ST Math Texas, Grade 8

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 8. The Objective & Puzzle Talk Scope and Sequence: Grade 8 serves as the course-level alignment guide by mapping each ST Math objective and puzzle talk to the corresponding grade 8 TEKS and organizing instruction across the instructional sequence. For example, objectives related to linear relationships, functions, geometry, and data analysis are aligned to specific grade 8 TEKS, providing educators with an overview of standards alignment and content coverage.

The materials include rationale that explains how grade 8 mathematical concepts build within the course and across grade levels. The 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 linear relationships through tables and graphs before progressing to slope, linear functions, and writing equations, demonstrating how prerequisite concepts support mathematical learning.

The materials do not include English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) correlations within the grade 8 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 8.

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 8 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; reviewing previous objectives; making connections to current learning; and incorporating puzzle talks, manipulatives, and educator questioning to address learning needs. The materials also include weekly and quarterly extension opportunities, challenge objectives, and special projects that extend learning for students ready for additional challenge.

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 8 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 8 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 linear relationships content area, students are assigned prerequisite ST Math objectives based on their diagnostic performance before progressing to grade 8 concepts involving linear functions, slope, and equations. 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 8 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.

The materials do not include protocols with corresponding guidance for lesson or unit internalization that help educators understand and prepare to teach concepts before instruction. The available resources focus on lesson implementation rather than providing structured protocols for analyzing lesson or 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 8 materials include lesson overviews that provide learning objectives, lesson components, instructional directions, and assessment resources aligned to the TEKS. For example, in Unit Rates, Tables, and Graphs, 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, available in 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 materials include guidance to support the consistent administration of instructional assessments, as outlined in the grade 8 “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 8 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 printable versions of digital assessments for educator use. Grade 8 pre- and postquizzes are available in both digital and printable formats, allowing educators to administer assessments in the format that best meets instructional needs. The assessment resources include printable quiz questions that educators can use for classroom administration, review, and progress monitoring alongside the digital assessments.

The materials do not include digital accommodations for assessments. The platform provides full grade 8 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 8 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. They also ask students to 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 include 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, or equation entry.

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 8 TEKS-aligned formative assessments with more than two unique interactive item types. The “STAAR’s Redesign and New Math Item Types” article 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, they do not include 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 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 8 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 equip educators with resources and instructional examples to scaffold learning for students who have not yet demonstrated proficiency with prerequisite or grade-level concepts and skills. For example, the “ST Math and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support” article provides guidance and resources for identifying and supporting students who need additional intervention to meet grade-level standards. Additionally, the “Foundational Practices” section of ST Math Help includes a video that models an authentic educator-student interaction, illustrating instructional strategies educators can use to scaffold learning and address unfinished understanding during lessons.

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 8 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 Identifying Slope and Intercept, educators are guided to discuss and reinforce the terms rate of change, slope, and y-intercept as students explain how they identified these values from graphs and tables and interpret their meaning in context.

The grade 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to anchor big mathematical ideas during instruction. In the puzzle talk “Graphing Lines,” educator guidance includes lesson objectives, discourse questions, and facilitation prompts that guide educators in connecting slope and y-intercept to linear equations and their graphical representations. For example, educators ask, “Describe y-intercept and slope” and “How do we create the slope of our line?” to focus students on the relationship between the slope, y-intercept, and the graph of a linear equation. These prompts guide educators in emphasizing the central idea that the slope and y-intercept determine the graph of a linear equation.

The grade 8 materials include explicit prompts and guidance for educators to highlight and connect key features, relationships, and patterns through multiple means of representation. In the Intro to Slope and Intercept and Graphing Lines puzzle talks, discourse questions and look-fors direct educators to help students connect linear equations, slopes, y-intercepts, coordinate-plane graphs, visual models, and algebraic representations. For example, educators ask, “Describe y-intercept and slope,” “What’s different about this puzzle?,” and “What’s happening with the orange and green numbers in the top bar?” to prompt students to analyze how changes to slope and y-intercept affect the position and direction of a line. Educators use the look-fors to monitor students as they explain how the graph relates to the equation; determine whether a line has a positive, negative, or zero slope; and recognize predictable patterns created by changes in slope and y-intercept. These prompts guide educators in helping students connect graphical and algebraic representations while identifying the relationships and patterns that define linear functions.

