Ratings on eight other math intervention programs ranged from no discernible effects to potentially positive effects.  Only the I CAN Learn^® IIS earned a “++” positive rating, the highest possible score.  The update comes as states and districts are looking for interventions that are proven to work to meet new federal goals outlined recently in the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3) grant programs.

The I CAN Learn^® IIS’ rating is reinforced by middle schools throughout the country that are experiencing positive results using the program.  Two recent examples include:

• Indiantown, FL: At Indiantown Middle School, a school with an 80 percent Hispanic enrollment, roughly half of which are English Language Learners, the percentage of students scoring at or above state grade levels in math has increased from 38 percent (2003) to 67 percent (2009) since implementing the I CAN Learn^® IIS six years ago.

• Granite, OK: At Granite Public Schools, the percentage of eighth grade students passing the state’s Algebra I test more than doubled, increasing from 43 percent in 2007 to 91 percent in 2009.  This occurred in the school’s first two years using the I CAN Learn^® IIS.

The WWC publishes intervention reports that evaluate research on curricula and instructional strategies for students in grades 6-9 that are designed to increase student outcomes related to mathematics achievement.  The I CAN Learn^® IIS’ “++” rating is based on an evaluation of five recent studies that meet the WWC’s evidence standards.  These studies included 16,519 eighth-grade students from middle schools in California, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.

In February 2010, the WWC attested to the scientific authority of results from five studies on the effectiveness of the system’s results, pointing to the studies’ RCT’s as well as the number of students and schools using the program that were studied.  According to data posted by the WWC, the 16,000+ student sample size in supporting research is more than three times that of any other math intervention program studied.

“We are proud of the work that we have done in the past to achieve the What Works Clearinghouse’s positive effects rating and continue to improve the program every day to keep it,” said Jacqueline Canales, curriculum specialist for the I CAN Learn^® IIS.

To learn more, visit www.icanlearn.com.

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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 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. It also provides a complete classroom management tool that assists educators by providing all the feedback needed to ensure every student’s success.

The NEA Academy Partners with I CAN Learn^® Instructional Improvement System to Offer Online Professional Development Courses

GAITHERSBURG, MD – March 3, 2010 – The National Education Association (NEA) Academy is partnering with the I CAN Learn^® Instructional Improvement System on an interactive professional development program aimed at strengthening math educators’ content knowledge and introducing them to new classroom strategies.

“The NEA Academy’s mission is to provide educational professionals access to effective professional development courses that they can take anytime and anywhere,” said Mark Stevens, vice president of professional & web solutions for NEA Member Benefits. “The I CAN Learn^® system offers outstanding courses designed to bolster content knowledge and raise the bar for quality math instruction.”

Course topics include building math concepts and process and communication skills, improving math reasoning, increasing math vocabulary, and presenting strategies for finding contextual meaning. Educators progress through the 50-hour online courses on their own time, at their own pace. Each lesson includes in-depth video, audio and a diverse set of presenters to help recreate the feel of an actual classroom.

“Teachers must constantly practice math fundamentals,” said Jacqueline Canales, curriculum specialist for the I CAN Learn^® Instructional Improvement System. “This program keeps teachers sharp and gives them the confidence necessary to add to their skill-set, all of which is ultimately passed on to their students.”

As a result of the partnership, NEA members have access to three online I CAN Learn^® professional development courses: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Pre-Algebra.  The courses have been recommended by the NEA Content and Quality Review Board, a panel of teachers, state association professional development staff, and university and community college faculty. Continuing Education Units are available upon completion of course, pending the approval of state and/or local offices. To learn more, visit sites.nea.org/academy and www.icanlearn.com.

About the NEA Academy
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. The NEA Academy is the professional learning group developed to support educators with the highest quality online programs and is dedicated to meeting the professional needs of teachers and education support professionals.

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 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. It 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

The report, entitled “Technology’s Edge: The Educational Benefits of Computer-Aided Instruction,” was conducted by scholars from Princeton University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  It was published in The American Economic Journal and concludes that by using the I CAN Learn® IIS:

• Schools can close the achievement gap by nearly one-third on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), particularly in low-income and high minority schools;

• Students can learn 1.5 years of Algebra content in one year; and

• Districts can improve test scores and save money, as the system costs less than it would to reduce class size from 25 to 15 students.

