Pottstown School Achieves Success With Earobics

Pottstown School Achieves Success With Earobics Students Improve Literacy Performance and Enthusiasm for Learning POTTSTOWN, Pa., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Students at Franklin Elementary School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, are achieving positive literacy results using the software featured in Earobics Literacy Launch. Earobics Literacy Launch is a scientifically based pre-K - 3 literacy solution that uses cutting-edge software, engaging multimedia materials, and effective classroom activities to build children's abilities in the essential literacy skills identified by the National Reading Panel. Franklin Elementary teacher Lori Freese studied the effect Earobics instruction had on her pre-kindergarten students throughout the 2003-04 school year. Mrs. Freese's morning class participated in regular curricular activities and lessons. Her afternoon class participated in these same activities, but supplemented their instruction with Earobics three times a week for 20 minutes per session. To compare the classes, Mrs. Freese used three assessments: Ready to Read, STAR Early Literacy, and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). The results were impressive on all three tests. Students who used Earobics Literacy Launch consistently scored higher and showed greater growth in foundational early literacy skills (see below). Mrs. Freese concluded that her afternoon students benefited from their time with Earobics. But the benefits transferred beyond testing performance. She says Earobics activities also helped students become more engaged and active in their learning. "Even more impressive (than the results) was the interaction and enthusiasm I found the afternoon class (had) towards early literacy activities," Mrs. Freese writes in her report of findings. "They spontaneously created rhyme pairs during play, easily matched (initial consonants) and blended sounds. It seems their learning carried over into their daily language. What a great accomplishment." "The data collected by Mrs. Lori Freese verifies Earobics is a great program," says Title I Reading Specialist Karen Neitz, who works with all of Franklin's kindergarten students as well as struggling readers in first through fifth grades. "As a reading specialist, my ultimate goal is to provide skills and strategies to students to help them become successful readers. The Earobics program does that," she says. "We look forward to seeing continued success with Earobics." The Results: Ready to Read Morning: 66.6 percent scored Ready to Read (average growth: 7.25 points) Afternoon (Earobics): 80 percent scored Ready to Read (average growth: 8.6 points) STAR Early Literacy Morning: Average change in scores: +33 Afternoon (Earobics): Average change in scores: +77 DIBELS Morning: Average growth of 7.8 points Afternoon (Earobics): Average growth of 13.7 points About Cognitive Concepts Cognitive Concepts, Inc., a Houghton Mifflin company, is a leader in integrating technology with scientific principles and proven instructional methods to offer effective literacy learning solutions and training for educators. The company's Earobics solutions for schools give teachers a proven way to deliver effective individualized literacy instruction and help students apply those skills to reading. More information about Cognitive Concepts is available at http://www.earobics.com/ . Source: Cognitive Concepts, Inc. CONTACT: Chris Otto of Cognitive Concepts, Inc., +1-847-570-6473, or cotto@earobics.com Web site: http://www.earobics.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment