It is well known that middle and high school students are reading less at home and rarely write letters anymore.  Could greater use of technology strengthen reading and writing instruction in schools and raise SAT scores? We think so.

Merit Software is successfully used in many schools at the late elementary, secondary, and college prep levels. Rigorous research has been conducted on Merit as a supplement to everyday instruction.  The evidence shows it increases standardized test scores without directly teaching to the test.

Merit reading and writing software prepares students for post-high-school work and provides personal remedial activities for students who need extra help.

Teachers have observed that students who write a well-considered persuasive essay with Merit’s Essay Punch and ace eighth-grade-level comprehension and academic vocabulary questions in Merit’s Reading Skill Builder are well on the way to being able to handle college material.

Plus, as Merit has expanded its web-based offerings, teachers are able to benefit from even greater levels of reliability and support from our staff.  Application hosting and student enrollments are now handled by Merit.  Schools no longer need an IT person to set up their use of the software. They can also gradually phase in use of the programs with just a few students or classes at a time.

More students took the SAT in 2011 than ever before.  Bob Wise, the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and a former governor of West Virginia, says the increase in the number of students taking the SAT is a positive sign.

However, the results clearly show the need for a lot more work in K-12 schools. “The workforce needs and skill needs in our society are rising, unfortunately, much faster than our SAT or ACT scores,” Wise said.

By using Merit Software’s reading and writing instructional products in schools, along with Merit’s top-notch training and professional development support, educators can help students improve their college readiness.

Johns, a mentor of young people in Peckham, a district of London, states further that educational opportunities and job prospects are all directly affected by correct use of language.

He deplores the recent tendency of many young people of all races and backgrounds across London and other UK cities to squander their rich English language inheritance by speaking in a popular street slang.

Here at Merit Software, we design learning tools to help students’ master core academic skills.  Educators can easily use the online editions of Grammar Fitness, Paragraph Punch and Essay Punch programs to help students stay focused and interested in gaining the skills they need for academic and career success.

The web-based versions measure progress and tracks time-on-task for teachers and students.  Personal, expert support ensures that all users experience success.

The major reason students fail is poor grammar, reports CBC News.

Part of the blame should go to cellphone texting and social networking sites, says Joel Postman, the author of SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate, who has taught Fortune 500 companies how to use social networking.

Bad grammar may be acceptable in an email to friends and family, but it can have a deadly effect on one’s career if used at work.

“It would say to me . . . ‘Well, this person doesn’t think very clearly, and they’re not very good at analyzing complex subjects, and they’re not very good at expressing themselves, or at worse, they can’t spell, they can’t punctuate,’ ” he says.

The good news is that Merit Software has just launched a new, online edition of Grammar Fitness to help students and instructors cope with this problem.

The report calls for policy makers to fund programs focused on the use of computer-assisted instruction because these programs have developed a strong track record of helping all adults become more effective in the workplace.

Adult literacy programs benefit from using computers because they help students meet their learning goals, provide effective self-study opportunities, satisfy the persistence and motivation of students, and facilitate access and connectivity. Computers also enable literacy programs to ramp up to scale.

Merit Software programs have a strong track record of using technology to help adult learners improve their literacy skills.

We endorse the findings in this report so that computer-assisted instruction can be used to help all students improve their college and career readiness.

 The full report is available on the CAAL web site.

All grants must help close the achievement gap, be scalable and sustainable, and be supported by prior evidence.

With these goals in mind, the DOE has said that there will be three tiers of grants. The Department has also outlined funding priorities.

Based on our review of the new guidance we believe there are opportunities for educators to use all Merit programs and remain within the i3 guidelines.

 All Merit products are researched based, and several of them have been subjected to rigorous studies. The research that has been conducted on Merit shows that it has been effective in closing the achievement gap.

To discuss ways to work with us and learn how to apply for the i3 grants using Merit programs, please contact us.

To learn more about the Investing in Innovation (i3) grants, click here.

The research shows that if students make errors while trying answer questions, they remember the information better than in a control condition in which they simply study the information.

This study helps explain why teachers and students find Merit Software to be extremely effective as a curriculum supplement.

The design of Merit learning programs incorporates a variety of features that help students figure out answers to questions.

In particular, in Merit’s Basic English Fitness, Grammar Fitness and Vocabulary Fitness students learn essential English language concepts by finding common errors in sentences.

The software gives students multiple opportunities through different scenarios to answer questions. Built-in hints and tips help students while they work. In most questions learners are given an explanation to their answer, whether their response is right or wrong.

Furthermore, the Fitness programs are self-paced, and self-advancing. The programs progressively place students in the appropriate level of challenge.

Unlike the previously announced Race to the Top funds which were only for public schools, i3 funds will also be available to non-profits, charter schools, colleges, and private companies.

i3 will look to fund programs that advance key education reforms, four of which include: building college and career-ready standards, providing data systems to support improved instruction, strengthening teacher and principal quality, and helping to turn around failing schools.

Later this fall the U.S. federal register will publish procedures for applying for the i3 fund. There will be a comment period, followed by an application, and then awards will be made in early 2010.  

“We’re looking for ways to boost student achievement, matriculation, and graduation rates– and we expect successful applicants will be able to demonstrate some success in closing achievement gaps, moving students toward proficiency, increasing graduation rates, and retaining high-quality teachers and principals,” said Secretary Duncan.

Areas of concern specifically mentioned in the speech were:

• supporting promising interventions for at-risk students;
• accelerating adolescents who are years behind;
• helping ELL students learn the language and the content;
• developing online content; and
• assisting students with disabilities to complete college-ready work.

Merit Software products have a strong track record of helping educational organizations provide innovative school reform efforts.

The full text version of Secretary Duncan’s speech is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/08/08202009.html

For more information about Merit Software’s full product line go to http://meritsoftware.com/

U.S. educators who have questions about how to access stimulus funds can click here to contact a Merit representative.

The primary goal of the Ed-Tech program is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in schools.  A document released by the U.S. Department of Education provides guidelines and examples of many allowable uses for the funds.

Merit Software products cover many of the suggested uses, including:

* Purchasing and training teachers to use instructional software that has been shown to be effective aids for teaching English language learners, students with disabilities and both struggling and advanced learners.

* Using technology to support project-based classroom instruction to prepare students for the increasingly complex life and work environments of the 21st century, which will require high levels of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, and collaborative reading, writing, and communication.

* Implementing a commercial learning management system to enable teachers to better manage instructional practices, organize subject-matter content, and support classroom communication and collaboration.

* Making innovative use of online learning courseware that can facilitate access to rigorous interactive content and support interactive pedagogical practices, especially for students in geographically isolated areas.

For more information about Merit Software’s full product line go to www.meritsoftware.com

U.S. educators who have questions about how to access stimulus funds can also contact a Merit representative.