Special Education
A Level Playing Field
ST Math doesn’t lower the bar for students with disabilities.
It removes learning barriers that never should have been there.
Traditional math instruction overloads language and working memory before students can reason. ST Math changes the environment so all students can engage in meaningful math learning.
The Problem Isn’t the Learner. It’s the Learning Environment.
When instruction overwhelms working memory, access disappears — not because students can’t think mathematically, but because the environment blocks thinking.
ST Math removes barriers unrelated to reasoning.
Built on How Every Brain Learns
ST Math is built on the brain’s natural learning cycle — seeing, trying, and receiving feedback — reducing unnecessary cognitive load so students can focus their mental effort on making sense of math.
Students with disabilities don’t succeed because ST Math is designed for them. They succeed because it’s designed for how all brains learn.
Math Made Visible.
Learning Made Possible.
Across large-scale analyses, students receiving special education services show nearly indistinguishable patterns of engagement and progress compared to peers within the same performance levels.
- Comparable activity levels – measured by attempts per hour
- Comparable persistence through challenge
- No evidence of disengaged learner groups
It’s Not Ability. It’s Access.
When access barriers are removed, the learning response converges.
When placed in the ST Math environment, SPED students engage in productive struggle at rates comparable to their peers.
Attempts/hour = willingness to try
Willingness to try = belief + low cognitive friction
Low cognitive friction = reduced extraneous load
Reduced load = access without lowering rigor
ST Math removes barriers that typically suppress effort — allowing SPED students to engage in productive struggle rather than opt out.
ST Math doesn’t just allow SPED students to engage — it invites engagement.
As math becomes more challenging, students receiving special education services progress through ST Math at nearly the same rate as their peers within performance levels.
She belongs in the learning —and now the learning meets her there.
No separate track. No lowered expectations.
Just meaningful access to learning designed for how the brain learns.
