Once a Low Performing District, St. Mary Parish Public School System Now Outperforms Counterparts Across the State
Fourth grade students improve state test scores, increase reading proficiency, and narrow the achievement gap after using Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant software
10/08/10
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Jessica Lindl
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Scientific Learning Corporation
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Scientific Learning Corporation
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Oakland, Calif. — Oct. 8, 2010 — Once a low performing district, the St. Mary Parish Public School System in Centerville, La., has logged significant gains and test score increases to become a role model for school districts looking to make dramatic changes in their performance.
Six years ago, there were large disparities between the reading proficiency of various subgroups of fourth graders, and the state of Louisiana had placed several of the district’s schools in Academic Assistance. After using the Scientific Learning (NASDAQ:SCIL) Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ educational software products, fourth grade students in St. Mary Parish achieved gains on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP), with scores for all subgroups improving and the district making significant progress toward closing the achievement gap between white students and other student subgroups. The Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant family of products strengthens brain processing and literacy skills to increase reading proficiency and accelerate learning for students of all ages.
During the 2006-07 school year, the rural St. Mary Parish Public School System started school-wide use of the Fast ForWord software at eight elementary schools that were in Academic Assistance, a designation for schools that fail to improve sufficiently. Since that year, fourth graders have shown dramatic improvements in their reading achievement as measured by the LEAP English Language Arts (ELA) test. In 2008, for the first time in a decade, the district exceeded the state average for the percentage of fourth graders scoring at or above the Basic level on the initial ELA test. During the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, Fast ForWord was extended to the rest of the district, and the schools began using Reading Assistant software. In four years, the percentage of fourth graders in the district performing at or above Basic on the initial LEAP ELA test increased from 53 percent to 78 percent. In August 2010, following the fourth grade summer retest, 92 percent of the fourth graders were at Basic or above.
“Over the past four years, our fourth grade students have made astounding gains, outpacing their state counterparts in English language arts as well as math and science,” said Superintendent Donald W. Aguillard, Ph.D. “Our fourth graders now rank 14th in the state, signifying a continuance of annual proficiency increases since 2006. As a result, the number of fourth graders who require summer remediation has declined significantly, and students’ self-confidence and motivation have soared. In reading and across the curriculum, our students are clearly benefitting from our ongoing efforts to provide effective, targeted instruction and interventions through the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs.”
Closing the Achievement Gap
According to Dr. Aguillard, St. Mary Parish has also made progress toward closing the achievement gap between white students and black students who, respectively, comprise 48 percent and 46 percent of the student population. Gains have also been made closing the gap between economically disadvantaged students, who represent 67 percent of the student population, and across the district as a whole.
“In grades three through five in English language arts, the achievement gap between white and black students in the elementary grades dropped from 22 points in 2005-06 to less than 10 points in 2009-10, so we’ve seen a significant reduction in a four-year period of time,” he said. “In addition, from 2004 to 2010, the percentage of students achieving proficiency in English language arts increased 56 percent among black students, 27 percent among white students, 48 percent among economically disadvantaged students, and 38 percent across all students in grades three through five.”
SLC Leadership Center
In recognition of the district’s exemplary implementation of the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs, Scientific Learning selected the St. Mary Parish Public School System as an SLC Leadership Center. The district, which was named a Scientific Learning National Reference Site in 2009, was chosen for this honor from National Reference Sites across the country. As an SLC Leadership Center, St. Mary Parish will serve as an educational demonstration site and resource for other school districts seeking advice on how to best use the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs to increase students’ reading proficiency. St. Mary Parish will also participate in research to help Scientific Learning increase the effectiveness of its products and services.
About Scientific Learning Corp.
Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. Scientific Learning Reading Assistant™ combines advanced speech recognition technology with scientifically based courseware to help students strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient, life-long readers. The efficacy of the products has been established by more than 200 research studies. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com or call toll-free 888-358-0212.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor created by the federal securities laws. Such statements include, among others, statements relating to the school district’s future activities as an SLC Leadership Center. Such statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of many factors, including but not limited to: the resources available to and other factors impacting the school district, the resources the district devotes to the program, the availability of suitable research projects, and other risks detailed in Scientific Learning’s SEC reports, including but not limited to the Report on Form10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 (Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors), filed August 13, 2010.
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