, and consider how different models and strategies support efficient and flexible problem solving throughout the learning progression.

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

The materials contain guidance to support students in selecting increasingly efficient approaches to solve mathematics problems. In the Constant of Proportionality and Tables, Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models, and Unit Rates with Decimal Prices puzzle talks, students use multiple strategies, including unit rates, scaling, proportional reasoning, tables, equations, and visual models to solve mathematical problems. Discourse questions, such as “How can you use the unit rate to determine the missing values in the table?” and “How could we write an equation to represent how we found the cost for each item?,” prompt students to compare approaches and justify their reasoning. Exit-ticket reflections further support this work by asking students, “Which strategy did you find the most efficient and why?,” guiding students to evaluate and select increasingly efficient mathematical approaches.

The materials encourage students to analyze multiple solution methods and identify the most efficient strategy for solving mathematical problems. For example, in the Unit Rates with Decimal Prices puzzle talk, educator guidance prompts students to determine the cost of one item, explain how they found the unit rate, represent their reasoning with an equation, and describe the relationship using the word per. These questions require students to compare strategies, justify their reasoning, and recognize how using unit rates provides a more efficient approach for solving proportional reasoning problems in real-world contexts.

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

The materials explicitly state how the procedural emphasis of the TEKS 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 7 learning objectives, students progress through game sequences that develop procedural skills aligned to the TEKS content. For example, the Multiplication and Division Stacks Countdown learning pathway provides repeated practice multiplying and dividing rational numbers through increasingly complex puzzles, developing the procedural fluency required by the TEKS.

The materials do not explicitly specify the conceptual emphasis of the TEKS. Although games such as Multiplication and Division Stacks Countdown use visual models to support student understanding before procedural practice, 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.

The materials provide questions and tasks that give students opportunities to use pictorial representations and abstract models as required by the TEKS. For example, in the learning objective Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers, students use visual game representations, including circle graphs with penguins and unicycles, before representing rational numbers on number lines and applying symbolic procedures to solve problems.

In the Linear Relationships on the Number Line and with Equations puzzle talk, students use whiteboards to represent linear relationships by writing equations in the form y = mx + b and to connect number-line representations to symbolic equations. Similarly, in the learning objective Solving Two-Step Equations (G7), students progress from stacked visual models and number-line representations to symbolic equations, strengthening connections between pictorial and abstract mathematical representations. However, the materials do not provide questions and tasks that give students opportunities to use concrete models as required by the TEKS.

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 Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk, students use visual models to determine the unit rate by finding the number of fruits each monster eats. Students then connect the visual model to abstract representations by expressing the unit rate as a division expression, fraction, and symbolic representation, linking multiple representations of the same mathematical relationship.

The materials guide students in describing mathematical relationships by defining and explaining how concrete representations connect to symbolic and numerical representations. In the Build Ratios puzzle talk, students explain their mathematical thinking in response to prompts such as “Can you break this problem down into steps?” and “What’s your strategy?” These questions require students to define and explain how the visual representations relate to symbolic ratio reasoning. However, the materials do not include supports for students in creating or connecting concrete models to abstract mathematical concepts, or in creating, defining, or explaining connections between concrete models and 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 variety of ways. For example, in the Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students use tables, whiteboards, and structured discussion to develop vocabulary related to proportional relationships. Educators guide students to write ratios as fractions, identify the constant of proportionality, and discuss “What is the constant of proportionality in this puzzle?” to encourage students to explain mathematical relationships using precise academic language.

The materials provide students with opportunities to strengthen academic mathematical language through visual representations, structured discussion, and other language development strategies. For example, in the Describing Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk, students use coordinate-grid math mats to create and analyze tables, graphs, and equations that represent linear relationships. Educators prompt students with discourse questions, such as “Turn to a partner and describe this graph verbally to your partner. Describe what is happening in the graph,” encouraging students to communicate mathematical ideas using academic vocabulary and to connect multiple representations.

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, and then the students compare their representations. In the Unit Rates with Decimal Prices puzzle talk, students extend this language by explaining unit rates as educators prompt them to “Write the unit cost of one item using the word per” and discuss their reasoning with peers.

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

In the Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk, educators use discourse prompts, such as “How could we express this as a unit rate using the word per?,” to encourage students to explain and justify their reasoning using vocabulary such as rate, unit rate, and per. The accompanying look-fors guide educators in identifying students who use this mathematical language during classroom discussions.