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 and skills, 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 8 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 through educator facilitation, 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 8 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 the 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 8 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-connection 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 8 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 guidance for educators on 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 8 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 8 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 and provide examples of what educators should elicit from students during discussion, helping educators monitor understanding and adjust instruction as needed. In addition, the “Puzzle Talk Resources” article provides facilitation guides, references on discourse and engagement strategies, sentence stems, exit tickets, and planning tools to support educators in responding purposefully to student thinking throughout instruction. The “Supporting Struggling Students” article further supports timely feedback through a student support strategies quick reference, 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 8 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 8 materials include embedded linguistic accommodations that engage students in using increasingly more academic language across at least three additional levels of language proficiency. Puzzle talks, problem-solving process routines, sentence stems, sportscasting, co-explaining, translanguaging, journal writing, and mathematical discussions 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 materials include practice opportunities that require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS through increasingly complex applications of solving equations. For example, in Intro to Solving Multi-Step Equations, students begin by representing and solving equations involving variables and positive and negative integers using visual models. As the objective progresses, students solve increasingly complex multi-step equations by combining like terms; identifying equations with one solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions; and connecting visual representations to symbolic equations. This progression requires students to apply conceptual understanding of equation solving in increasingly sophisticated contexts.

The grade 8 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 multiple content areas, connecting student performance to grade-level standards. Objective-based pre- and postquizzes are aligned to the standards and learning goals for each objective, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery before progressing to subsequent objectives. Additionally, the Middle School Supplemental (MSS) Pre-Test Teacher’s Guide and Middle School Supplemental (MSS) Post-Test Teacher’s Guide include assessments that measure student understanding across multiple mathematics content areas and connect student performance to the grade-level TEKS.

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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 graphing linear functions objective aligns with TEKS 8.4A, 8.4C, 8.5A, 8.5B, and 8.5I and is supported by puzzle talks focused on slope, intercept, graphing lines, equations of a line, and representing linear relationships with graphs, tables, and equations. This illustrates the relationships among multiple representations of linear functions throughout the grade.

The ST Math Texas 5–8 Objective Learning Progressions further demonstrates horizontal coherence by illustrating how grade 8 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 8 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 coherence vertically across concepts and grade bands for 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 8 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 Solving Multi-Step Equations puzzle talk, students build on previously learned concepts of variables, integer operations, and two-step equations while developing strategies for solving multi-step equations. Students apply previously learned procedures for solving equations, combining like terms, and operating with positive and negative integers as they solve increasingly complex equations, justify solution strategies, and connect prior learning to current grade-level mathematical understanding.

The grade 8 materials include the ST Math Texas Objective Learning Progressions, which illustrates how mathematical concepts and procedures develop across grades 3–8 and helps educators understand the progression of student learning. However, the provided materials do not demonstrate coherence by connecting students’ current concepts or procedures to mathematical concepts and procedures to be learned in future grade levels (9–12). While the progressions illustrate vertical coherence through grade 8, they do not include lesson- or activity-level guidance or learning progressions that connect current grade 8 learning to future high school mathematics.

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

In Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations, students apply previously learned proportional reasoning skills by determining rates of change; representing proportional relationships with equations, tables, and graphs; and identifying relationships that pass through the origin. Students later retrieve and extend these skills in Graphing Linear Functions and Identifying Slope and Intercept, where they use rates of change to determine slope, graph linear relationships, and represent equations in slope-intercept form. These learning experiences require students to repeatedly apply previously learned graphing and proportional reasoning skills in increasingly complex contexts.

In Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations, students revisit the concept of proportional relationships by connecting unit rates, equations, tables, and graphs, and distinguishing proportional from nonproportional situations. Students later revisit and deepen these concepts in Identifying Slope and Intercept, where they connect rate of change to slope and analyze how linear relationships can be represented through graphs, tables, and equations. By returning to the concepts of proportionality and linear relationships 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.

Students first develop skills for solving equations in Solving One-Step Equations and Solving Two-Step Equations. These skills are revisited and extended through Intro to Solving Multi-Step Equations, Solving Multi-Step Equations, Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models, and Solving One-Variable Equations with Visual Models. Students later apply these equation-solving skills in Solving Linear Equations and Solving for Input and Output, requiring them to use previously learned procedures in new contexts and representations throughout the learning pathway.

