PHONICS PRESS RELEASE 

News
January 2, 2001
Release at Will
Contact: Lori Foster 520-888-1800 ext. 107 or
sales@mindplay.com


Schools Can Now Test Students On-line to Evaluate Reading Deficits!

TUCSON, Ariz. - READS: The NEW ONLINE Reading Evaluation, Assessment and Diagnostic System is now available for schools FREE for a 30-day trial period.

Teachers and Administrators can now offer their students an assessment tool that quickly determines a student's reading level. READS consists of a two part criterion-referenced test: phonics and reading comprehension, validated for grades 2-10. After 30 days, if schools decide to continue using READS, they can purchase an annual subscription. The annual subscription enables schools to show growth in student reading abilities over time with rates based on the number of students at each school using the test. Subscription rates range from $1.83 to $4 per student. 

Students log on to the Internet at www.mindplay.com to take tests that have been assigned by their teacher. Tests are instantly scored and reported to reveal gaps in a student's reading ability. Test results help teachers and students develop a plan for reading improvement.

MindPlay already offers an on-line test for individual learners age 7 through 13. READS is the new School version, capable of managing any number of students, maintaining test data, quickly reporting test scores and creating 18 reports for summary and demographic comparison.

"The FREE Home version of READS empowered parents to talk to teachers about their child's specific reading deficits. After reviewing the detailed report, school administrators started to call us asking for permission to use the READS system. They said they had never seen such a comprehensive reading diagnostic tool." says Judith Bliss, CEO of MindPlay.

READS features pre-and post-tests and a comprehensive database management system that tracks student results and reports important information. 

According to current data of over 10,000 test takers, MindPlay's on-line tests show that 91% of students who score below average in reading comprehension also score below average in phonics. However, 30% of students are able to score above average in reading comprehension without complete phonemic awareness. Therefore, we can assume that 70% of the population needs comprehensive phonics instruction to increase their reading level. READS is the first step towards achieving individual reading success since it establishes a baseline of student skills and deficits. 

Pricing per school: