It’s far from an ordinary day at Herzog Elementary School in Saint Louis. The classrooms are buzzing with anticipation. Students have spent the last two weeks locked in and laser-focused, competing in their school’s Reflex Math Competition.
It’s been a flurry of Green Light days, hard work, and friendly banter, and today… the winners will be revealed!
Second-grade teacher, Dayna Hudson, has gone all out to make this a math event to remember. Students eagerly shuffle into one classroom. The school’s daily podcast team is here recording. Celebratory snacks are on deck. There’s a drumroll. And the winners? The fifth-grade class!
Everyone goes wild! Chips are flying! You get the picture.
Hudson’s second graders didn’t snag first place (this time), but with notable gains in fluency and math confidence, there’s plenty to celebrate.
Beyond the lesson plan
It’s been four years since Hudson became a proud elementary school educator. Her school is a Title I campus, and like most teachers, her role requires her to do more than just teach reading and arithmetic.
“Being in a Title I school, we have a lot of different behaviors, different backgrounds, things like that,” Hudson explains. “So a lot of our day, while it is academics, it's also social-emotional learning being trauma-informed, and just kind of being more than just a teacher, I'd say in our day-to-day.”
Hudson notes that school attendance is not always the best, so having a tool that meets students at their unique levels of understanding, while being reliable in letting them pick up where they left off, is huge. Enter Reflex.
Becoming a Reflex pioneer
The school’s academic instructional coach introduced staff to Reflex, an adaptive and game-based math fact fluency program, during a PD session at the start of the year. Hudson took the time to test it out for herself. “I think as a Gen Z/older Gen Z teacher, you know…I feel like I do have a good insight into what kids enjoy,” said Hudson. “So I tried it out, and said, ‘Oh, this is definitely doable.’”
Reflex uses the Green Light as a key motivator for students, signifying the completion of a successful day of math fact practice. With Reflex Competitions, students in one classroom can face off against other classes for fun rivalry and motivating math fact practice. The class with the greatest average number of Green Light Days wins!
She explains that after implementing the program, the student excitement was palpable. “You could just sense that they were actually having fun, not ‘Oh, we have to get on Reflex.’”
Once she saw Reflex’s potential, the rest was history. In many ways, Hudson became the pioneer of Reflex for her school. From setting up competitions to displaying student Reflex certificates by the main office, she was fanning student excitement around building math fact fluency—and having fun in the process.
Displaying student Reflex accomplishments
Driving higher scores and a deeper love of math
While the school’s enthusiasm around Reflex was apparent, the growth Hudson measured was undeniable. “Some students had a starting fluency of 0.5%,” Hudson told us. “And at the end of the year (which I ended up switching it to multiplication and division)... they were at 98%, 99% fluency.”
The second-grade class solved 96,000+ facts, and as their fluency climbed, so did their confidence. “I had another little student who I think Reflex made him love math,” recalls Hudson. “I could see it in his day-to-day and in our actual curriculum. He was able to do a lot of mental math. I said, ‘Show your work, show your work,’ and he replied with ‘No, because I did it in my head!’”
“... I would say on average, at least most of the students grew 30%, 40%, depending on where their actual starting fluency was. So overall, not a single kid didn't grow by using Reflex.”— Dayna Hudson
Implementation and data reporting are easier than ever
It didn’t take long for Reflex time to be a regular and anticipated part of Hudson’s daily agenda. “It's an easy thing to implement in the classroom,” she explained. “So as a rotation…you know, once they know how to get started, they can get started. So there's not much planning that has to be done around it. You don't have to worry about assigning little daily assignments.”
When asked what else Hudson appreciated about Reflex as an educator, the powerful data features were at the top of the list. “Just being able to just kind of acknowledge the student growth, and then being able to own it is a very nice piece… an easy way to collect data without having to surf through a bunch of standards or a bunch of assignments. It's all right there.”
Capitalizing on Competitions engagement
While the students loved Reflex right off the bat, it’s no secret that Competitions were an important catalyst in skyrocketing classroom engagement and student buy-in.
Our team has resource kits, team naming guides, incentive idea lists, and more to help you elevate your school’s Competitions, but we love hearing about the unique and creative ways educators are making these events into something special.
You’ve already heard how Herzog teachers came together to make the end of Competitions memorable. But it was the cumulative moments along the way that made the classroom closing ceremony so epic.
Each day, the school’s daily podcast would highlight the Reflex Competition, stirring up plenty of excitement. And it didn’t come without a bit of friendly smack talk. “I had fifth graders coming to my room saying,‘ Miss Hudson, we're beating your class!’ And I'm like, ‘We haven't even done our rotations for today, give us a break!’”
Word on the street is that Herzog is already planning an exciting Green Light Day celebration for students next year. We can’t wait to hear how that unfolds.
Elevate Your Reflex Competitions
How Reflex adds up to the other guys
We’re confident Reflex is the most effective math fact fluency solution out there, but hearing teachers explain how it compares to the other guys seals the deal.
Not only is the program seriously fun and effective, it’s reliable. “I've also had issues with other programs in the past where if they log out, it doesn't save their data unless they hit that check mark,” explains Hudson. “Or they don't have as much customization, so nothing to really keep them going.”
Onward and upward with Reflex
In the same way that teachers are often more than teachers, Reflex Competitions are more than fun math competitions. It’s been an incredible year of increased math achievement and confidence. “We had solved over 96,000 facts, which is a ton! I can't picture how that would be possible to achieve that in a math book.”
It’s safe to say that Hudson’s students are hooked and will be back to claim a Reflex Competition victory before long. We’re cheering them on.
Listen to Dayna’s full story!
Are you ready for the challenge? Start your Reflex trial today to get started! Reflex Competitions are available with a full Reflex subscription. Contact our team to learn more about accessing Competitions with a pilot experience.
Now teaching first-grade, Dayna Hudson has been a proud elementary teacher in Saint Louis Public Schools for the past four years. She’s passionate about nurturing student growth while building a safe, positive, and engaging environment where every child feels supported.
She’s excited to incorporate innovative technology into her classroom to meet the diverse needs of all learners and keep education accessible and fun.