The Cy-Fair Independent School District has recently selected a new approach to helping students prepare for the TEKS science exam.

The Adaptive Curriculum Science Texas program is an innovative new technique used in helping children strengthen scientific concepts and skills. It uses a computer-based approach that provides interactive teaching with students who learn to create hypotheses, manipulate items and observe their reactions, and other hands-on learning.

Adaptive Curriculum will replace much of the direct memorization of science from textbooks with digital-age interaction. Because science can often be difficult for students to conceptualize, this program will use cutting-edge technology to visually display theories as well as the outcome of their own experiments.

It was approved for use in biology, chemistry, and physics courses for students in grades five through eight.

Cy-Fair ISD is among several districts across Texas to adopt the new technology to better prepare for TEKS exams. The results in districts who have already adopted it provide a great outlook here.

"When students get online with Adaptive Curriculum, that's the moment they really start thinking and using their brains. They often mention real-world scenarios that they say helped them understand something," said Alma Cardenas-Rubio, principal of Besteiro Middle School in Brownsville, where Adaptive Curriculum is already in place. "Now when students get to the test, they have an image in their minds- something they can remember and relate the question to. And that is reflected in our test scores. Over the last two years, our science scores have gone up six or seven points a year."

For more information on the program please visit www.adaptivecurriculum.com.