Press Release - March 13, 2006

MY Access!® Helps Georgia Students Improve Writing Skills and Boost State Test Scores

Three Georgia schools show extraordinary progress after incorporating Vantage Learning's online writing tool into their curriculum

Atlanta, GA, March 13, 2006 - Students across Georgia are significantly increasing their scores on statewide writing assessment tests, noticeably improving their writing skills, and showing a greater interest in language arts since adopting MY Access!®, Vantage Learning's award-winning Web-based writing tool. MY Access! builds better writers by instantly scoring student essays, and providing immediate remedial instruction that engages and motivates students.

Three Georgia schools provide compelling examples of the impact MY Access! can have on students, teachers, and entire school districts. The results at these three schools are a snapshot of the larger effect MY Access! is having across Georgia, as schools discover ways to meet No Child Left Behind requirements, and increase their emphasis on reading and writing along with other curriculum obligations.

• Therrell High School, Atlanta: Before integrating MY Access! into the curriculum, the school averaged a 75 percent passing rate on the Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test—the lowest scores in the Atlanta Public School District. This year, after 400 sophomores participated in a MY Access! pilot program, the school rose to third place in the district, and enjoyed a winning 93 percent passing rate. Likewise, special education students using MY Access! increased their passing rate from 36 percent to 48 percent—a huge gain. In the wake of this unprecedented success, Therrell High School is looking to increase their number of MY Access! subscriptions. Teachers are also expanding their use of MY Access! capabilities by creating timed writing exercises to help students prepare for the new writing portion of the SATs.
• Upson-Lee Middle School, Thomaston: Upson-Lee was in danger of being labeled a No Child Left Behind ‘at-risk' school when test scores dropped after Ann McDaniel, the school's writing facilitator, retired. Nearly 25 percent of Upson-Lee's eighth-graders were below their targeted learning level. McDaniel returned from retirement to incorporate MY Access! into the eighth-grade curriculum. The result: the average MY Access! score has increased nearly 10% in four months, and students are showing a renewed interest in their writing.
• Jasper Middle School, Pickens County: The school brought in MY Access! as a way to give students more writing opportunities without overburdening teachers with hours of essay scoring. Educators were so impressed with the program that a teacher from Jasper gave a presentation touting the benefits of MY Access! at a recent meeting of the North Georgia Regional Education Services Agency, attended by educators from surrounding districts.

"The progress our students have made since we incorporated MY Access! into the curriculum is astounding," says Cheryl Darville, a teacher at Therrell High School. "The students love the immediate feedback, because it's customized to help them track their progress, and provides remediation to shore up their weaknesses. Now, when I walk into the classroom, my students are already engaged in their writing—without any motivation from me. We couldn't be happier with the outcome."

In addition, Georgia's state writing standards have been integrated into MY Access!. Teachers can now search for and select prompts by theme, level, basal reading textbook, and now by specific Georgia writing standards. Teachers and administrators experience the value of MY Access! for pre- and post-testing, adding district benchmark writing assessments, aligning prompts to core reading programs, and leveraging their investments for a total solution to their writing needs.

MY Access! is based on Vantage Learning's IntelliMetric® engine, which uses a rich blend of artificial intelligence (AI) and the virtualization of human expertise to accurately assess a student's competency and progress in writing and other subjects. IntelliMetric scoring is used by industry leaders such as the College Board and ACT for college readiness programs as well as the GMAT® for scoring of writing for graduate school admissions. IntelliMetric scores are consistently more accurate than human expert scorers and have been touted as the most accurate in the industry. "Georgia students and teachers are experiencing what schools across the country know firsthand: MY Access! is an incredibly effective online system that quantitatively improves students' writing skills," says Harry Barfoot, Vice President of Marketing for Vantage Learning. "Despite the varying needs and goals of Therrell High School, Upson-Lee Middle School, and Jasper Middle School, the outcome was consistently better writers and, most important, increased interest in language arts and writing."

About Vantage Learning

Vantage Learning (www.VantageLearning.com), an affiliate of Vantage Laboratories and the leading provider of online assessment and automated essay scoring, developed IntelliMetric® to meet the needs of business, education, and government agencies needing a comprehensive Internet-based test authoring, delivery, scoring and reporting platform. IntelliMetric administers and scores responses to open-ended questions over the Internet using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology. An individual can enter a response to a question posed, submit the response, and receive an immediate score with feedback within seconds.

Most recently, Vantage Learning's MY Access!® won two Codie Awards in 2005 for Best Instructional Program – Secondary and Best Instructional Program – English Language Learners. MY Access! was also a 2004 Award of Excellence winner from Technology and Learning Magazine, and Eduventures selected Vantage Learning as one of the eight most innovative educational technology companies. In addition, MY Access! was included in Technology and Learning Magazine's Top 10 Smart Technologies for Schools in 2002, and is a Codie Awards finalist four years in a row. Vantage Learning provides services in all 50 states including state-level programs in Virginia, Oregon, Mississippi, and Texas and provides services to educational leaders such as The College Board, ACT, and Hampton-Brown.