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Pearson Learning Group Announces Network Edition of QuickReads® Technology Edition

Upper Saddle River, NJ - February 28, 2005 – Pearson Learning Group, a business of Pearson Education, the world's leading education publisher, is introducing two new versions of its highly successful QuickReads® Technology Edition, an instructional software program that helps students build fluency, comprehension, and background knowledge using Science and Social Studies content.

Version 3 provides enhanced speech recognition and additional support features, including Spanish vocabulary help for ESL/ELL and accessibility features approved by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). The QuickReads® Technology Edition is also available in a new Network Edition that offers the same student features and enables educators to track student reading and comprehension progress at a district level. Adequate Yearly Progress reporting is also simplified through the ability to separate progress data by student demographics.

Introduced in 2004 as Pearson Learning Group's first instructional technology product, the QuickReads® Technology Edition is based on extensive research conducted by two of the leading experts in the field of reading research-Dr. Elfrieda H. Hiebert and Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams. Powered by Soliloquy Learning™'s speech-recognition technology, QuickReads allows students to work independently and provides intervention whenever needed, pronouncing misread or unknown words for the student.

During its first year of implementation, districts around the country reported verifiable results based on the use of QuickReads® Technology Edition. The Southeast Delco School District, outside of Philadelphia, PA, implemented the program across every 3rd grade classroom in 2004. After three months of use, with a focus on fluency as one of the critical components to support student comprehension, the "At Risk" population in all schools shrank--most significantly by 10% in the lowest achieving school. "This year, we've decided to expand the implementation to include all 2nd grade classrooms to help close the gap between proficient and struggling readers even faster," said Dr. Joanne Romano, Director of Technology and Reading First Coordinator for the District.

Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams, Chief Scientist/Architect of the Soliloquy Learning™ Speech-Recognition and Reading Technology, conducted a 17-week validation study in Framingham, Mass., in which QuickReads Technology Edition was the primary intervention. Half of the classrooms in each of Grades 2-5 worked with the software for slightly more than one half-hour session per week. Pre- and post-study tests showed that fluency growth for intervention classrooms was significantly greater than for the control classrooms. Across grades, fluency growth of the children who used the software surpassed expected growth as based on national norms by more than 40%, amounting to nearly half a school year's worth of added progress.

"With QuickReads® Technology Edition, we've brought together innovative speech recognition technology and scientific research on fluency to address an area that has long been neglected in traditional reading programs," said Dan Caton, President, Pearson Learning Group. "QuickReads is now used in over 2,000 classrooms throughout the U.S., motivating students to read, building student confidence, and contributing to tremendous gains."

About Pearson Learning Group
Pearson Learning Group is the leading publisher of supplemental materials for a wide range of ability levels for grades preK-12. Imprints include Celebration Press, which publishes DRA®, as well as Modern Curriculum Press, Globe Fearon, Pearson early Learning, Dominie Press, and Dale Seymour Publications. For additional information about QuickReads Technology Edition or any of our other scientifically-based products, visit our Web site at: www.pearsonlearning.com.

About Pearson Education
Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational publishing. With such renowned brands as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Learning Group, and many others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from birth through college and beyond.

Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson's primary operations also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Contact:
Rod Granger
Pearson Education
212-782-3486
rod.granger@pearsoned.com