The latest MAP math results mark a historic milestone for the International School of Denver. With 90% of students meeting or exceeding national norms and our median performance rising to the 83rd percentile, the data tells a clear story: our strategic investment in Singapore Math, rigorous pedagogy, and sustained teacher development is yielding exceptional outcomes for multilingual learners. 

A Five-Year Climb to Exceptional Achievement

Since 2023, our median student achievement has risen to the 83rd percentile nationwide, meaning the typical ISDenver student now performs better than 83% of peers across the country. More than half of our tested students score above the 80th percentile, and our year-over-year growth rate has accelerated every single year.

Compared to private school peers, our results stand out. Compared to nearby charter schools (where an average of 59% of students reach grade-level proficiency) the gap is even more striking.

These outcomes are the result of five years of patient, principled, and courageous academic work.

Why Singapore Math and Why It Works

Five years ago, ISDenver made a decision that not every school has been willing to make: we adopted Singapore Math, aligned our curriculum and pedagogy, and committed to it fully.

Singapore Math is built on a simple but powerful premise: deep conceptual understanding leads to stronger, more durable learning than procedural memorization ever can.

Rather than teaching students to follow steps, it teaches them to understand why the math works. This approach mirrors what cognitive science tells us about how children learn, that meaning-making precedes mastery, and that real understanding cannot be rushed.

This approach is aligned with national systems, like France, that have adopted Singapore Math. The world’s strongest math programs have converged on the same insight: conceptual depth produces results that shortcuts cannot match.

The Multilingual Advantage

There is something uniquely ISDenver about these results.

Our students are multilingual learners. They move between linguistic systems, notice patterns, and hold multiple structures in mind at once. These are the same cognitive habits that Singapore Math cultivates.

The two reinforce each other, multilingualism and conceptual mathematics, creating a powerful academic synergy. The MAP results make that synergy visible.

What It Took: Commitment, Expertise, and Care

Behind every percentile point is a tremendous amount of work:

• Sustained teacher professional development
• Rigorous data tracking and analysis
• Responsive intervention for students who needed additional support
• A steadfast commitment to the approach, even when results took time

This work has been led with exceptional skill by Assistant Head of School for Academics, Marzia Maffrey, alongside subject leads and coordinators Peggy Batchelor and Kelly Babcock, and every teacher who has embraced this vision.

Together, they have built something rare: a PK–10 math program grounded in sound pedagogy, held to high standards, and centered on every child’s capacity to grow.

A Reflection of Our Mission

ISDenver exists to make the world a more compassionate and curious place. Our students’ multilingualism is already extraordinary. Their math achievement, at this level, at this scale, is something even more.

It is evidence that when children are challenged, supported, and trusted to think deeply, they rise. It is evidence that a mission-driven school can also be a high-achieving school.

And it is evidence that the work of the last five years has created something truly exceptional.

This is a moment worth celebrating. For the numbers, yes, but even more because of what they represent: a community committed to helping every child grow into a confident, capable, and curious learner.