OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Students in the Clarke County School District in Georgia who used the Fast ForWord® family of educational software products from Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL) made statistically significant gains in their reading achievement on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), according to a new study that evaluated student performance over the last five years.
During the 2010-2011 school year, 55 percent of elementary and middle school students who were not proficient on the Reading portion of the CRCT in 2010 crossed the proficiency threshold in 2011, following their participation in the Fast ForWord program. Likewise, 59 percent of limited English proficient (LEP) students and 46 percent of special education students who were not proficient in 2010 became proficient in 2011 after using the Fast ForWord products.
In addition, longitudinal results showed that not only did the improvements consistently occur immediately following Fast ForWord participation, but the improvements continued in the years that followed. Students who started using the Fast ForWord products during different school years, with some starting as early as 2006-2007, made statistically significant gains in their reading achievement after their first year of product use and maintained the gains in following years, even continuing to improve their CRCT scores. A report of the results can be seen at: http://www.scilearn.com/alldocs/rsrch/sbr/30517clarkecoedurpt.pdf
“Our goal with the Fast ForWord program is to increase the reading achievement of our students,” said Dr. Noris Price, associate superintendent for instructional services and school performance for the Clarke County School District. “We’re very pleased with the results we have seen. Thanks to the excellent work of our teachers, administrators, and a number of district initiatives including the Fast ForWord program, we have seen a positive impact in the performance of our students.”
The Clarke County School District began using the Fast ForWord products during the 2006-2007 school year. The Fast ForWord program accelerates learning for students across a wide spectrum of ages and abilities — including those working at, above or below grade level — by applying proven research on how the brain learns. By building brain fitness in the areas of memory, attention, processing, and sequencing, learners can realize achievement gains of up to two years in as little as three months.
In November 2010, six of Clarke County’s elementary schools that have been using the Fast ForWord products were named Georgia Title I Distinguished Schools for making Adequate Yearly Progress for three or more consecutive years. The school district was also named the winner of the “large” district category for Title I Distinguished Districts in the state of Georgia for closing the achievement gap.
About Clarke County School District
Serving over 12,000 students at 21 schools, Clarke County School District’s mission is to prepare its students to be productive members of society by providing a challenging and meaningful education.
About Scientific Learning Corp.
We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. Scientific Learning’s results are demonstrated in over 250 research studies and protected by over 55 patents. Learners can realize achievement gains of up to two years in as little as three months and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the programs end.
Today, learners have used over 3 million Scientific Learning software products, which apply “Brain Fitness” principles to the areas of English language and reading. We provide our offerings directly to parents, K–12 schools and learning centers, and in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com or call toll-free 888-358-0212.