We've already told you about the journey: two years of virtual monthly meetings, coaching visits, and content deep-dives that made up the EPIC Numeracy Alliance's first cohort. But recently, we got to see something we've been waiting for: the data. Dr. Lisa Duffin of Western Kentucky University completed her external evaluation of Cohort 1. Honestly, it's one thing to feel like the work mattered. It's another thing entirely to see it confirmed in black and white.
So let's talk numbers for a minute.
Teachers say it changed how they teach
On the End-of-Year 2 survey, teachers rated EPIC a 4.70 out of 5 when asked whether the program led them to adopt instructional routines and habits that changed how they teach mathematics, and a 4.62 out of 5 when asked whether EPIC helped them develop the instructional skills to improve their teaching. Those aren't just good scores; it’s teachers telling us, in their own words, that something real shifted in their classrooms.
And shift it did. Teachers described growth in instructional strategies, in understanding how students learn mathematics, and in their beliefs about what effective teaching actually looks like. That last one might be the most important. Skills can be taught. Beliefs are harder to move, and ours moved.
The content knowledge caught up too
We've always said this work is about building content knowledge and changing practice, and the data backs that up on both fronts. Our grades 3-5 teachers demonstrated significant growth in their conceptual understanding of fractions across the two years. Our grades 6-8 teachers demonstrated significant growth in Algebra during Year 2, with a large effect size of d = 0.87. For anyone who speaks statistics, that's not a small bump; that's a meaningful, measurable leap in what teachers understand and can pass on to students.
Dr. Duffin's conclusion says it plainly: Learning Outcome 1 was met. Teachers deepened their conceptual understanding of critical mathematics concepts.
Practices that are built to last
Here's what excites us most: this wasn't a two-year experience that fades once the program ends. Teachers identified 182 specific mentions of instructional changes they intend to keep, mathematical discourse, Three Reads, productive struggle, math language routines, manipulatives, CRA, and the Standards for Mathematical Practice among them. And 74.2% of those changes were instructional practices, not just materials or mindset, but actual moves teachers make every day in front of students.
That's the kind of number that tells you this wasn't just a PD. It was a collective effort toward meaningful change to produce EPIC outcomes for Kentucky students.
Over 120 educators stayed engaged across the full two years. That kind of sustained commitment, showing up, trying new things, sitting with the discomfort of changing long-held habits, is not something we take lightly.
What this means for Cohort 2
Seeing this data land is a good reminder of why we do this work, and why we're so excited to welcome a new group of teachers into Cohort 2 this fall. If Cohort 1 taught us anything, it's that two years of sustained, relationship-driven professional learning can move the needle on both what teachers know and what students experience in the classroom.
Kentucky students. EPIC outcomes. We've got the data to support it now, and we can't wait to keep building.