Credit Recovery on Your Terms

Wrightstown Middle School Data-Driven Success for RTI Students

Waterloo Students Thrive When Offered an Alternative

Portland Elementary in Springfield, Missouri, saw a double-digit increase on the MAP test after implementing Study Island

Portland Elementary in Springfield, Missouri, needed a program to help raise its Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores. Dr. Lora Hopper, principal at Portland Elementary, sought out a program that would provide an enjoyable way to use educational technology to increase test scores. Since the Title I school began using Study Island in 2009, students have achieved a 22% increase on the MAP in communication arts and a 40% increase in mathematics.

Plato Courseware Helps Students Recover Credits and Graduate on Time

Attheendofthesemester,aguidancecounseloridentifiesstudentswhoare failingoneormoreclassesinthecoreareasofmath,English,science,and socialstudies.ThesestudentsaretypicallyplacedinaPlatoCoursewareclassin lieuofstudyhall. Theclasstakesplaceinacomputerlabthatisdedicatedto PlatoCoursewareandisrunbytwoclassroomteachers.Theteachershelpto ensurethatstudentscanrecoverthecreditsnecessarytostayontrackand, ultimately,graduate. ThePlatoCoursewarecomputerlabalsoservesmostof theNewarkCitySchoolDistrictfifth-yearstudents,alongwithstudentswho enrollinNewarkHighSchoolmid-yearandneedhelpcatchingup.

Serving the Evolving Needs of a Rural Community

Frank Long Elementary Improves Student Performance on the Georgia CriterionReferenced Competency Tests (CRCT) with Study Island

With Study Island, students don’t feel like they’re working on schoolwork because it’s fun,” said Heath. “It’s more like a video game approach to learning. They love the games and rewards, so they flourish with Study Island. And I like Study Island because I can put students on the computer and know they’re working on standards-based items and building the skills they need to succeed. I know that it strongly supports my classroom curriculum. It’s helped us get to where we are today and we continue to grow.

Starting Early Learners on the Right Path

Edmentum’s Northstar Workforce Readiness system provides easy-to-use, online practice and preparation for Allied Health certification and licensing exams, making it the perfect tool for the students to use for test practice, instruction, and review. Palm Beach State selected the program because of its ability to be customized for the three certification exams, as well as the bundled pricing that allowed a small college to take advantage of the opportunity. Because the certification exams have quite a bit of vocabulary involved as well, Study Island was also brought in to strengthen students’ understanding of the complicated terminology involved in their fields.

Rigorous Courses and Rigorous Expectations Lead to Success for Ottumwa

Cochran indicates that there was some initial skepticism among staff. “For a few, there was a sense that with online courses for credit recovery you ‘throw a student in, they get their credit and they get out.’ They saw it as an easy way out. But once they became familiar with them, they really came to understand the rigor and complexity of the courses.” The teachers and the students soon came to realize that online learning with Plato Courseware was far from “the easy way out.” He says that regardless of how courses are delivered, students need to be committed to making the effort in order to succeed. In order to earn the credit, the student must get at least 70% overall profi ciency.

Streamlining Benchmark Testing for Allied Health Certifications and Licensures

Founded in 1983, Virginia College maintains 24 campuses throughout the South offering associate degrees, diploma courses, and baccalaureate degrees to strengthen students’ ability to enter or advance in a career. Karen Davis, Allied Health Program Specialist for Virginia College, knew the school needed a better practice test system when she came to the program last year.

Instruction for Any Student at Any Time

Adopting a 1:1 strategy was only part of the process. NWCSD also needed to find theright education technologypartnersto provide the interactive learning content, reporting insight, and flexibility thatstudentsand teachers needto make lasting learning gains.

Lincoln K-8 Choice School Improves Student Performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments with Study Island

Teachers can look at the Study Island reports and see where students are doing well and where they’re coming up short. This allows teachers to adapt their instruction and spend more time on the skills students actually need to work on,” said Sonju. “As a principal, Study Island lets me know we’re providing students with exactly what they need to succeed on our state tests.

Woodbridge Township School District Motivates Student Learning with Study Island

Woodbridge Township School District implements Study Island to help students master grade-level academic standards in math and language arts in a fun and engaging manner. Thanks to the hard work of teachers, students and administrators, the suburban district regularly surpasses Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals in grades 3-8, and has seen improved performance among regular education, limited English proficient (LEP) and special education students. In addition, students enjoy demonstrating their knowledge each year at the Study Island Olympics.

English Learners and Special Education Students in Union City Raise Their State Test Scores with Study Island

Union City School District uses Study Island to provide standards-based instruction in math, reading and writing, and help students prepare for the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK). Since implementing the online education program in 2006, the urban district has seen marked improvement in the performance of student subgroups. From 2005 to 2008, limited English proficient (LEP) students and special education students significantly increased their test scores in both language arts and math.

Maintaining High Standards for Every Learner

For most districts and schools, differentiation seems like a luxury or, worse, a fantasy. There are simply too many students and too few staff. But advances in educational technology have made the kind of differentiation West Genesee was looking for possible. “We needed the ability to provide adaptable programming that would work with a student at his/her own level,” said Mr. Kesel. That technology, with the versatility for multiple subject areas and Common Core alignment, can only be found through Edmentum’s Study Island, which prepares students for standardsbased learning with interactive, engaging lessons. Pre-K through 2nd grade readers maximize their potential through Reading Eggs, which addresses literacy skills whether the student is struggling or advanced.

