$6.7 Million Grant Awarded to University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, University of Houston, and Wireless Generation.

Business & High Tech Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

Study Effectiveness of Reading Assessment on

Handheld Computers

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-Center for Academic Reading Skills (CARS), University of Houston's Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES) and Wireless Generation, Inc. announce the receipt of a prestigious Inter-agency Education Research Initiative (IERI) grant for $6.7 million.

The grant will fund a five-year study entitled "Scaling Up Assessment-Driven Intervention Using the Internet and Handheld Computers" in which the team will study the large-scale effectiveness of the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) and the Tejas LEE when administered with Web-based support, in-person support, and on handheld computers using Wireless Generation's mCLASS assessment platform. The TPRI is a Kindergarten-Grade 2 reading assessment instrument presently used in a paper format in more than 90% of Texas elementary schools and in many districts outside Texas. The Tejas LEE is a similar assessment for use with children learning to read in Spanish with similarly widespread use.

The scientifically research-based TPRI, which was developed by CARS, TIMES, and the Texas Education Agency assesses children's reading skills such as graphophonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, and comprehension. As a paper-based system, the TPRI has been proven effective in helping teachers screen for likelihood of reading difficulties, identify areas of reading difficulty, and monitor students' progress.

A pilot version of the TPRI on Wireless Generation's handheld mCLASS platform has already demonstrated impressive results in Texas schools. Participating teachers have indicated that administering the TPRI on handheld computers not only saves them time but also makes assessment results easier to organize and understand. The new wide-scale study funded by the IERI grant will include 255 schools in Texas. The study will also be expanded to include components to support teachers' ability to understand the use of scientifically based reading research in the classroom, to interpret assessment results, and to link assessment results to instruction.

Said Barbara Foorman, the principal investigator, and the Director of the Center for Academic and Reading Skills at the University of Texas-Houston, "Federal Reading First legislation creates an imperative for states to conduct reading assessments on a large scale. It is important for us to do the research that will help states manage this scale-up process, while also improving the ways in which teachers link assessment results to instruction."

Larry Berger, CEO of Wireless Generation, added, "in our deployments around the country, it's been gratifying to see how thrilled teachers are to discover that they can now leave the paperwork of observational assessment to the computer. To participate in such a prestigious research program with giants in the field like Barbara Foorman and David Francis is a great honor that will help us advance the mClass platform and make its features more deeply research based."

Inter-agency funders of the TPRI research grant include the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health. The ultimate aim of IERI federal grants is to identify conditions under which interventions that improve preK-12 student learning and achievement in reading, mathematics, and the sciences will also succeed when applied on a large scale.

             About University of Texas -Houston Center for
                    Academic Reading Skills (CARS)

                   Barbara Foorman, Ph. D., Director
             [e-mail] [phone]

Established in 1996 at The University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, Department of Pediatrics, the Center for Academic and Reading Skills (CARS) conducts research on how reading and other academic skills develop in normal children, children who are underachievers, and children who are academically disabled.

CARS also focuses on (a) putting research results into classrooms by disseminating information to teachers, curriculum developers and teacher educators, (b) implementing prototypes of teacher training and program monitoring, and (c) developing improved methods to evaluate student performance and prevent reading difficulties, especially in the first three years of school.

Another important, recent strand of CARS' work was collaboration with the Texas Education Agency to revise the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) in response to the 75th Texas Legislature's House Bill 107, which required all public schools to utilize early reading diagnostic instruments in grades K-2.

    The Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics
                      David J. Francis, Director
                    [e-mail] [phone]

The Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES) is a multi-disciplinary center at the University of Houston, in Houston, Texas, focused on the application of measurement, evaluation, and statistics to the improvement of behavioral, psychological, and educational outcomes through research, training, and dissemination. TIMES has evolved from over 15 years of successful research collaborations in the areas of education and developmental disabilities. The mission of TIMES is to advance knowledge about, and to improve the behavioral, psychological, educational and developmental outcomes of children and adults through the application and development of advanced measurement, evaluation, and statistical research methods, the design and execution of high quality, cutting-edge research projects, and the delivery of state-of-the art research and statistical support services. TIMES is led by Dr. David J. Francis, Director, Professor and Chair of Psychology, and Dr. Coleen Carlson, Associate Director and Research Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Houston.

About Wireless Generation

Wireless Generation is a privately held company, founded in late 2000 on the belief that teachers and school administrators deserve a new generation of highly mobile, easy-to-use tools that support their assessment and management needs and lead to greater accountability. The company's breakthrough patent-pending mCLASS platform supports a broad range of classroom observational assessments.

Wireless Generation is located at 26 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010. The company can be reached at 212 647-1950 and on the Web at www.wirelessgeneration.com.