The Science of Learning

Students at the East Oakland elementary school improve their performance on the California Standards Tests in English-language arts and mathematics 3/26/12 Media Contact: Anne BergerSenior Director of MarketingScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Investor Contact: Bob FellerChief Financial OfficerScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Oakland, Calif. — March 26, 2012 — Once a low performing school, Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy in East Oakland has achieved double-digit gains on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) in English-language arts and mathematics, and is now a nominee for a National Blue Ribbon School. The dramatic gains are due in no small part to the hard work of teachers, students, parents and school leaders, but also to the use of the Fast ForWord® family of educational software products from Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL). In 2008-09, Korematsu Discovery Academy, a Title I school, was identified for Program Improvement after failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years. With support from the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Principal Charles Wilson launched the Fast ForWord program in fall 2010 in an after-school program for students identified at the Below Basic and Far Below Basic performance levels on the CSTs, and in a before-school program for English learners. Through the individualized, adaptive exercises of Fast ForWord software, students build memory, attention, processing, and sequencing skills in the areas of English language and reading. The program supports struggling students, as well as those working at or above grade level, by building their brain fitness and improving their ability to learn and retain knowledge. From 2009 to 2011, the percentage of students in grades 2-5 performing at the Proficient and Advanced levels on the CSTs increased from 17 percent to 41 percent in English-language arts, and from 39 percent to 67 percent in mathematics. Likewise, the school’s API score increased, rising from 641 points in 2009 to […]

Students of diverse ability levels achieve gains in reading and language arts on Measures of Academic Progress after using Fast ForWord products at Bulloch County, Ga., school 2/28/12 Media Contact: Jessica LindlSenior Vice President of MarketingScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Investor Contact: Bob FellerChief Financial OfficerScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Oakland, Calif. — February 27, 2012 — Sixth graders at Langston Chapel Middle School who used the Fast ForWord® family of educational software products achieved substantial gains in reading and English language arts on the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), according to a study by Dr. Jody Woodrum, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for grades K-5 in Bulloch County Schools in Georgia. Bulloch County Schools began using the Fast ForWord products, developed by Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL), with targeted students during the 2007-2008 school year. During the 2009-2010 school year, for the first time, Langston Chapel Middle School used the Fast ForWord software across an entire grade. All sixth graders — including general education, at-risk, gifted and talented, English language learner, and special education students — worked on the Fast ForWord products 40 minutes a day for at least one semester. According to Woodrum’s study, 77 percent of the sixth graders at Langston Chapel Middle School made English language arts gains on the MAP after using the Fast ForWord products. For the students who achieved gains, the gains were substantial, corresponding to the 99th percentile of the Growth National Percentile Rank (GNPR). The GNPR is a measure of improvement relative to “academic peers” — students in similar grades and at similar achievement levels. In addition, 64 percent of the students increased their percentile rank on the reading component of the MAP. For the students who made reading gains, the gains were also very large, corresponding to the 95th percentile for on or above grade […]

Students in the Palmyra and West Jefferson Hills school districts improve their reading achievement levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment 12/16/11 Media Contact: Jessica LindlSenior Vice President of MarketingScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Investor Contact: Bob FellerChief Financial OfficerScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Oakland, Calif. — Dec. 16, 2011 — More than three-quarters of Pleasant Hills Middle School students who used the Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ family of educational software products from Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL) improved their reading achievement by one or more levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in 2011.  Located in southeast Pennsylvania, the school is part of the West Jefferson Hills School District where another school, Jefferson Elementary, also saw reading achievement gains among many students using the Fast ForWord program. On the other side of the state near Harrisburg, the Palmyra Area School District is also reporting gains among students who participated in the Fast ForWord program, including those who struggle most with reading.  “A recent analysis of two years worth of data supports what we believed to be true, that students who use these products are making great progress,” said Dr. Collene Van Noord, superintendent of Palmyra Area School District.  “What’s particularly exciting is that we’re seeing gains across the board, in the general population, as well as among special ed students, English language learners, and secondary students who have struggled for years.  We couldn’t be more pleased with these results.” “The leaders in Palmyra and West Jefferson are to be applauded for their vision.  They have embraced what neuroscience research tells us about how the brain learns and, in turn, provided their students access to products that strengthen brain processing and literacy skills, and increase reading proficiency,” said Dr. William Jenkins, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Scientific Learning.  “These results clearly show that when students can read […]

Return on Investment, or “ROI” is a straightforward concept.  With educational interventions, we invest something (typically time, money, or energy) and receive some benefit.  The primary benefit of investing time, money, and energy in Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ products is increased student achievement.  This benefit has always been a focus for Scientific Learning.   However, in our discussions with customers, we realized that many district stakeholders had a parallel benefit that they are concerned with: the financial impact on their district as a whole.  We decided to see if we could address and quantify this parallel (and perhaps complementary) view of ROI. We identified four areas where data suggest that implementation of Scientific Learning products can impact a district’s financial costs: Reduction of the high school dropout rate Reduction of referrals to special education Reduction of the number of students who require ELL services Reduction of the number of students classified as “struggling readers” Here’s an example of how we tried to quantify one of these benefits.  A district in Swartz Creek, Michigan observed a 30% drop year-over-year in special education referrals after implementing Fast ForWord products with their students. To be safe, we chose a very statistically conservative estimate for the reduction a new customer might expect to see in their special education referral rates: 21.2%.  Technically, we got this by looking at the lower bound of a 95% confidence interval for the effect based on the Swartz Creek data.   These estimates led to the creation of Scientific Learning’s Return on Investment Tool.  The tool estimates the ROI—that is, the true financial cost—of using Scientific Learning products over a three year horizon.  This includes the initial software purchase and three years of product support. Note that we often see ROIs greater than 100% (i.e. a net financial benefit) for medium […]

