Raise GED Graduation Rates

The Intelligent Tutoring System helps adult educators address the broadly varied needs of Adult students in their class, even if the student is functioning at low elementary grade level equivalents.  The diagnostic assessments and highly individualized instruction will efficiently and quickly advance each learner to higher grade level proficiencies until he or she is ready to prepare for the GED/HISET/TASC.  New Century helps you graduate more students because we help you get more students through the pre-requisite Adult Basic Education that is required before the students can begin to successfully prepare for the exam.

Diagnostic Assessment

The Intelligent Tutoring System’s diagnostic tests differentiate and adapt to each student to determine the student’s functional skill level across several strands of learning in reading, language arts, and mathematics. New Century’s reports, such as the Diagnostic Profile, help teachers to understand the individual strengths and skill deficits of each student, even if they are functioning as low as Kindergarten equivalent.

Highly Individualized Instruction

Data from the diagnostic tests is used by algorithms in the Intelligent Tutoring System to automatically create an Individualized Lesson Path to meet the learning needs of each adult learner. Instruction begins in the strand of learning where the student’s needs are greatest.  The Lesson Path is adjusted after each lesson and assessment.  Even within lessons, students who need addtional instruction and examples receive them.  Students who master content quickly are accelerated through the lesson.

Continuous Assessment

Individualized assessments are embedded in the individualized lesson path after every few lessons. Using the data from these tests, and from assessments at the end of lessons, the software electronically adjusts instruction as students advance. Students mastering a learning objective quickly are directed into lessons with higher levels of complexity and to new skills. For those adults who struggle, the Intelligent Tutoring System provides additional developmental lessons with scaffolding content to help re-build skills to mastery of the learning objective.  The data is also used by the program to generate automatic reporting that helps teachers and adult learners monitor developing progress.

Standards Aligned Curriculum and Life Skills

New Century prescribes individualized content correlated to Common Core State Standards. New Century’s curriculum uses examples from science, history, and geography to build cross-curricular subject knowledge while also delivering age appropriate content for older students struggling with lower level skills.  Reading for Living lessons teach applications of reading for everyday life skills, such as completing forms and preparing a resume.

Reward Individual Achievement

Beginning with B.F. Skinner, researchers have confirmed the motivational effect of incentive point systems in education to keep students on task. The Intelligent Tutoring System awards points for successfully completed lessons and Mastery Tests. Small prizes and recognition for points earned are effective with adults, keeping them on task and focused.

GED Prep to Assure Readiness and Success

When students have progressed to high school level content, they can be transferred to one of several GED/HiSET/TASC test prep solutions to prepare for the relevant test in their state, and graduate.

Teacher Management System

Teachers can access assessment results, the individualized instructional plans, and progress reports quickly.  Alerts help teachers to efficiently intervene where they are needed most in the education of students at varied ability levels in Adult Basic Education.  There is even a fraemwork for intervening with students who need help.  Group Dynamic Progress reports help teachers determine which students are ready to prepare for the GED/HiSET/TASC exam.

Incarcerated Populations

New Century works with incarcerated and adjudicated populations at juvenile justice sites and state prisons in six states.  New Century’s highly individualized and adaptive instruction, and its continuum of curricula from Kindergarten through High School grade level equivalents results in substantial learning gains, even among these most challenging of students.  In randomized/controlled studies, juvenile justice students who used New Century had more than twice the graduation rates of those who did not.  Recognizing the special security needs of incarcerated settings, the Intelligent Tutoring System can be delivered on a local area network without the use of the Internet.

Success for Teachers and Administrators

Using the Intelligent Tutoring System to automate the diagnostic and individualized instructional process, teachers have achieved the highest levels of student performance and state recognition, including State Adult Ed Teacher of the Year.  Administrators have successfully documented increases in TABE performance and rates of GED completion while simultaneously expanding services in their community. Inmates in state prisons regularly achieve learning gains equal to 3 and 4 grade level equivalents during a single year.

Results Confirmed in Research with Incarcerated Students

The research using New Century software includes a randomized/controlled study by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency among juvenile justice students (90% were 16, and 17 year olds with reading and math skills at or below 6th grade).  The study was reviewed by Rand Corporation as part of a metastudy reviewing 157 research manuscripts to identify what works in the education of juvenile justice students.  This study, using New Century software as the “intensive, personalized, competency-based instructional model tailored to each student’s academic development” among the experimental group, was one of only two interventions cited by Rand out of the 157 studies that “showed particular promise.”  Graduation rates were higher among the experimental group (44.1 versus 22.0 percent).  See summary of report: Rand-NCCD Study