A Passion for Reading Beginning in the Earliest Grades

Tempe Academy of International Studies Support for World-Class Rigor

Providing Rapid Scalability for Blended Learning

Students use the virtual Plato Courseware for their academic instruction. Licensed teachers and trained paraprofessionals are there to motivate and support the students behaviorally. Meanwhile, students use the facilities at La Porte High School to meet with teachers, collaborate with their peers, and complete any assessments. Individualized learning plans are a collaborative process between the student and La Porte’s guidance counselors, administration, and teachers.

Lakeville South Math Intervention–Statistically Significant Implementation

In fall2009, LSHS initiated anintervention program using Plato Courseware in aproactive effort to prepare students who struggled with math for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments-Series II (MCA-II)and the Graduation-RequiredAssessments for Diploma (GRAD) exams. “Schools of thefuture have to change the delivery of instruction according to the ability of students,” noted LSHS principal ScottDouglas. “Instead of changing the delivery model for all students, we wanted to takespecific groups of learners with specific needs and targetinstruction to meet the learning needs of those individual students. Plato Courseware's targeted instruction andprescribed learningpaths help us addressthose needs.”

From Struggling to Succeeding with Study Island and Data Analysis

The school needed a way to gain insight into which students would struggle on the new CCSS tests so that it could remediate as necessary. The earlier that these students could be identified, the greater the chances of theirsuccess inthe intervention program.

Standards-Based, Up-to-the-Minute Data Makes the Difference

Vero Beach High School principal Eric Seymour knew that technology had progressed to the point where it could help his students who were lagging behind; he just had not found the right system yet. “In the 12 years that I have been an administrator, I have experienced several types of SIS and LMS systems and had not been able to utilize the benefits of the two on a campus.” The biggest flaw, as he saw it, was that most systems relied on lagging data from previous assessments. Mr. Seymour wanted something with formative assessment capabilities that could help his teachers to tailor their classes to their students’ current abilities. In high school, every school day matters to a student in danger of not meeting graduation requirements.

The Solution to Watch-List Accountability

A Sustainable K–12 Blended Learning Program in Rural Pennsylvania

James Madison Elementary in San Leandro, CA, implements Study Island and sees test scores improve along with the desire to learn

If Study Island was not amazingly effective and self-directed, it would have failed for us,” said Grotke. “This program allows me to see who has logged on, and who needs to get on board. It is easy to use and easy to maintain for administrators, teachers, and students.

A Decade of Learning Gains with Study Island

When Wilson Elementary first investigated acquiring a supplemental educational program, they were looking for a solution with stringent alignment to the Texas STAAR standards, a rigorous curriculum, and the ability to address their significant Spanish population. They were not looking for a replacement for their dedicated staff, just a source of more targeted practice in math, reading and science for their 3rd through 5th grade students - with all materials and tests available in Spanish. Study Island ticked all of those boxes more than ten years ago.

Achieving STEM Innovation Through Blended Learning

How They Did It “Wewerelookingforadifferentiatedandengagingcurriculumthatcouldbe takenanywhereandnotbeconfinedtoaclassroomsetting,”recalled MaryknolldirectorofvirtualcurriculumStephanieFrank.“Wevettedanumber ofonlinesolutionsbasedoncurriculum,assessments,analytics,collaboration, parentalinvolvement,flexibility,usability,professionaldevelopment,and pricing. Overall,Edmentumratedhighest.”

Credit Recovery and Virtual Learning Improve Graduation Rates in Michigan

Vincennes Community School Corporation - Customer Case Study

VCSC had been partnering with Plato Courseware for over five years when it realized it needed a far-reaching blended learning installation. Edmentum was the natural choice to serve all six schools and every situation that exists in the district.

Starting Early Learners on the Right Path

As a Title I school that only serves students up to second grade, Baker Elementary School in Wayland, MI realizes they need to start teaching fundamental reading skills as early as possible in order to affect learning gains. Baker’s staff, including principal Celeste Diehm and Title I teacher consultant Larinda Olds, knew that the solution was just as much about making resources available to the students at home as at school.

No Struggling Student Left Behind

A suburban school district outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee,decided to hand over the entire curriculum of its alternative school to Plato Courseware, as well asthe credit recovery offeringsatthe other twohigh schools. With the increased rigor and benchmarking capabilities of the program, GOALAcademy experienced an almost unprecedented accomplishment.

Successful Intervention for Different Types of Students

Recovery and Preparation During Tough Economic Times

Ten years ago, PCC turned to Plato Courseware to aid in its credit recovery efforts. “We liked Plato’s ease of usefor our teachers, as wellas its accessibility compared to printed materials,” explained PCC Principal Michelle Ritchie.

The Flexibility to Support All Alternative Learning Situations

The Twilight program at Dover High School has been using Edmentum’s EdOptions Academy for over four years, enabling the school to expanding its offerings for at-risk seniors while still offering a rigorous curriculum delivered online. When it was decided to expand Dover High School’s credit recovery program to regular school hours, in a program called Daylight, Edmentum was again approached to supplement the program. This time, Plato Courseware would be used to address the differentiation needs of students who, in many cases, were further behind grade level than their classmates in the Twilight program were. “We liked the versatility of the programs and how they could meet the wide-ranging needs of these students,” said Dr. Edney. “We like the mix of being reading-intensive while still being visually interactive.”

Difference-Making Technology in a High-Tech School

In both schools,the academic focus is on advancing technology througha project-based curriculum designed to prepare students for college and careers. This novel approach, whichtruly reflects whatstudentswill be asked to do when their days at MIT Academy are over, can be challenging to implement withany online programs due tothe flexibility required and the rigorous demands of a high-tech academy likeMIT.