The concept of linear relationships is developed across multiple connected objectives and puzzle talks. Students build understanding in Function Concepts and Defining Linear Functions, then revisit those ideas in Graphing Linear Functions, Graphing Lines, and Equation of a Line. The concepts are further interleaved in Representing Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations, Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations, and Identifying Slope and Intercept, where students connect functions, graphs, tables, equations, slope, and intercepts across multiple representations. This design interleaves previously learned concepts with new learning experiences rather than teaching concepts in isolation.

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 Scientific Notation with Positive Exponents puzzle talk, students interpret powers of 10, exponents, and scientific notation using visual models and number-line representations, and analyze the relationship between repeated multiplication and exponential notation. Students explain connections between expressions, such as “3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 3⁴” and “7 × 10⁶ = 7,000,000,” to develop conceptual understanding of place value and exponent relationships.

The materials provide questions and tasks that allow students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical reasoning, models, and representations. In the Scientific Notation with Positive Exponents puzzle talk, students evaluate solutions through discourse questions, such as “What power of 10 should we choose?” and “Is this number written in scientific notation? How do you know?” Students justify their reasoning, compare representations, and explain whether expressions and numbers meet the requirements of scientific notation.

The materials provide opportunities for students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical concepts in real-world situations. In the Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students interpret real-world scenarios, represent situations with one-variable equations containing variables on both sides of the equal sign, analyze visual models and equations, and evaluate solutions by discussing how the equations represent the context before solving. Similarly, in Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations, students analyze situations involving map scales, bowling costs, and ordering baseballs by interpreting and evaluating graphs, tables, and equations that model the relationships.

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 Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students use algebra tiles and whiteboards to model one-variable equations and represent the process of solving equations. Similarly, in Intro to Solving Multi-Step Equations, students use variable-stack game mats, solve-equation game mats, number-line math mats, grid math mats, algebra tiles, and dry-erase materials to model variables, constants, and inverse operations while solving equations involving positive and negative integers.

The materials provide opportunities for students to create representations of mathematical situations. In the Solving One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students translate visual models into symbolic equations and use drawings to represent inverse operations while solving equations with variables on both sides of the equal sign. In Intro to Solving Multi-Step Equations, discourse prompts, such as “How could you represent this with an equation?” and “What strategy should we use to solve for the variable?,” require students to create symbolic representations, explain mathematical reasoning, and connect concrete models to equations and solution strategies.

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

In the Identifying Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, students extend their understanding of slope from a relationship between two coordinates to a rate of change and the slope formula. Students apply these concepts to real-world situations involving computer power levels and lemonade sales by interpreting graphs, tables, and equations; determining slopes and y-intercepts in context; and justifying how these values describe the relationships they represent.

The materials encourage students to transfer conceptual understanding across mathematical representations and authentic contexts. For example, students first develop an understanding of ratios and then apply that understanding by modeling proportional relationships in graphs and tables. Similarly, in the puzzle talk Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk, students create graphs, tables, and equations to represent real-world situations, then apply their understanding of rate of change and y-intercepts to interpret the relationships and explain how those values describe the context.

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 Scale and Slope Graphs, students progress through multiple game levels that require them to repeatedly analyze scale graphs, determine rates of change, and connect graphical representations to slope. 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 Scientific Notation with Positive Exponents, students progress through multiple game levels that require them to build exponential expressions, rewrite expressions as repeated multiplication, evaluate whole-number exponents, represent powers of 10, and write numbers in scientific notation. The scaffolded progression revisits these skills through visual models, symbolic expressions, and place-value representations, providing repeated opportunities for students to apply grade-level procedures involving exponents and scientific notation accurately and efficiently.

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 Graphing Linear Functions, students progress through increasingly complex tasks that require them to graph linear relationships, determine slope and y-intercepts, write equations, and connect graphical and symbolic representations. The scaffolded game progression provides repeated opportunities to apply procedures, compare methods, and refine strategies as students move through multiple levels of increasing complexity.

The materials build procedural proficiency by providing repeated opportunities to apply mathematical strategies in a variety of contexts. In the grade 8 Solving One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students solve equations with variables on both sides of the equal sign by creating algebra-tile models, writing corresponding equations, applying inverse operations, combining like terms, and verifying solutions through substitution. Discourse questions and look-fors guide students to compare solution methods, justify procedures, evaluate accuracy, and connect visual and symbolic representations, supporting 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 grade 8 Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk, students represent proportional and nonproportional relationships using tables, graphs, and equations, and compare multiple methods for creating representations. Discourse questions, such as “How did you draw your graph? Why?” and “Is there another way you could make the graph?,” require students to analyze different approaches, evaluate which methods provide the most efficient representations, and justify the accuracy of their representations.

