Classworks 'Makes the Difference' in High School Students' Success
Posted on: Monday, 5 March 2007, 15:00 CST
The transition year from middle school to high school is critical time for student success and retention in high school. Studies show that the single biggest indicator of a student's graduation from high school is keeping them engaged and successful their freshman year. As a result, high school administrators are constantly looking for a way to keep at-risk students on track and on grade-level.
Bob Barnes, the principal at South View High School in Hope Mills, N.C., has hit on a winning product in Classworks, by Curriculum Advantage, inc. (www.curriculumadvantage.com). Classworks, a computer-assisted instruction program that offers intervention and remediation, is integrated throughout South View. Teachers at South View utilize the program in the classroom setting to introduce concepts, as well as for individual use in the computer lab. But it is having the biggest impact as part of the school's Freshman Academy, designed to help students successfully transition from middle to high school.
Students in North Carolina are required to pass End of Course testing in core subjects, such as Algebra I and English I. Students not meeting the state-mandated proficiency must take 20 hours of remediation before retaking the EOC tests. At South View, Classworks is used to help students needing to retake the tests.
"Here is where Classworks makes the difference," said Barnes. Students who didn't pass the End of Course (EOC) test for Algebra I and English I were assigned Classworks units to bring up their proficiency levels. "I have been a high school principal in North Carolina for 30-plus years. I have never found anything that is more beneficial than Classworks," added Barnes.
The most at-risk students were placed into a freshman seminar class for English, where South View's students recorded a proficiency average 11-percent higher than the North Carolina state average. In the Geometry EOC test, new, tougher state standards had the majority of schools in the state recording double-digit losses in test scores; South View, though, actually improved its scores under the new norms.
Additionally, some students entering high school are not up to grade level in certain subjects and Barnes said that Classworks fills the role of impartial tutor. "Students who are not ready to take, say, Algebra I, can take the benchmark test to find out at what grade-level they are," he added. Because South View bought Classworks for sixth through twelfth grade, freshmen can work on lower grade-levels until they master the course work and get back to grade-level work.
"We have found Classworks to be a tremendous money-saver," Barnes said. "It saves us a ton of money on text books and having students work in the lab instead of having to hire extra teachers."
The early success seen at South View is getting noticed. Officials at nearby Hoke County School District were so impressed with South View's early success they opted to implement Classworks district wide, including seven elementary schools, a pair of middle schools, a high school and an early college.
USDOE studies recently recognized Classworks as the only Computer Assisted Instruction to help improve student achievement. Classworks won the 2006 Software & Information Industry Association CODiE award for Best Newcomer in the education field and as the Best Language Arts Instruction Solution. This year, Classworks is a finalist for two more CODiE Awards: Best K-12 Instruction Solution and Best Mathematics Instruction Solution. Those honors will be awarded in April.
About Curriculum Advantage
Curriculum Advantage, Inc. (www.curriculumadvantage.com) is based in Duluth, Ga. Curriculum Advantage's flagship product is Classworks, a network-based system of K-12 reading and mathematics curriculum and learning tools that currently comprise over 5,000 hours of curriculum. Classworks activities are correlated to national and state learning standards and state tests, and include prescriptive and summative assessment, remediation and reporting tools. Classworks is installed in more than 3,000 schools in the United States and worldwide. INET Classroom, also from Curriculum Advantage, is a comprehensive library of web-based curriculum linked to state and national standards.
Source: Business Wire
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