Cart: 
What teachers have to say
about Performance
Education
All were interviewed in early
2007.
Marian
Inner-city high school in
“I teach the incarcerated.”
County profile
Population: 9,758,886
Racial makeup: 49% white, 10%
African American, 12% Asian, 45% Hispanic or Latino
Median household income: n/a
Below the poverty line: n/a, but significant.
What the county is like
The most
populous county in the
Latinos form a plurality (and
likely a majority in the near future).
It has the largest Asian
population in the country at 1.4 million.
38% speak only Spanish at
home.
"I think your workbooks
are perfect for us. Perfect for Title I. Perfect for our
state standards.”
Amy
High school teacher in upstate
“I use Performance Education workbooks in almost every
class.”
Teacher profile
She has been teaching for
five years and is the department head.
She teaches 9th
grade World History and 11th grade U.S. History.
She teaches regular classes,
as well as AP History.
County profile
Population: 70,000
Racial makeup: 89% white, 8%
African American, 2% Hispanic or Latino
Median household income:
$37,000
Below the poverty line: 11%
What the county is like
John Edwards, 2008
presidential candidate, was born here.
His father was a worker in
the local textile mill.
Uses the lessons every day
“We just finished with your
workbook on Imperialism. (Students
loved the simulation – ahead of time, they researched their roles.) Right now
we’re doing your workbook on the Progressive
Era. Today was the Populist Party and I’m using all your stuff.”
Instead of a textbook
“I have every one of your
workbooks for
Invested her own personal
money
“I’ve spent a thousand
dollars just with Performance Education. Why? Because the workbooks are worth
it: the lessons are easy, user friendly, and very accurate.”
Students love the games
“The games are very popular
with high school students. The Gong Show:
Hilarious. They love the gong. (I
actually went out and bought a gong.) The
Homework on the internet
“For homework, my students do
your lessons on the internet. Last week, they interpreted political cartoons
about the Anti-Imperialist League. The web pages actually work – and that’s
awesome!”
Jay
High school teacher in rural
“Performance Education is all I
need – and all I use.”
Teacher profile
He has two master’s degrees.
His students are 90% Hispanic
or Latino.
County profile
Population: 4,000
Racial makeup: 68% Hispanic
or Latino
Median household income:
$19,531
Below the poverty line: 27%
What the county is like
Rural, it borders the state
of
Spent his own personal
money
“I teach at a rural school in
Instead of a textbook
“When I started teaching, I
had nothing - the textbooks were 20 years old and sitting in a warehouse
somewhere. But that’s okay; I don’t use them. I’m not going to set the students
up for failure. Besides, I don’t believe in textbooks. What I get from Performance Education is all I use. A laptop, a projector, the internet - and the lessons in your
workbook. That’s all I need.”
Classroom management
“In U.S. History, your
workbooks get me to do games. I’m 60. I come from the old school, but kids have
to have fun. I give them an hour lecture in just 20 minutes, and then we play
the games. Kids love the bell game, the blackboard game. Students love
competition. I didn’t think they would, but they do. And they learn. Winning
helps determine their grade.”
Saves paper
“I scan your pages - the
graphic organizers - and put them up on the wall on a big screen. I do copy the
tests, though. I use them over and over.”
Saves on red tape
“Each quarter we have to
submit a timeline showing what lessons we’re going to cover. I just made a copy
of your table of contents - and gave them my timeline for the whole year. When
they asked for samples for each assessment, I sent them a copy of your test!”
Raising test scores
“The tests are already made.
We play that game Last Man Standing. Boys against girls. I read every test question aloud. If
they get it wrong, they sit down.”
Students learn the logic of a standardized
test
“Then they take the written test. You ask the
same questions five different ways on the test. So after a few questions, the
students get it - and then go back
and change their previous answers.
Lynette
Suburban high school in upstate
“I teach Regents classes, so I’m driven by the
Teacher profile
She teaches 10th
and 11th grade at a high school that has 2,100 students.
This is her 17th
year of teaching.
County profile
Population: 125,000
Racial makeup: 97% white
Median household income:
$37,000
Below the poverty line: 14%
What the county is like
Located on the Erie Canal,
near
Home of Robert Fulton,
inventor of the steamboat
In February 2007, it was
blanketed by more than ten feet of snow.
State standards
“I teach Regents classes, so
I’m driven by the
It is full of DBQs – document-based questions.
Your political cartoons are
wonderful for this part of our state tests.”
The multiple intelligences
“I just started using your
lessons this year and overall I’m pleased with them. I take time to select the
ones that will fit the multiple intelligences of my students.”
Visual learners
“I gear my lessons to the
individual students in my class. This year, many of my students are visual –
and very much into art. They really like the political cartoons. (Now I like the political cartoons because
the websites are still active.) But they are drawn to art in any form. So they
create their own political cartoons . . . to capture the historical era.”
Auditory learners
“We listen to music
throughout each era in
The games
“Every student has a laptop.
That’s how we play the games. But students like variety, so I do not overuse
the games.”
Life is like a rock group
“Your group analysis works
very well in my class.”
