School Solutions: Study Island

Kernersville, NC – Study Island is designed to prepare students for their end-of-grade tests.The program can also be used at home, by any parent, even it's not offered at your child's school.On Monday, Julio Tejera's 3rd grade class is working on reading.It's an important lesson for these students, who will take end-of-grade tests for the first time this year.Preparing for an exam doesn't stop in the classroom: It's also happening down the hall in a computer lab.Called Study Island, the program simulates end-of-grade tests and helps prepare students for the real thing.“It's a pretty good way for them to get that extra practice, specifically in reading and math, the two things they're tested on in the End-of-Grade tests,” said Tejera, who has been teaching at Kernersville Elementary School for almost five years.One of the unique things about this program: Tejera can compare his class to others at the same school.He can also look at how Kernersville Elementary School is doing compared to other schools in the state.It’s a useful tool in fine-tuning lesson plans.“If they're not doing well on fractions, we can say, ‘These kids are doing kind of low, let's go back and look at this,’” he said.Teachers aren't the only ones pleased with the program.“I think that this would be a great tool to use in order to help our students become more proficient,” said April Lancaster, who has two children at Kernersville Elementary School, one who is in 3rd grade.If an answer is wrong, the program explains why. “That helped her understand even more, that it gave her an explanation of it,” said Lancaster, who used Study Island with her daughter over the weekend.For educators, any tool helping students to succeed is a worthwhile investment.“For the majority of the children that work on the program, and really use it to their best effect, I think it benefits them and it benefits the whole school,” said Tejera.Tejera has seen a correlation between students who do well on Study Island and EOG test scores.“They tend to make 3's or 4's, which is what we’re looking for on the end-of-grade tests,” he said.With any web-based program, there are concerns about young children using the Internet.Tejera says any Internet use at school is limited to Study Island, and students do not use the program unsupervised.He also advises any work done at home also be supervised by a parent.Study Island is not supported by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System.Kernersville Elementary School administrators paid for it with money from their instructional budget.If you are a parent interested in the program, you can purchase it individually online for $49.00.For more information, visit www.studyisland.com.