OAKLAND, Calif., June 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scientific Learning Corp. (Nasdaq:SCIL) has named Murray County Schools in Georgia a National Reference Site. The district joins a distinguished group of 35 National Reference Site schools and districts in the United States and Canada that exemplify the outstanding use of Fast ForWord®, a family of educational software products that accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns.
Located in the northwest corner of the state near Chatsworth, Murray County Schools was selected for its exemplary district-wide implementation of the Fast ForWord program and its commitment to helping all students acquire the foundational skills necessary to achieve academic excellence. As a National Reference Site, the district will serve as a resource for other schools and districts seeking advice on how to best use the Fast ForWord program to build brain fitness and increase students' reading proficiency. The school will also participate in research to help Scientific Learning enhance the effectiveness of its products and services.
A high-poverty district, Murray County Schools began using the Fast ForWord program in 2010 to help a group of high school students who, based on previous high stakes test scores, would likely fail the English Language Arts (ELA) component of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT). "These students were very much at risk of dropping out. We tried every possible intervention to help them but nothing was working," said Allison Oxford, the district's director of instructional support services. "We learned about Fast ForWord and its research-based approach to strengthening brain processing and literacy skills, and we just knew this was the solution we needed."
The at-risk students began using the Fast ForWord software and after working on it an average of 60 days, nearly 70 percent passed the GHSGT ELA. A few months later, the GHSGT ELA pass rate among this group was up to 81 percent. Based on this success, the district expanded the use of the Fast ForWord program to all 11 of its schools.
"Overall our reading scores were good and we've made great progress toward closing the achievement gap, but we still had some students who struggled, no matter what best practices we utilized. Based on the incredible success we saw in our high schools, we knew Fast ForWord could help all students, no matter what grade or subcategory," said Dr. Vickie Reed, superintendent of Murray County Schools. "We're very pleased with the results of the implementation so far and with our new National Reference Site status. The fact that for the 2011-12 school year our students who made improvement made one year and four months of learning gains — with nine of our 11 schools only having Fast ForWord since January — proves that we found the right solution."
About Scientific Learning Corp.
We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. Scientific Learning's results are demonstrated in over 250 research studies and protected by over 55 patents. Learners can realize achievement gains of up to two years in as little as three months and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the programs end.
Today, learners have used over 3 million Scientific Learning software products. We provide our offerings directly to parents, K–12 schools and learning centers, and in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com or call toll-free 888-810-0250.