WriteToLearn NEWS RELEASES

Additional Info

• More News Releases
• Case Studies

Students Go Digital and Improve Their Writing Skills With Pearson's WriteToLearn

Students, Teacher say WriteToLearn's Personalized, Immediate Feedback
Helps Improve Reading Comprehension, Writing

NEW YORK - May 29, 2008 - In today's digital world, students use text messages and email to communicate, with almost 40 percent even using common abbreviations like LOL, TTYL and BRB in their school assignments, according to a recent report. But, is the decline of writing an unintended consequence? The results of the recent Nation's Report Card writing test found that only one-third of 8th graders scored proficient, and only 25 percent of high school seniors were considered proficient.

Some teachers say that keeping today's digital students engaged in learning, especially struggling learners, requires a different approach than years past. For teachers like Mae Guerra at Denver's Valverde Elementary School, who says reading and writing was a huge challenge for her students just a few months ago, the digital approach of Pearson's WriteToLearn has helped her students find success.

"It's been amazing, at the beginning of the school year a lot of students couldn't complete a sentence."

Guerra combines classroom teaching with the Web-based, personalized approach of WriteToLearn. Students log onto the Internet, input their work and watch as the learning tool analyzes their writing and measures progress.

Researchers from the Knowledge Technologies group of Pearson and the University of Colorado spent three years creating WriteToLearn. Immediate feedback is the key: The software gives students immediate feedback on their writing, rather than waiting for the teacher to provide feedback to dozens of students.

Since using WriteToLearn, Guerra's students have made tremendous progress, with scores on district benchmark tests rising from unsatisfactory to proficient. Guerra says it's because her students are motivated using the digital tool's personalized learning approach, which is almost like a game to the students.

"The practice they get...is giving them confidence, the practice they need to write well-organized, thought-out summaries that really do reflect what they read. So, they are not only gaining writing skills, but comprehension skills when they read. So everything is going up in my class," Guerra says.

WriteToLearn's personalized, immediate-feedback approach also helps teachers to be more efficient in the classroom, since the time that was once spent editing writing assignments can be spent on lesson planning or other tasks. Says Guerra: "It gives me more time to work with students who are having a hard time, it enables me to work one on one with those English language learners who have a hard time initially getting started with their writing..."

Learn more about WriteToLearn at www.WriteToLearn.net.

About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE: PSO) is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. The company's respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, AGS, PowerSchool, SuccessMaker, TeacherVision and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

For more information, press only:
Lisa Wolfe, L. Wolfe Communications, 773-227-1049, lwolfe@lwolfe.com