The US Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse has evaluated Scientific Learning Corporation's Fast ForWord® Language product based on a study that met its highest evaluation criteria, and has concluded that the product is in the top tier of interventions aimed at English Language Learners (ELL).
The WWC, which is a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education, examined a rigorous study of kindergarten through fifth-grade English Language Learners and concluded that the Fast ForWord Language intervention had potentially positive effects on English language skills. The study showed that ELL students using the Fast ForWord Language intervention had statistically significant improvements in their English language development, with an improvement index of +31 on a scale of +/- 50.
To date, the designation of "potentially positive" is the strongest accolade given by the WWC in its reviews of interventions for English language learners. Five other ELL interventions were also examined; one matched the Fast ForWord Language rating for English language development, but its improvement index was much lower, at +11.
"This recognition of the Fast ForWord software's effectiveness by the What Works Clearinghouse confirms once again more than 30 years of neuroscience research and its dramatic impact on English Language Learners," said Robert C. Bowen, Chairman and CEO of Scientific Learning. "Educators and parents look to the WWC for independent, scientifically rigorous information about what interventions work. While we've long known that Fast ForWord products can create positive, enduring, neurobiological changes for struggling learners, it's very exciting to now have that knowledge widely disseminated by WWC."
"Until they can develop age-appropriate English language skills, ELL students remain at a disadvantage for learning effectively in the classroom," added Paula Tallal, Ph.D. and co-director of the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University. "It is so important for this population to have an intervention product scientifically proven to lead to rapid, reliable, efficient, and replicable improvement in their English language abilities. By certifying Fast ForWord Language as an effective intervention, the WWC will give educators a crucial tool for helping ELL students."
About the What Works Clearinghouse
The What Works Clearinghouse was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. The WWC aims to promote informed education decision making through a set of easily accessible databases and user-friendly reports that provide education consumers with high-quality reviews of the effectiveness of replicable educational interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies) that intend to improve student outcomes. The WWC is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences through a contract to a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and the Campbell Collaboration.