In the Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, educator guidance directs students to write ratios as fractions, identify patterns after reducing each fraction to lowest terms, and discuss why a constant unit rate represents the constant of proportionality. Educators explicitly introduce and reinforce vocabulary such as fraction, unit rate, and constant of proportionality throughout the discussion, supporting students as they apply mathematical language to explain their reasoning.

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 Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk, discourse questions prompt students to discuss rates, unit rates, equations, and the meaning of per, 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 Linear Relationships on the Number Line and with Equations puzzle talk, students share their mathematical thinking with a partner before discussing it as a class, then revise their equations or number lines based on the discussion, refining their mathematical language as they explain their reasoning.

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 Angle Measurement Relationships puzzle talk, the look-fors identify anticipated responses such as estimating unknown angle measures, writing equations to represent complementary and supplementary angles, checking solutions with inverse operations or a protractor, and explaining angle relationships.

The materials provide guidance to help educators address misconceptions through questioning and discussion rather than simply providing answers. In the Angle Measurement Relationships puzzle talk, educators ask students questions, such as “How might we check our solution?” and “What rules can we generalize about complementary angles?,” before students verify their reasoning with a protractor and discuss their solutions.

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 7 TEKS process standard. The document aligns Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, Analyze and Learn, and Connect and Extend with TEKS 7.1(A)–(G) and links those routines to puzzle talk activities used throughout the program. For example, Analyze and Learn aligns to TEKS 7.1(E) and 7.1(F), while Connect and Extend reinforces mathematical communication through structured discussion prompts.

The materials integrate the TEKS process standards into grade-level instruction through structured problem-solving experiences. For example, in the Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk, students observe visual models, predict and justify strategies, test solutions, and analyze results as they determine unit rates. Educator guidance prompts students to connect visual models, equations, fractions, and unit rates; explain and justify their reasoning; and communicate mathematical ideas during classroom discussions, embedding the TEKS process standards throughout the lesson.

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 7 TEKS process standard to the corresponding puzzle talk facilitation routine used throughout the program. For example, the Intro to Solving Two-Step Equations puzzle talk guides students through Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, and Analyze and Learn as they solve two-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 Intro to Solving Two-Step Equations puzzle talk, students connect visual models to algebraic equations and communicate mathematical thinking through discourse questions, such as “Is there more than one solution for this puzzle? How do you know?”

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 Constant of Proportionality and Tables puzzle talk, students analyze patterns, determine the constant of proportionality, justify their reasoning, and communicate mathematical ideas using multiple representations.

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 “Promoting and Supporting Perseverance” article and the Persevering in Problem Solving graphic organizer prompt students to reflect on prior attempts and refine their strategies. For example, the organizer suggests students use prompts such as “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 engage students in mathematical tasks that require them to apply concepts, strategies, and reasoning, both independently and collaboratively. Puzzle talks engage students in solving mathematical problems through routines such as Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, and Analyze and Learn while recording ideas on whiteboards and refining solution strategies through problem-solving.

The materials encourage students to describe, compare, and justify different solution methods by explaining the reasoning behind each approach. For example, during the Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk, students determine unit rates using visual models, fraction area models, symbolic representations, and division before comparing how different representations and strategies produce equivalent mathematical results.

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 through collaborative problem solving, written reflection, and mathematical discussion. For example, the Unit Rates with Fraction Area Models puzzle talk engages students in observing models, discussing strategies, and reasoning together as they respond to details and discourse questions that prompt them to explain their thinking, respond to peers, and refine their mathematical understanding.

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 explain what they learned, reflect on successful strategies, create mathematical situations, and connect new learning to classroom mathematics.

The materials promote mathematical discourse by engaging students in solving problems, recording their thinking, and participating in structured discussions with peers and educators. For example, puzzle talks require students to explain their reasoning, compare strategies, and build conceptual understanding through collaborative conversations that encourage reflection, explanation, and justification of mathematical ideas.

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 “The Problem Solving Process” article include quick-reference guides, sentence stems, and journal pages organized around routines such as Predict and Justify and Connect and Extend, while puzzle talk discourse questions provide multiple entry points that support participation by 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 a puzzle talk exploring the equation y = x + 1, students explain how changes in one variable affect the other, compare representations, justify their reasoning, and extend prior mathematical understanding to solve new 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 Respond Thoughtfully section provide discussion prompts that help educators extend student thinking, encourage reflection, and use student responses as opportunities for mathematical discussion. For example, the Describing Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk includes discourse questions that prompt students to explain how they completed tables, graphs, and equations; compare solution methods; and justify their mathematical reasoning.

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