4GL School Solutions Announces Data Analysis Tool to Identify Special Populations Best Practices & Programs; New ENCORE! Ensight Facilitates Data-Driven Decisions to Increase Performance of Special Population Students.

TOWSON, Md. -- While a nationwide debate rages about the inclusion of special education students in No Child Left Behind performance requirements, all sides agree on one thing: That performance scores of special education students are significantly behind those of other students, perhaps by as much as 30 to 40 percent, according to a survey published in Education Week in 2004.

Part of the problem, say some experts, is that districts lack detailed information on the effectiveness -- and inadequacies -- of the interventions prescribed for students with special needs. Reliable, real-time information about what works and what does not with what types of students, and in what types of settings, would allow educators to identify the best programs and practices to help their special population students meet learning goals.

To address these challenges, 4GL School Solutions Inc. (4GL), the leading provider of comprehensive management solutions for special populations in K-12 education, today announces ENCORE!(TM) Ensight(TM). An add-on component of the ENCORE! suite of software and service solutions for special populations, Ensight is an innovative data-analysis tool that allows districts to quickly assess program effectiveness, identify best practices and long-term trends, and evaluate the impact of targeted procedural changes for special programs.

Highly flexible, Ensight is similar to a custom reporting tool, allowing the breakdown of information from the ENCORE! software in a variety of ways and across numerous topics. Administrators can review meetings, ordered tests, documents, prescribed services, and all their related timelines. Ensight summarizes student information in a clear, graphical format, allowing district administrators to easily:

--Make decisions relating to special programs based on current, real-time data 

--Discern trends across ethnicity, gender, disability, and event type

--Monitor special program compliance to ensure it adheres to best practices

--Compare special program performance to selected baselines

"While considered part of the general population, a huge percentage of students require special interventions. ESL students, those with dyslexia or reading disabilities...all of these sub-populations must be tracked if schools are to really serve their needs, to know what's working and what's not, and to keep these students from being mis-identified and placed in costly special education programs," said Allison Duquette, president and CEO of 4GL School Solutions.

"Ensight provides an organized method for managing the quality of service, instructional focus, and strategies -- and for finding out what works through regular, recorded touch points with every child as they move through their prescribed interventions. This is data that gives clear insight into the accomplishments and challenges of programs for special populations, thereby allowing informed decision making to increase staff performance and student outcomes," she said.

About 4GL School Solutions

4GL School Solutions Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive management solutions for special populations. Building upon its deep expertise in special education, 4GL helps school districts more effectively manage the individualized learning process for all students receiving special services or interventions, including special education, at-risk, Section 504 and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students.

4GL works collaboratively with districts of all sizes to deliver scalable, easy-to-use software solutions that lift the immense burden of paperwork from education professionals so they can focus on the most important part of their work: educating children and improving student achievement. Focused solely on K-12 education, 4GL's proven, data-driven solutions help districts reduce paperwork, increase efficiency, improve staff morale and retention, increase revenue recovery, eliminate compliance issues, reduce unnecessary referrals to special education, and support successful achievement of individualized education plan (IEP) goals.

Founded in 1996, 4GL School Solutions is based in Towson, Md. For more information, visit http://www.4glschools.com or call 1-800-490-84GL (8445).