The materials encourage students to analyze multiple mathematical approaches and determine which representations and strategies best support problem solving. In the Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models and Identifying Slope and Y-Intercept puzzle talks, students compare visual models, graphs, tables, equations, and real-world contexts to solve problems and explain their reasoning. Through educator-facilitated discussions, discourse questions, look-fors, and exit ticket reflections, students evaluate the accuracy of solutions, the flexibility of multiple representations, and the efficiency of different problem-solving strategies while making connections among equivalent equations and representations.

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 Solving Multi-Step Equations, Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models, and Solving for Input and Output puzzle talks, students compare multiple solution methods; analyze patterns; and justify their reasoning through discourse questions, such as “Is there another way to write this equation?,” “Which numbers are easier to work with?,” and “What patterns do you see?” Educator guidance encourages students to evaluate alternative approaches and identify efficient strategies, while exit-ticket reflections ask students, “Which strategy did you find the most efficient and why?,” supporting the selection of increasingly efficient mathematical approaches.

The materials foster strategic thinking by prompting students to examine multiple solution paths and recognize more efficient methods. For example, in the Solving for Input and Output puzzle talk, educator guidance asks students to compare the current puzzle to previous problems, identify numbers that simplify the solution process, generate multiple solutions, organize their thinking in a T-chart, and analyze patterns across their results.

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 8 learning objectives, students progress through game sequences that develop procedural skills aligned to TEKS content. For example, the “Solving One-Step Equations” learning pathway provides repeated practice solving one-step equations 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 visual models in the Solving One-Step Equations learning pathway support conceptual understanding before students solve symbolic equations, 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 concrete models, pictorial representations, and abstract models as required by the TEKS. In the Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students use algebra tiles to create concrete models of equations with variables on both sides of the equal sign, represent the models on whiteboards, and write and solve corresponding symbolic equations. This progression connects concrete manipulatives, visual representations, and abstract algebraic procedures.

The materials provide questions and tasks that give students opportunities to use pictorial representations and abstract models throughout the learning pathways. For example, in Graphing Linear Functions, students move from visual balloon models that represent changing linear relationships to tables, graphs, and symbolic equations. Similarly, in Unit Rates, Tables, and Graphs, students transition from visual game representations, such as hungry monsters and fruit models, to ratio tables, coordinate graphs, and equations, reinforcing connections among multiple mathematical representations 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 Solve One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, educators provide students with whiteboards and algebra tiles to recreate visual models of one-variable equations. Students use the concrete models to represent equations, connect the models to symbolic equations, and solve for unknown values by relating visual representations to abstract algebraic procedures.

The materials guide students in describing mathematical relationships by defining and explaining how concrete representations connect to symbolic and numerical representations. In the Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, educators direct students to use algebra tiles and whiteboards to model real-world situations; write corresponding equations; and explain how the concrete models represent variables, constants, and operations. Students define and justify the relationships between concrete models and symbolic equations, explaining their mathematical reasoning.

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 Representing Real-World One-Variable Equations with Visual Models puzzle talk, students use visual models, optional algebra tiles, and structured discussion to develop vocabulary related to equations, variables, the equal sign, and inverse operations. Educators prompt students to create models, write equations, and explain their reasoning as they solve real-world problems using precise mathematical 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 Intro to Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, students use a visual model, whiteboards, and guided discourse to develop vocabulary related to slope and y-intercept. Educators prompt students to explain how changes to the slope and y-intercept affect the graph of a line, encouraging students to communicate mathematical relationships using precise academic language.

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 Intro to Equations with Two Variables puzzle talk, educators use discourse questions, such as “Can x and y ever be the same? Why or why not?,” to prompt students to explain mathematical relationships using academic vocabulary during partner discussions.

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

In the puzzle talk Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk, educators use discourse prompts to have students explain the meaning of slope, rate of change, and y-intercept as they justify equations, complete tables, and interpret graphs. The accompanying look-fors guide educators in identifying students who use this mathematical language during classroom discussions.

In the Identifying Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, educator guidance prompts students to analyze graphs by asking questions, such as “How can you tell without making any calculations whether the slope will be negative or positive?” and “How can you tell without making any calculations whether the slope will have a magnitude less than or greater than one?” These questions encourage students to justify their reasoning while applying academic vocabulary related to slope and graph interpretation during classroom discussions.

