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Ben Weintraub (212-675-8567)

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Technology In Schools – What The Research Says
New research identifies successful uses of technology in schools; Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) tools, such as those produced by Merit, among recommedended options.

New York, NY - A new research report commissioned by Cisco Systems finds that Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), if implemented with fidelity, is one of the most effective uses of educational technology in schools.

“The power of CAI was in the provision of supplementary activities to strengthen learning and skill levels through provision of immediate feedback,” says the report. “Despite decades of mixed reviews …it is possible to achieve significant gains provided sound pedagogy and high-quality content are implemented with fidelity.”

Merit Software is one of only a handful of CAI tools to meet these criteria. Within the past few months, two research articles demonstrating the effectiveness of Merit products were published in peer-reviewed academic journals.

One study of Merit middle school reading and writing software found long-term gains for the lowest quartile of students. Another study of Merit math software showed that the impact on the treatment group was extremely large.

Most importantly, Merit is consistently easy to implement. Educators participating in the evaluations did not receive any special training in the technology before implementing the software.

Generally, the report is very critical of the use of technology in schools. It says: “The reality is that advocates of educational technology have over-promised the ability of educators to extract a learning return on technology investments.”

The report concludes: “Technology does provide a small, but significant, increase in learning when implemented with fidelity. While this statistic is encouraging, the real value [sic] lies in the identification of those technology interventions that get sufficiently positive results to warrant the investment.”

Merit Software is also affordable. Cost is dependent on the number of students who use the software. For administrators seeking to try out emerging learning technologies, Merit is an ideal choice. Go to www.meritsoftware.com/buy/school.php to see pricing options.

Educators may click the following link to read the full “Technology in Schools – What the Research Says” report.

ABOUT MERIT SOFTWARE:

Since 1983, Merit Software (www.meritsoftware.com) has been producing educational software that addresses the core competencies that students require to succeed. The emphasis is on strengthening students' ability to read, analyze data and communicate their ideas.

Merit Software's programs are known throughout the industry for providing context-sensitive tutorials for students and convenient record management features to aid teachers, tutors and parents.

Visit www.meritsoftware.com to examine the company's library of educational applications currently being used in thousands of educational facilities worldwide.

Merit's educational software has been the subject of rigorous, independent, scientific-based research. These studies have concluded that Merit's software provides an effective supplement to everyday instruction. Research findings are available on www.meritsoftware.com/research.

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