Crocker Farm Student, Khalila Lord-Arond, Wins Math Achievement Award

Khalila Lord-Arond recently received an award for achievement on the First in Math web site after earning points through completing a variety of difficult mathematical tasks. The program combines work and fun to help students with many aspects of math, ranging from single-step addition to complex algebra. First in Math is extraordinary due to its positive reinforcement for correct responses and its lack of penalties for incorrect ones. This alleviates typical anxiety regarding ‘wrong versus right’ and puts the emphasis on the process and patterns, encouraging students to take an interest in mathematics as a subject.

Through spending fifteen minutes per day on the site, Lord-Arond received the most points out of every third grader using the program in the state of Massachusetts. Her impressive work also caused her to rank among the top one hundred of third graders in the United States.

“The average student earns about four to five hundred points, and she earns in the thousands,” said Mary Lambert, Crocker Farm teacher. “All students in Amherst in grades one to six have access to this program, and we wanted to recognize her achievement.”