Press Release - October 2, 2007
Alhambra Unified School District Raises 7th-Grade California Standards Test Scores With Vantage Learning's MY Access!® Online Writing Tool
Tests scores soar from 22 percent proficient to 70 percent proficient in just one year, thanks to classrooms using the award-winning, Web-based language arts program MY Access!®
Newtown, Pa., October 2, 2007 - Teachers and seventh-grade students in the Alhambra Unified School District are celebrating a dramatic increase in test scores on the California Standards Test (CST) writing assessment, thanks to the district's recent implementation of online writing tool MY Access!®. This award-winning, Web-based program from Vantage Learning builds better writers by instantly scoring class essays, and providing immediate remedial instruction that engages and motivates students. Case in point: Alhambra's seventh-graders' scores sky rocketed from 22 percent scoring proficient or above in the 2005/2006 school year, to 70 percent in 2006/2007, after only one year of using MY Access! in the classroom."As a former English teacher, I've spent many nights and weekends grading essays, so MY Access!'s ability to give students immediate feedback on their writing assignments is nothing short of miraculous," says Linda Benafel, Coordinator of Instructional Technology with the Alhambra Unified School District. "It enabled teachers to devote more personal attention to the kids and helped everyone focus their efforts on truly mastering our English curriculum. This year's 70 percent passing rate is an incredible testament to our students' desire to learn and succeed, and to the safe, engaging learning environment MY Access! creates."
To use MY Access!, students write an essay based on a teacher's assignment, and submit it to the Web-based system. The program instantly analyzes over 350 semantic, syntactic, and discourse characteristics, and scores the students on focus and meaning, organization, content and development, language use and style, mechanics and conventions, and overall writing proficiency. MY Access! then scores the essays on a scale of 1 to 6, provides immediate feedback to students, and saves teachers valuable time to focus on personalized, targeted student instruction instead.
As part of its efforts to incorporate technology into the classroom, the district implemented MY Access! through an Enhancing Education Through Technology-Competitive (EETT-C) grant. With this funding, the district also created a coach/mentor program for teachers, and purchased an Apple Mobile Learning Lab, 20 Apple laptop computers with Internet access that rolls into the classroom on carts. This increased the student/computer ratio from 42 to one, to four to one. In addition, Linda Benafel created COW2 (Community of Writers/Computers on Wheels) to fulfill the school-community connection requirement of the grant, and ensure that writing became a priority for all students district-wide.
MY Access! also supports multiple languages to boost the writing scores of the district's English language learners (ELL), who account for 33 percent of Alhambra's student population. The program's multilingual tutoring and editing feedback helped the district's ELL teachers adapt the program based on students' English proficiency. In addition, its unique translation feature let ELL students write in English, but receive feedback and corrections in their native language.
"Alhambra Unified School District has proven it puts the interests of its students at the forefront, and is committed to building their writing skills and confidence," says Harry Barfoot, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Vantage Learning. "MY Access! provides the perfect complement to the teachers' and students' dedication by offering the depth, flexibility, and innovation needed to take these kids to the next level. We are proud to support the district in their mission, and instill in every child a love and passion for the English language."
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 interaction 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.