Districts using Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord program improve achievement for students of a wide spectrum of abilities, and reduce costs for intervention services 5/31/11 Media Contact: Jessica LindlSenior Vice President, Marketing and Product ManagementScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Investor Contact: Bob FellerChief Financial OfficerScientific Learning Corporation(510) [email protected] Oakland, Calif. — May 31, 2011 — According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average per pupil expenditure in U.S. schools today is just over $10,000. The Center for Special Education Finance calculates that for students with disabilities, the cost is 1.9 times more expensive. Even with some state and federal aid, this equates to, on average, nearly $19,000 a year to educate each student with special needs — a significant financial responsibility for school districts especially in these times of severe budget cuts.  However, innovative districts such as Westfield-Washington Schools in central Indiana and St. Mary Parish Public Schools in Louisiana have found a way to reduce special education expenses by effectively addressing foundational reading and learning issues, thereby reducing unnecessary referrals to special education. In 2006, both school districts implemented a brain fitness program called Fast ForWord®. The software program consists of intensive, adaptive exercises that build brain fitness in the areas of memory, attention, processing, and sequencing — cognitive skills essential for learning and reading success. Fast ForWord supports special education students, as well as those working at or above grade level, by improving their ability to learn and retain knowledge. This results in increased reading proficiency, improved comprehension of other subject areas, increased self-confidence, and reduced costs for intervention services. Westfield-Washington Schools In Westfield-Washington Schools, located just north of Indianapolis, schools have realized savings in the reduction of inaccurate referrals to special education. Through the use of the Fast ForWord program, schools have prevented the misidentification of struggling students as special needs students, so doctors […]

This study looked at 118 English Language Learner students who used Fast ForWord® products in the 2009-2010 school year from Everett Public Schools in Everett, MA.  A small minority of the students also used the Fast ForWord products in the previous 2008-2009 school year. These students were tested in both 2009 and 2010 with the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment, or the “MEPA” for short.  The impact of Fast ForWord products was dramatic and positive.  Following Fast ForWord participation, students averaged about 15 and a half scaled score points of improvement between 2009 and 2010.   In addition, no student scored at proficiency level 1 (the lowest proficiency level) after using Fast ForWord products.  On the other end of the spectrum, the number of students in the top two proficiency levels (levels 4 and 5) more than doubled, from 33 to 74 students.  Finally, 68% of participants improved one or more proficiency levels; 26% maintained the same proficiency level they had in 2009; while only 6% dropped a level.  This shift is statistically significant.

Since the 2004-2005 school year, the Dallas Independent School District has used the Fast ForWord products in many of their high schools. This multi-year study followed more than 500 high school students from 20 schools over the years of their Fast ForWord participation.   This study shows impressive longitudinal results on the TAKS which is The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills which is administered annually throughout Texas and is closely aligned with the state curricular standards.   A longitudinal study is a type of study that follows the same subjects over time. Students started with the Fast ForWord Middle & High School product, now known as the Fast ForWord Literacy product. Many went on to use the Fast ForWord Language to Reading and Fast ForWord to Reading products. On average, students spent 60 days using the products during a 5 ½ month period.  The scores of Fast ForWord participants moved in step with the state average until the students started to use Fast ForWord products.  During the year of Fast ForWord product use, the participants experienced accelerated learning that separated their performance from that of their peers.  Even up to two years after they finished using the products, the Fast ForWord participants maintained their improvements. The TAKS gains made during the study were statistically larger for the Dallas Fast ForWord participants than the gains made by their statewide peers.

Every spring, the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, abbreviated CRCT, are administered to students in Georgia.  The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia Performance Standards. Students are tested in Reading, English Language Arts and Mathematics.  It is given every spring to all students in grades 1-8 and the students included in this study were first through eighth graders. Students who used the Fast ForWord products generally started with the Fast ForWord Language or Fast ForWord Literacy products. During the 2007 – 2008 school year, some students started on the Fast ForWord Reading products, progressing as far as the Fast ForWord Reading Level 3 product.  On average, students used the products for 60 – 70 days during a 6 month period. The first wave of Fast ForWord participants at Clarke County started using the products between the 2006 and 2007 tests and made statistically significant improvements on the spring 2007 CRCT with continued improvements in 2008.  Students in the second wave started using the products between the 2007 and 2008 tests and made statistically significant improvements on the spring 2008 CRCT.  The third group served as the comparison group and did not use the products until after the 2008 test. The students who used the Fast ForWord products made more improvements in their reading achievement, crossing the proficiency threshold, compared to the students who did not use the products. In fact, 40% of the participants who were not proficient in 2006 reached proficiency in 2007 compared to 27% of the non-proficient students who did not use products. In addition to longitudinal results, data were also analyzed for certain demographic groups, including students who were receiving Special Education services and students with Limited English Proficiency. Both groups achieved statistically significant improvements on the […]