Press Release - May 7, 2007

Delaware ELL Students Prove Online Learning Tackles Language Barriers

Vantage Learning's MY Access!® gives Spanish-speaking students at Wilmington's Conrad Middle School the tools they need to master English-and the Delaware Student Testing Program

Newtown, Pa., May 7, 2007 - English Language Learner (ELL) students at Conrad Middle School in Wilmington, Del., are boosting their English proficiency, enthusiasm for writing, and critical computer skills, thanks to MY Access!®, Vantage Learning's online instructional writing program. Since the school incorporated MY Access!® into its bilingual ELL program in 2003, teachers have seen a marked improvement both in students' test scores, and their willingness to write and express themselves in English.

Seventeen percent of Conrad students are in the school's ELL program, which currently has 85 participants. Conrad is one of two middle schools in the Red Clay School District that offers bilingual ELL instruction, a program that teaches students alternately in English and Spanish.

"Writing in a second language can be challenging for students who are still learning that language," says Barbara Prillaman, a sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade ELL teacher at Conrad Middle School. "Since we started using MY Access!, I've seen a dramatic difference in my students' eagerness to write-they're excited to hop on the computers and do their work. Many of my students come from countries where they had little contact with computers. MY Access! gives them the chance to perfect their writing skills, while also perfecting their technology and typing skills, all of which are so important for kids today."

MY Access! builds better writers by instantly scoring student essays on a scale from 1 to 6, and providing immediate, targeted feedback and focused instruction that engages and motivates students. To use MY Access!, students simply write an essay based on a teacher's assignment, then submit the essay to the MY Access! system. MY Access! instantly analyzes more than 300 semantic, syntactic, and discourse characteristics, and scores students on focus and meaning, organization, content and development, language use and style, mechanics and conventions, and on overall writing proficiency.

MY Access! can provide feedback in English, Spanish and Chinese, giving ELL teachers the ability to adapt the program based on students' English proficiency. At Conrad, the students write their essays in English, and receive feedback in Spanish.

Two ELL students in particular have made noticeable improvements since using MY Access!. Thomas1, a seventh grader from Mexico, scored 1's and 2's when he first began using MY Access! as a sixth grader. He was discouraged, and didn't want to write as often as required. Through MY Access!'s individualized feedback, Thomas has worked to improve his writing, and is now consistently composing better essays. He's also bumped his MY Access! scores up to 5s.

Anita1, a sixth grader from Puerto Rico, was afraid of speaking and writing English when she first came to Conrad. By giving feedback in Spanish, MY Access! helped Anita shake her fears and gave her the confidence to learn English. She was recently part of a school-wide incentive program that awarded MY Access! pens to students who scored a 4 or better on the program.

"The ELL program at Conrad Middle School validates our continued commitment to helping all students improve their skills and confidence when it comes to writing," says Harry Barfoot, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Vantage Learning. "At Conrad, the main goal is to motivate students to learn English. The ability to get instant feedback in Spanish is one more way teachers can customize our products for different learning levels and proficiencies, and increase their English competency and knowledge for a successful educational career."

1 - Names changed for privacy purposes

About Vantage Learning

Delivering more than 193 million online test transactions last year, Vantage Learning is recognized as the leader in cost-effective, high volume, secure, scalable online assessment and instructional programs for K-12 and higher education. Leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence, natural language understanding, and web-based learning objects, Vantage provides educators with high-quality tools and resources that motivate students to learn and that create meaningful interactions between students, parents and teachers.

Acknowledged by industry leaders as the gold standard for scoring quality, consistency, reliability, and scalability of automated essay scoring using the patented IntelliMetric® engine, Vantage Learning has received accolades ranging from the prestigious CODiE Award for best instructional technology to recognition by Eduventures as one of the eight most innovative educational technology companies.