Program Increases Student Performance and Enhances Teacher Effectiveness
NEW ORLEANS – Math classes across the country are showing how the Web-based, interactive software program I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System not only improves math proficiency and test scores, but is also a critical teaching tool. The system is garnering attention as states continue to look for proven, innovative programs that increase student performance and teacher effectiveness, two main criteria for the federal government’s Race to the Top (RTTT) grant program.
Independent, peer-reviewed studies have concluded that the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System closes the achievement gap by nearly one-third on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). With the program, students can learn 1.5 years of Algebra content in just a single year and educators are empowered to meet the RTTT definition of being a highly effective teacher. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse gave the system its highest rating, citing “statistically significant” increases in its case studies.
Classrooms in 32 states are currently using the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System, and just recently, California and Oklahoma adopted it as a textbook.
Educators are hailing the system’s effectiveness. Debbie Henderson, principal of Indiantown Middle School (FL), where approximately 80 percent of students are Hispanic and 50 percent attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, emphasized how the program increases teacher effectiveness.
“The I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System helps our teachers reach students who have previously not done well in math, ensures that gifted students can continue working without being held back by the need for multiple explanations and pushes the average student to always do better,” said Henderson.
The number of Indiantown Middle students meeting or exceeding Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requirements has nearly doubled from 38% in 2003 to 67% in 2009 since the school began using the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System.
Since 2004, over 50 schools in Oklahoma have started using the system with overwhelming results. The percentage of 8th graders using the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System and passing state math tests increased by an average of over 20 percent in just one year.
In California, the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System is being used in 36 schools with overwhelming success, including one school in the Los Angeles Unified School District which saw a 175% increase in the number of 8th graders passing state tests after just one year’s use. Pat Chawannakul, an 8th grade math teacher at Sepulveda Middle School in Los Angeles Unified School District (CA) noted how the system impacts student performance.
“All students are individually working for mastery and success at their own level,” said Chawannakul. “I find that students are not afraid to ask questions because they are not being judged by the rest of the class.”
The number of students meeting ESEA requirements at Sepulveda Middle increase by nearly 40 percent since they started using the program in 2005.
Vincent Melerine, vice president of customer support, continues to see steady progress in schools across the country, stating, “We designed the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System with the help of teachers who use it every day. That’s why the program is so effective and why we see improvements year after year.”
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About the I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System
The I CAN Learn® Instructional Improvement System is a product of JRL Enterprises, Inc. “I CAN Learn” is an acronym, which stands for “Interactive Computer Aided Natural Learning.” The system is a complete software and hardware computer package for delivering standards based Algebra and Pre-Algebra courses to the K-12, College, and Adult Education markets. The education system captures the best instructional pedagogy and delivers this instruction through technology on a one-on-one basis to every student. In addition to providing students with a complete learning environment, the software also provides a complete classroom management tool that assists educators by providing all the feedback needed to ensure every student’s success. To learn more, visit www.icanlearn.com