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 Intro to Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, discourse questions prompt students to explain how the slope and y-intercept affect a graph, 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 Representing Real-World Linear Relationships with Graphs, Tables, and Equations puzzle talk, students discuss how to write an equation and create a graph to represent a situation, using educator-facilitated discussions to compare solution strategies and refine their mathematical explanations with peers.

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 Identifying Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, the look-fors identify expected reasoning, such as determining whether to adjust the slope or y-intercept first and explaining how changes to each affect the graph.

The materials provide guidance to help educators address misconceptions through questioning and discussion rather than simply providing answers. In the Intro to Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, discourse questions, such as “How would you solve it if we moved the other tool first?” and “If you could only move one of the tools, which one solves the problem?,” prompt students to reconsider their strategies and justify how the slope and y-intercept affect the graph.

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 8 TEKS process standard. The document aligns Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, Analyze and Learn, and Connect and Extend with TEKS 8.1(A)–(G) and links those routines to puzzle talk activities used throughout the program. For example, Analyze and Learn aligns to TEKS 8.1(E) and 8.1(F), while Connect and Extend reinforces mathematical communication through structured discussion prompts.

The materials integrate the TEKS process standards throughout grade-level instruction by engaging students in structured problem-solving experiences. For example, in the Intro to Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, students observe visual models, predict and justify strategies, test different approaches, and analyze results while graphing linear functions. Educator guidance prompts students to explain how changes to the slope and y-intercept affect the graph, compare solution strategies, and justify their reasoning during classroom discussions. This integrates mathematical reasoning, communication, and multiple representations 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 8 TEKS process standard to the corresponding puzzle talk facilitation routine used throughout the program. For example, the puzzle talk “Solving Multi-Step Equations” guides students through Notice and Wonder, Predict and Justify, Test and Observe, and Analyze and Learn as they solve multi-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 Solving Multi-Step Equations puzzle talk, students connect visual models to algebraic equations and communicate mathematical thinking through discourse questions, such as “Is there another way to write this equation? How?”

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. 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 Intro to Slope and Intercept puzzle talk, students analyze linear relationships, interpret slope and intercept in context, and explain how graphs, tables, and equations represent the same mathematical relationship.

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 asks students to consider, “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 explore multiple approaches to solving mathematical problems and refine their reasoning through collaborative problem-solving. For example, 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 compare solution strategies, evaluate mathematical representations, and defend their reasoning using evidence from multiple approaches. For example, during the Intro to Linear Functions puzzle talk, students compare visual models, graphs, and symbolic representations, explain how different approaches represent the same linear relationship, and evaluate the effectiveness of each strategy.

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 reason about mathematical concepts through collaborative exploration and discussion. For example, the Identifying Slope and Intercept puzzle talk brings students together to observe, discuss, and solve problems as a group. Details and discourse questions in the puzzle talk prompt students to explain their thinking, respond to classmates, and refine their understanding of linear relationships.

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 problem-solving strategies, write mathematical situations, and connect new concepts to prior mathematical understanding.

The materials provide structured opportunities for students to make sense of mathematics by doing, writing about, and discussing mathematical ideas with peers and educators. For example, puzzle talks engage students in solving mathematical problems, recording their strategies on whiteboards, and participating in collaborative discussions that develop conceptual understanding through explanation, reflection, and shared reasoning.

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 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. Puzzle talk discourse questions provide multiple entry points that support participation from students with varying levels of understanding.

The materials support educators in guiding students to share and reflect on their problem-solving approaches through structured questioning and mathematical discourse. Puzzle Talk Discourse Questions prompt students to explain their reasoning, justify solution strategies, compare approaches, and consider multiple ways to solve a problem. For example, in “Intro to Solving Multi-Step Equations,” the “test & observe, analyze & learn” routine guides students to try different solutions and discuss the results. Questions such as “How does the animation look different than how we solved it together? How is it the same?” prompt students to compare their approaches with previous problem-solving experiences. Additional questions ask students to identify similarities and differences across puzzles and determine whether a puzzle has more than one solution. These prompts guide students to revisit their reasoning, examine solution strategies, and explain why their approaches work.

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 Identifying Slope and Intercept puzzle talk includes discourse questions that prompt students to explain how they determined slope and y-intercept, 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.