CompassLearning Announces Release of New Technology-Based Solution for Secondary Students

CompassLearning Announces Release of New Technology-Based Solution for Secondary Students

		Odyssey High School, a breakthrough technology-based "intervention" learning module designed to improve high-school graduation rates, was announced today (8/4) by CompassLearning, one of the nation's leading providers of educational software. (PRNewsFoto/CompassLearning) AUSTIN, TX UNITED STATES

New Odyssey High School program supports secondary mainstream, credit recovery and intervention students AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- It has been estimated that nearly 1.23 million students from the class of 2008 will fail to graduate high school. In an effort to improve graduation rates, CompassLearning, the leading provider of personalized education technology solutions, announced today the release of Odyssey High School, a new technology-based intervention solution. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080804/NYM110 ) Odyssey for grades K-8 has been a popular and effective solution in schools for years. In Odyssey, students begin by taking an assessment, which immediately identifies the areas in which the student is deficient. Students are then automatically placed into a learning path that addresses their deficiencies. Each learning path is unique to that particular student. Throughout this process, teachers and administrators can generate reports detailing each student's progress and make decisions based on where the student is struggling or thriving. This new high school program builds on the same powerful formula for differentiating and personalizing instruction. Odyssey High School is based on current and confirmed research into the way the brain of high school-aged students learn today. Rather than relying on text only, Odyssey High School utilizes video and Flash-based activities to ensure a level of student engagement that is unprecedented in other high school software and textbooks. Each course includes a master teacher's video lessons, followed by engaging and thought-provoking activities. Following each activity is an assessment designed to move students with mastery forward or to reteach students needing further instruction. Initially, Odyssey High School includes eight core subjects: English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, Physical Science, Biology, U.S. History (1850 - present) and U.S. Government. The courses deliver direct instruction by master teachers via high-quality, YouTube-length video lectures and use a teen-friendly, conversational interface to keep students engaged. Activities are broken into small sections to maintain students' involvement and to reinforce unfamiliar concepts. Administrators and teachers will find all activities are scaffolded to provide support for students as they work through personalized instructional content. Each language arts, mathematics, social and science course features custom-created assessments that not only test student knowledge of the subject, but provide important feedback based on the answers the student selects. By understanding the critical mistakes students make in answering questions on multiple-choice tests, we have developed a Critical Mistakes Matrix (TM). For each question a student gets wrong, Odyssey automatically provides feedback that will help ensure that student not make the same mistake again. "We have built this product from the ground up using the latest research about how students think and learn," said CompassLearning President Eric Loeffel. "There is a huge need in the market for an effective and engaging high school online curriculum and assessment solution and we think Odyssey High School is the answer." High Schools across the country have already begun purchasing the solution to use for summer school and in the upcoming school year. "We are excited to begin using Odyssey High School and give our students the latest education technology tools to help them succeed," said Cathy DiPiano, Instructional Technology Specialist for Dallastown High School. "We were impressed with the interactive nature of the program and the high quality of the video lectures. We think that our students will really respond to these elements." CompassLearning backs Odyssey and Odyssey High School with the highest level of professional development and customer support in the industry. Beginning with a thorough implementation plan, CompassLearning's professional development team works with school districts to ensure that they not only know how to use their software, but how to tackle each districts' specific needs -- whether that's Response to Intervention strategies or methods of differentiating instruction. CompassLearning support teams consistently exceed industry averages for response times and call resolution. About CompassLearning CompassLearning, one of the nation's leading providers of K-12 education software, has been helping students excel for more than 35 years. It is part of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. To help students achieve success, CompassLearning products support differentiated instruction, formative assessment, and response to intervention. The company's flagship product, Odyssey, is based on current and confirmed educational research and is developed in a learning studio of highly qualified curriculum experts working alongside talented animators, script writers, and engineers. From the struggling learner to the student needing a challenge, Odyssey is designed to engage, educate, and inspire all students. For more information about CompassLearning, visit http://www.compasslearning.com .