(NAPSI)—If you’re like many parents, teachers, school officials and others who care about education in America, you have probably figured out that scrutinizing millions of students every year with standardized tests may not be the most effective approach.

The Problem

Often, educators say, the only thing that seems to have become “standardized” is the endless amount of time students spend filling in bubble sheets on exams, rather than improving their academic skills.

A Solution

Fortunately, there may be a way schools could teach to the individual needs of the student—not just teach to the test—and do so at only a fraction of the cost.

That’s what happened at Cahuenga Elementary School in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). It spent less time testing the students, tripled performance gains and saved money by putting technology at the center of its reading curriculum.

For many years, districts across the country have made huge expenditures on assessments. The return on investment, however, depends not just on the accuracy of the test but often on how effectively teachers are able to use the data to improve instruction. In the case of Cahuenga Elementary, the administration took the guesswork out by investing in a software program that has become an essential component of the school’s reading curriculum.

Used by more than 1 million students in the U.S., the research-proven educational technology lets students work independently on activities that build reading proficiency and provide teachers with a real-time, individualized action plan to support each student on the skills with which he or she is struggling.

The key to this process is the software’s Assessment Without Testing functionality, which gathers performance data as students develop their skills on the software. This assessment data is correlated to some of the most commonly used tests so schools can forgo much of the testing throughout the year and use data from the software instead. This saves time and money.

An Educator’s Advice

“Finally, we have a highly effective program that we can rely on to drive student achievement scores up while driving expenses down,” said Dr. Chiae Byun-Kitayama, Instructional Director, Educational Service Center East LAUSD and former Principal, Cahuenga Elementary School. “How can districts afford not to use Lexia Reading?”

Learn More

For further facts about how Lexia Reading can reduce the amount of time and money spent on testing, visit www.lexialearning.com or call (800) 435-3942.

 

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)