Online Reading Program, TeenBiz3000®, Contributes to Success
Amory, Mississippi (May, 7, 2009) - Students at the Amory Middle School who raised reading scores by nearly two grade levels were treated to a special end-of-year celebration. At the school's Power of Technology awards ceremony, district officials and Amory Mayor Howard Boozer presented ninety-two students and their teachers with the Reading & Writing Award for their academic success.
"Being more confident about reading abilities is the first step in preparing students for a life-time of success. It is a true pleasure to see how well this group of students has done and their commitment to improving individual reading levels," said Cheryl Moore, Principal at Amory Middle School.
Students at Amory Middle School have worked on reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with TeenBiz3000, an online literacy program from Achieve3000®. During the current school year, Amory Middle School students gained 133.4 points on a Lexile® reading assessment, a nationally recognized assessment of reading ability by Metametrics. Not only did students' progress exceed the expected Lexile gains of 54.2 by 79.2 points, but they are also showing strong progress towards mastery of the Mississippi State Standards for Language Arts. A recent study of 28,000 KidBiz3000™ and TeenBiz3000 users across the nation showed that students who completed one session per week, for a total of 40 activities, made Lexile gains more than double expected growth norms. Students who completed two sessions per week and followed recommended best practices more than tripled the expected growth norms.
"We know kids love to read. Our program not only makes this possible, but does so in an interactive, digital environment that customizes each lessons to a student's reading level," said Saki Dodelson, CEO and Co-Founder of Achieve3000. "Amory Middle School students, their families and teachers should be very proud of their progress towards increased reading skills and a lifelong love of reading."
Nearly all (84%) of Amory Middle School students used TeenBiz after-school. By offering the differentiated reading instruction online and in an engaging format, students were motivated to spend time working on their reading and writing lessons. In fact, students at the school spent a total of 23,744 hours in the Achieve3000 programs honing language arts skills and knowledge.
Support for the reading initiative has been generously provided by the Gilmore Foundation, a local nonprofit that is committed to improving the quality of life for citizens of Amory, Monroe County and all of Northeast Mississippi. Skip Miles, Board Member of the Gilmore Foundation also received a special award for their support and commitment to the school.
Amory Middle School has been working with Achieve3000 since 2006 to improve reading scores, and each year, the school has seen remarkable gains in literacy skills and greater engagement by students and parents. "I have 100% support from the teachers. They believe Achieve3000 is a valuable asset to their instruction plan. It's encouraging to see greater gains," said Moore.
About Achieve3000
Achieve3000, founded in New Jersey in 2000, is the leader in online differentiated instruction. Its solutions deliver online differentiated literacy curricula proven to increase reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing proficiency for students in grades 2 through 12 and also for adult learners. Through its proprietary software engine, the company uses the Internet to provide tailored assignments to each student in the class based on his or her reading level. The company's solutions are delivered in a nonfiction, current event format and are based on decades of scientific research. They include KidBiz3000 (a reading and writing program for grades 2 through 5), TeenBiz3000 (a reading and writing program for grades 6 through 12) and Spark3000® (a reading and writing program for adult learners). Achieve3000 is located in Lakewood, N.J., for more information, visit www.achieve3000.com or phone 800-838-8771.
| 
