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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: 1-800-548-4998
GwenCarol Holmes, ext. 2432
Kelly Stuart, ext. 2435
Baltimore, March 1 -- With the No
Child Left Behind Act now in full force, superintendents
and principals face unprecedented pressure to make sure
all students in all schools achieve. But while NCLB
has made more data available on student achievement,
and some tools are available to analyze problem areas,
data alone don’t – and can’t - boost
student achievement.
Compounding this problem is the fact
that most data on student achievement comes after the
school year either has ended or is well underway, significantly
reducing the usefulness of the information to pinpoint
the instructional needs of this year’s students.
And once the state tests have been taken, there’s
no changing the consequences. With every educator under
pressure to ensure that every year, every child in every
subgroup succeeds, the non-profit Success for All Foundation
has stepped in to fill these gaps with two new products
in reading.
To provide ongoing student achievement
data to teachers while they can still intervene to help
students achieve, Success for All has introduced 4Sight,
predictive benchmark assessments for state reading assessments
in grades 3 through 8. And to close the gap between
student achievement levels and state goals, Success
for All has created Success360, a set of customized
instructional interventions that provides a district
and school exactly the tools needed to ensure progress
on state tests.
4Sight provides a state-specific set
of mini-tests so that educators can estimate how students
are likely to perform throughout the year – and
take immediate action in areas in which students need
help. Each assessment has exactly the same format, coverage,
look and feel as a state’s reading assessment.
Students take them five times each year, providing critical
information on each major literacy skill and key subskills
tested by the state, in time to intervene with students
who need help.
Already, a number of districts have
taken advantage of 4Sight, which is now available for
Spring 2004 in the following states: Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.
These district leaders know they can’t afford
to wait until it’s too late to be surprised by
low scores – or by appearing on a list of “schools
needing improvement.” Success for All undertook
this project at the request of many of its schools,
and is the only company to date that has successfully
created benchmark assessments that provide both a close
match to states’ high-stakes tests and predictions
of how children will perform on their state tests.
Once districts and schools use data
to analyze student achievement, they must act. For more
than 16 years, the Success for All Foundation has been
providing whole-school solutions to student achievement
based on the very best scientific research, and now
it has again used the best research to create a set
of adaptable, modular solutions to address a school
or district’s specific needs. Success360 begins
with a data review for each school, including state
test scores, benchmark assessments, and classroom-based
observations and assessments to identify the strengths
and needs for each school. Success for All staff then
work together with district and school leaders to choose
solutions for each identified area. Each solution provides
training, materials, assessments, and extensive follow-up
support – all aligned to make NCLB goals a reality.
The Success for All Foundation (SFAF)
is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development,
evaluation, and dissemination of proven reform models
for preschool, elementary, and middle schools, especially
those serving many children placed at risk. As of 2004,
the Success for All Foundation is serving about 1,400
schools in 47 states, as well as assisting related projects
in five other countries. Programs in elementary reading,
writing, math, preschool, and middle school are in circulation.
The Success for All Foundation is
headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It has about 400
employees, the majority being located in 18 regional
training programs throughout the U.S. It has an annual
budget of about $50 million, most of which is derived
from fees from schools for training and materials, supplemented
by grants and loans from charitable foundations and
government agencies.
The goal of the Success for All Foundation
is to transform schools by creating and disseminating
programs that are both based on research and that have
themselves been researched in rigorous evaluations.
In addition to its direct services to schools, SFAF
promotes broader policies favoring school reform through
adoption and effective implementation of proven programs.
Other states will be available
for Fall 2004. They are: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Additional states will be added to this list.
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