Academic Systems, University of California Partnership to Help Improve Student Success through $3.7 Million Federal Grant.

Business Editors & High Tech, Education Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2001

Use of Academic Systems' Interactive Mathematics to Better Prepare

Disadvantaged Middle School Students for College

Academic Systems, the leading provider of interactive, multimedia instructional programs for college students, has been selected to work with the University of California, Santa Cruz on a new program to help disadvantaged middle school students prepare for college, through a $3.7 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant was awarded to UC Santa Cruz as part of the government's $45.6 million GEAR UP program, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness in Undergraduate Programs, and will be administered by the university's Educational Partnership Center (EPC). Academic Systems' award-winning mathematics materials will be used to help fulfill the mission of GEAR UP, which is to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

"Academic Systems has been working for years to help college students learn through the effective use of technology," said Greg Gardner, president of Academic Systems. "Our work on public-private partnerships such as this University of California collaboration extends those efforts to younger students, enabling us to help put long-term success within reach for more people."

Specifically, the grant will support programs at California's Watsonville High School and its feeder middle schools. More than 80 percent of students in the participating Watsonville schools are Hispanic. In addition, 48 percent have limited English proficiency, and 33 percent are children of Mexican migrant families. Only 10 percent of the adults in the community have completed a bachelor's degree, and the academic performance of the students is well below average in almost every indicator.

The Watsonville program will focus on the "gatekeeping" college-preparatory mathematics courses that students must complete to continue on the path to college. Watsonville teachers will utilize Academic Systems' Interactive Mathematics, a computer-based set of dynamic, multimedia teaching and learning materials created and designed by mathematics instructors. The CD-ROM based software with Web-enhanced features is well-known for its success in helping higher education faculty teach students essential mathematic skills through a flexible curriculum of Prealgebra, Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra, covering more than 25 topics in 92 lessons.

"We want to increase students' awareness of college and help motivate them to aim for it," said Carrol Moran, director of EPC at UC Santa Cruz. "We will use Academic Systems' strong mathematics materials to help prepare Watsonville students for college and make sure they can succeed once they get there."

Academics Systems has become well known for its expertise in instructional design. In addition to Interactive Mathematics, the company offers Interactive English courseware, designed to help students become active writers, readers and learners. Both Interactive Mathematics and Interactive English serve developmental students in higher education. The company also offers academic.com, an online interactive content library that supplements faculty teaching and supports student learning in classrooms, learning centers and distance learning environments. academic.com is appropriate for all college students across the general education curriculum.

About Academic Systems

Academic Systems Corporation, the higher education division of Lightspan, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSPN), has focused on meeting the needs of higher education faculty and students since it was founded in 1992. Its first products were interactive, multimedia instructional programs that offer an enhanced learning environment in mathematics and writing for college students in developmental and entry-level courses. Created in concert with educators, Academic Systems' Interactive Mathematics and Interactive English programs have demonstrated increases in learning and achievement. Academic Systems' networked courses are offered at more than 280 college campuses nationwide and are used by more than 100,000 students. academic.com, Academic Systems' new Web-based product, offers a complete eLearning solution for online general education courses across many disciplines. For more information contact Academic Systems Corporation at 800/694-6850, or visit the Web site at www.academic.com.

Interactive Mathematics, Interactive English and academic.com are trademarks of Academic Systems Corporation.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are predictions only and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include volatility of the Company's expenses and operating results, market acceptance of the Company's curriculum-based software and Internet products, management of growth, risks associated with expanding the Company's Internet business, changes in funding for public schools, technological advances and risks related thereto, and risks associated with the Company's rapid growth. These factors and others are more fully described under "Risk Factors" in the Final Prospectus included in The Lightspan Partnership's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-90103) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.