Lightspan’s Academic Systems Expands into Secondary Schools
Academic Systems, the higher education division of Lightspan, Inc. and a leading provider of interactive multimedia instructional programs for college students, has expanded into the secondary education market. Early implementations of Academic Systems’ award-winning, technology-based Interactive Mathematics in both middle schools and high schools have demonstrated that the curriculum gives teachers a powerful tool to help teach mathematics effectively.
As state and federal agencies mandate that students achieve proficiency in mathematics and demonstrate it on assessment tests, secondary schools are facing increasing pressures to find innovative and effective ways to teach Algebra and other mathematics courses. Moreover, increasing numbers of middle school students are required to successfully complete Algebra before entering high school. To meet these needs, Academic Systems’ Interactive Mathematics, which has been used successfully for many years at colleges nationwide, has been adapted to meet the specific needs of middle school and high school learners.
“Through this new product adaptation, we’re seeing high schools provide student with learning options that haven’t been available previously, using technology in the teaching of mathematics,” said Jim Dredge, CEO of Academic Systems. “The results we’re seeing are testimony to the success that Interactive Mathematics can help secondary schools achieve.”
Highlights of successful early implementations in secondary schools include:
In January 2001, Bedford High School in Bedford, Massachusetts, offered Interactive Mathematics to address low performance on the state assessment. When students were post-tested in June 2001, more than half were able to advance to Algebra I, with 72 percent of the students increasing their scores an average of 25 points.
At Apollo Career Center High School in Ohio, students demonstrated an overall improved class average of one letter grade, with a 13 percent improvement on the math post-test compared with the math pre-test.
New Brighton Middle School in California used Interactive Mathematics for eighth grade as part of a program designed to improve student achievement. In a one-year period, from spring 2000 to spring 2001, students improved a total of 16 percent, going from 63 percent of the students scoring at or above the 50th percentile, to 79 percent scoring at or above the 50th percentile.
New Technology High School in Napa California, a model for the Digital High School Initiative, has a reputation for excellent, cutting-edge curriculum design. They chose Academic Systems’ Interactive Mathematics because it best fits the needs of the students in their unique teaching and learning environment.
“Academic Systems offers teachers another approach to reinforce key math concepts and to accommodate the individual learning styles of all students to better prepare them for the various tests students are faced with each year,” said Dr. Diane Siri, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools. “By working with Academic Systems in our middle schools we are providing students with every opportunity to be successful in Algebra, greatly increasing the likelihood that they will go on to college and continue to find academic success.”
Interactive Mathematics Provides The Solutions Secondary Schools are Seeking
Interactive Mathematics provides dynamic, multi-media curriculum for teaching and learning Prealgebra, Algebra I and Algebra II. In-depth, technology-based materials offer rigorous curriculum, encourage students to become active participants in the learning process and give teachers much needed flexibility to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Teachers are able to customize the curriculum, use it as a full program or as supplemental instruction in traditional or block scheduling, and can also extend the classroom with managed, Internet-hosted distance learning.
About Academic Systems
Academic Systems Corporation, the secondary and higher education division of Lightspan, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSPN), has focused on meeting the needs of instructors and students since it was founded in 1992. The company’s interactive, multimedia instructional programs, Interactive Mathematics for secondary and higher education students, and Interactive English for college students, offer an enhanced learning environment in developmental and entry-level courses. Created in concert with educators, Academic Systems’ networked courses have demonstrated increases in learning and achievement; the programs have been used by more than 350,000 students. For more information contact Academic Systems Corporation at 800-694-6850, or visit the Web site at www.academic.com.
Contact: Bob Scheid
Lightspan, Inc.
(866) 251-6694 toll free
bscheid@lightspan.com
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