CONTACT:
Ben Weintraub (212-675-8567)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reading Help Needed For Older Students
New NAEP report highlights the need for innovative ways to improve reading instruction for older students.

Website Link:
http://www.meritsoftware.com

This week the National Assessment of Educational Progress released reading and math results based on tests administered through the U.S. Department of Education. While reading scores improved for fourth graders, eighth grade pupils scored lower on reading than in 2002, the year No Child Left Behind was implemented.

These results highlight the need to seek new ways to improve reading instruction for middle and high school students. For many years, Merit Software has focused on helping older students improve their reading skills.

Unlike most reading software used in schools, Merit is not drill and practice. Merit reading software gives students instructions and clear explanations, while automatically tracking student scores.

Merit's reading programs fit into a variety of curriculum and classroom structures, so teachers can implement the classroom organization and curriculum that best fits their students' needs. The programs are designed for students reading at a grade three level and above.

Merit can be used with small groups or large classes and it aligns with state and local curriculum standards. Students work at their own pace and instruction is differentiated to accommodate a variety of skill levels.

Reading comprehension is developed with intensive tutoring in reading strategies, as well as writing, grammar, and vocabulary skills. Merit's Text Talker allows all text in the programs to be spoken aloud.

Two recent studies show that low achieving students using Merit Software significantly improve their scores on high stakes standardized tests for reading and writing. Conducted over a two year period at Calhoun Middle/High School in Mount Zion, West Virginia, the studies are among the first scientific-based research studies to show continuous gains in reading and writing test scores when using computer assisted instruction in schools.

For more information about the research on Merit go to http://research.meritsoftware.com.

For more information about the 2007 Nation's Report Card go to http://nationsreportcard.gov/.

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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