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For Immediate Release
Voyager Expanded Learning Releases Effectiveness Report
on Passport Reading Journeys
Dallas, TX., April 17, 2008 − Voyager Expanded Learning® announced today it has completed and released a report on Passport Reading Journeys titled: A Summary of the Effectiveness of Passport Reading Journeys. The report contains information from independent evaluations, state level results, and profiles of districts and schools that implemented the middle and high school reading intervention program.
The report summarizes the impact Passport Reading Journeys is having in middle and high schools across the country, where students enrolled in the reading intervention program are quickly moving toward grade-level reading goals. All of the districts and schools in the report demonstrated tremendous gains after using Passport Reading Journeys including Dallas, Texas; Miami, Florida; Kayenta, Arizona; along with several others.
Passport Reading Journeys uses a blended approach focused on engaging students with age-appropriate content in areas of science and social studies. Through action-packed DVDs, engaging expository text, interactive technology, an online assessment system, and carefully created sample dialogue for teachers, students learn about topics such as Forensics, Fitness and Health, and Cultural Connections.
Student growth is measured in terms of Lexiles. The Lexile Framework for Reading is a scientific approach to reading measurement that matches readers to text. The Lexile Framework measures both reader ability and text difficulty on the same scale, called the Lexile scale. Teachers are able to easily administer the measures through Voyager's web-based assessment system. Based on the analyzer by MetaMetrics® the percentage of comprehension of grade level content across subject areas increased for all students.
Across the United States, strong progress was made by the nearly 100,000 students in all grades enrolled in Passport Reading Journeys. After one year in the program, more students at each grade level finished the year reading within the grade level Lexile range.
Sixth-grade students gained 92 Lexiles, 32 Lexiles more than expected by sixth-grade students. Seventh-grade students gained 127 Lexiles, 67 Lexiles more than the expected gain. Eighth-grade students gained 146 Lexiles, 86 Lexiles more than expected. Ninth-grade students gained 165 Lexiles, exceeding the expected gain by 135 Lexiles.
In addition, students with diverse needs receiving services such as special education and limited English proficiency support are surpassing the expectations of their teachers and parents and they are learning to read. Passport Reading Journeys is also endorsed by the Council of Administrators of Special Education.
"Students in Passport Reading Journeys maintained their concentration because of the high-interest stories in which technology had been incorporated," says Alexandra Conniff, special education teacher at Admiral Moorer Middle School in Eufaula, Alabama. "Our students increased their time on task and Lexiles improved for our students who used Journeys."
To obtain a copy of the complete report electronically, visit: http://www.voyagerlearning.com/ResearchStudyDocuments/PRJ_Evaluation_Report.pdf
For more information on Voyager, visit: www.voyagerlearning.com.
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About Voyager Expanded Learning
Voyager Expanded Learning provides core, intervention and supplemental reading programs, as well as math intervention and ongoing professional development programs, for school districts throughout the United States. Founded in 1994, Voyager has delivered extended-time reading and basic skills intervention programs, as well as large-scale reading programs, to more than 1000 school districts in cities such as Miami, Richmond, New York and Los Angeles, resulting in dramatically improved student performance. Voyager Expanded Learning, Inc. is a business unit of Voyager Learning Company (OTC: VLCY.PK) and is based in Dallas, Texas For more information, please visit www.voyagerlearning.com or call 1-888-399-1995.
Media and Investor Contact
Shannan Overbeck
Voyager Learning Company
888-399-1995 ext. 9476
soverbeck@voyagerlearning.com | 