Bloom’s taxonomy
“Bloom! Now that’s my favorite – once students get the hang
of it, it goes very quickly.”
Block classes
“Teaching becomes more
challenging every year. You have to go to greater lengths. That’s why I buy
your supplementary materials.”
Rhonda
Big high school in Florida
“Many of my students are at-risk.”
Teacher profile
She has been teaching for 27
years.
She has an M.A. in curriculum
and reading, plus she is National Board Certified in Social Studies.
For the past two years, she
has had interns – university students studying to become teachers.
Her high school has 2,300
students (grades 9-12).
She teaches U.S. History to students in 11th grade, many of whom are at risk.
County profile
Population: 220,000
Racial makeup: 73% white, 19%
African American, 4% Asian, 6% Hispanic or Latino.
Median household income:
$31,000
Below the poverty line: 23%
What the county is like
Home of the
Raising test scores
“In
Performance Education
workbooks
“We have all of your workbooks for U.S. History. Each workbook has so many
lessons, so you can pick and choose. Right now we’re on Reconstruction, so I have
to pick up the speed.”
Students at risk
“Many of my students are
at-risk. But even the least motivated
students like your games, especially The
Bell Game and The Great Race.”
Hesitation
“I have not yet tried Life is like a rock group. I should, but
I was not sure I could pull it off.”
How she found us
“On the
internet! I was looking up free
lessons and found you.
You have a really good
website.”
Jane
Suburban high school just north of
“Performance Education? I love it.
It’s the best I’ve ever seen – and I’ve been teaching a long time. I’ve told
the other teachers in my high school about it. I really push your product.”
Teacher profile
She teaches special ed in high school – and this is her 30th year of
teaching.
County profile
Population: 250,000
Racial makeup: 84% white, 3%
African American, 5% Asian, 11% Hispanic or Latino
Median income for a
household: $89,000
Poverty level: 5%
What the county is like
Just north of the
In 2005, CNN and Money magazine ranked it 10th on its
list of 100 Best Places to Live in the
It has the highest per capita
income of any county in the
It is the home of Senator
Barbara Boxer.
Special education
“I’m a special ed teacher. I
teach students with severe learning disabilities. The lessons are easy to read,
easy to use, very user friendly. I use the overheads – they work really well
for short lectures and graphic organizers. But the kids love the games,
especially The Bell Game. I went out
and bought the bells, of course – and so did the other Social Studies teachers
at my high school.”
Students love the speeches
“This week we’re doing the
Civil Rights movement. I follow along in your workbook. The kids really got
into the activities on Jim Crow. When it came to speeches, each student became
a different person in the Civil Rights movement. As you recommend, we’re
watching the film ‘Eyes on the Prize.’ And then we’ll do the postcards.”
State standards
“It definitely fits our state
standards.”
“I loved the workbook on
Africa . . . and I’ve been to
Michael
Suburban high school in southern
“I go once a year to a show by publishers. You have
some of the nicest stuff out there.”
Teacher profile
He has been teaching for 15
years.
Today he is teaching World
History.
What the city is like
Population: 53,000
Racial makeup: 82% white, 11%
Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% African American
Average cost of a house:
$458,000
Site of the
1983 film Valley Girl and the 1982
movie Fast Times at Ridgemont
High.
Higher test scores
“In my classes I’m seeing
higher test scores. The students are making better connections – especially
connections between the eras. Your tests are good. You take one concept and
turn it into five or six questions. But I use the test in a new way. I start
every class with a quiz. I use it as a review from yesterday – and as a warm-up
for today.”
High interest
“The lessons in the workbooks
are pretty comprehensive, detailed – and high interest. They’re nicely done.
We’re finishing up World War I, so last week we did the lessons on propaganda.
They’re not worksheets so much as they are thinksheets
– and they’re very, very good.”
Fit the state standards
“The workbooks are a really
nice fit to our curriculum.”
Martia
Rural school in
“I am crazy about your stuff! I’ve been singing its
praises to our principal.”
Teacher profile
She has been teaching for
eight years – and grew up in the district.
She teaches 7th
and 8th grade.
90% of her students are
Hispanic and many are at risk.
County profile
Population: 400,000
Racial makeup: 58% white, 50%
Hispanic or Latino
Median household income:
$34,000
Below the poverty line: 24%
What the county is like
Rural, it is located in the
Central Valley of California .
Despite being the most
productive county in the
Raising test scores
“Yes, your workbooks are
raising our test scores. We’re in the middle of the U.S. Constitution – and
these are the highest scores I’ve had. We need to raise our test scores. We are
a high poverty school. There is a great deal of emphasis on language arts and
math. So we cram one year’s worth of history into just one semester.”
Promotes literacy
“The lessons in the workbooks
make sense. I use the graphic organizers, teach the vocabulary, and students
love the games.”
Active learning
“The students are up and
moving both physically and mentally – and the principal really likes that.”
Better than the textbook
“You’ve got so much material
– far more than our textbooks. Our textbooks are not very good. They don’t
cover our state standards.”
Perfect for the state
standards
“For starters, you’ve already
unpacked the
Backwards Design
“I select the questions from
your tests – and then use the activities to teach those questions. I then test and re-teach.”