The What Works Clearinghouse attests in its February 2010 review of the study to its scientific authority, pointing to the study’s randomized controlled trial as well as the number of students and schools using the I CAN Learn® system that were studied.

Last year, after reviewing the performance of over 16,000 students using the I CAN Learn® system in the classroom and on high-stake state tests – the largest sample by more than three times of any math intervention studied – the What Works Clearinghouse awarded the I CAN Learn® system with the highest rating possible, citing scientifically-based, data-driven “positive effects” on student performance.

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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 is used in 32 states nationwide and is an approved textbook in California and Oklahoma.  It 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

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 8^th 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 8^th 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

Indiantown Middle School is 80 percent Hispanic and about half of the students are ELL learners. Since implementing the program six years ago, Indiantown has raised the percent of students scoring at or above grade level in math from 38 percent in 2003 to 67 percent in 2009.

“With I CAN Learn, students complete each lesson and repeat it if necessary. You can’t put a teacher on rewind,” added Henderson. “ICL allows teachers to teach using differentiated methodology. It 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.”

ICL support manager Jean Sheridan continues to see steady progress in Florida, stating, “We designed I CAN Learn with the help of teachers who use it which is why it’s so effective and why we see improvements year after year.”

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Hillsborough County, Fla. (Dec. 8, 2009) – Math classes in Hillsborough County are showing how an interactive software program not only improves math proficiency and test scores, but that it is also a critical teaching tool that has helped teachers become more effective in the classroom.

“We chose I CAN Learn because we know it’s effective,” said Janet Boatman, District Middle School Math Supervisor. “It gives the ability for students to work on a lesson at their own pace and we also use it for teacher training – a great program.”

Hillsborough County, recently awarded a $100 million teacher effectiveness grant, continues to show its commitment great teaching and improving math scores by partnering with I CAN Learn (ICL), an interactive software program that has reinvented math classrooms across the county.

With courses in Pre-Algebra and Algebra, independent studies show the ICL program significantly closes the achievement gap and raises test scores. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse gave the ICL Educational System its highest rating, citing “statistically significant” increases in its case studies.

In the drive to overhaul the public education system with the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation funds, schools and school districts across the U.S. also view ICL as a boost to school reform efforts.

Across Florida, 112 classrooms in 98 schools are currently using the program, and, in Hillsborough County, ICL has been helping raise math proficiency through all of the middle and high schools.

Patricia Powell, a teacher at Buchanan Middle School in Tampa, who has taught math for 37 years has found her students have vastly improved in an I CAN Learn classroom.

“I love it,” said Powell. “I’d say 99 percent of the kids show improvement on state tests, and it’s a terrific tool for me to give me immediate data and feedback on each student’s progress.”

ICL support manager Jean Sheridan continues to see steady progress in Florida, stating, “We designed I CAN Learn with the help of teachers who use it which is why it’s so effective and why we see improvements year after year.”

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St. Petersburg, Fla. (Dec.3, 2009) – Math classes at Tyrone Middle School are showing how an interactive software program not only improves math proficiency and test scores, but that it is also a critical teaching tool that has helped teachers become more effective in the classroom.

“We have seen our students’ FCAT test scores increase over the years through this program,” said Stephanie Adkinson, Principal at Tyrone. “In the last year alone, we have seen a large majority of our students increase their test scores, and we are hopeful that our students will continue to show academic gains in math, thanks to this program.”

Eighty-eight percent of Tyrone Middle School’s Level 1 students enrolled in the I CAN Learn math class have increased their test scores on the 2009 FCAT, while 62 percent of Level 2 students increased their math scores on the 2009 FCAT.

With courses in Pre-Algebra and Algebra, independent studies show the ICL program significantly closes the achievement gap and raises test scores. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse gave the ICL Educational System its highest rating, citing “statistically significant” increases in its case studies.

In the drive to overhaul the public education system with the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation funds, schools and school districts across the U.S. also view ICL as a boost to school reform efforts. Across Florida, 112 classrooms in 98 schools are currently using the program.

ICL support manager Jean Sheridan continues to see steady progress in Florida, stating, “We designed I CAN Learn with the help of teachers who use it which is why it’s so effective and why we see improvements year after year.”

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