I -- Evidence In Support of Technology.

The previous chapter contains some evidence that computer aided
instruction and related technological options are effective as
means of enhancing learning.  The need to pursue such options is
increasing and opportunities are becoming available, as suggested
in the following note to the dean of the community college where
I teach:

     DATE: 8 April 1986

     SUBJECT: Educational innovations.

     Co-incidentally, three things occurred yesterday that
     reaffirmed my long held realization that we traditional
     educators are going to recognize suddenly, too late, in the not
     too distant future, that viable educational methods have passed
     by us and students have opted to follow them:

     I received a call from a representative of a producer of audio
     tutorial materials who indirectly claims his company's product
     can effectively replace the teacher in training students in
     computer applications.

     One of the clerks at Alpha Beta, whose wife evidently works at
     a bank, asked me if I had heard of the "Electronic University,"
     which recently began offering degrees in several subjects
     through computer home study.

     This month's issue of the Technological Horizons in Education
     Journal featured new technology and methods being used in
     education, which I recommend we begin to adopt and for which I
     have previously made budget requests toward the up-grading of
     the computer system. Here are some excerpts:

     A rapidly expanding group of educators is adopting the view
     that their students should have direct access to computing
     facilities more powerful than microcomputers and that sharing
     programs, data and peripherals is important to achieve this
     objective. . . . A "Classroom of the Future" concept was
     presented by AT&T . . in February. The stated goal of their
     plan is to create an "electronic highway" through which
     teachers, students and administrators will have access to
     national databases, reference sources, lessons and program
     software, and other educational material.
          ---------- Sylvia Charp, Editor.

     Schools and colleges are now telecommunicating to such an
     extent that modems are a necessity rather than a luxury.
           ---------- Evan Birkhead.

     Students enrolled at City University in Bellevue, Wash., can
     complete courses via personal computers from virtually anywhere
     in the world through the GTE Telenet public data network. . . .
     With Telenet, students taking Distance Learning courses can
     transmit assignments and communicate with instructors using
     most personal computers and a modem. -

     ------------ News article. -------------------------

     Today, because of the increasing availability and unique
     capabilities of computer-mediated conferencing systems, many
     sectors of the educational community are testing and evaluating
     these systems as vehicles for augmenting and/or replacing
     traditional educational delivery systems.

         -------John J. Manock, University of North Carolina.

     . . . We can offer courses in an innovative manner, also, with
     proper equipment and flexible class scheduling policies. I
     consequently encourage you to consider seriously approval of
     communications equipment which I have included in budget
     requests the last two years.

Typical of educational lethargy, no response was received to this
note, and I really expect to have to re-request the necessary
equipment, without results, for years to come.

The slowness of educational institutions to take advantage of the
new technology is the main reason that information which
demonstrates that computer aided or computer based instruction is
more effective than traditional methods is apparently difficult to
find. Included in a note which I wrote to over 60 producers of
educational computer courseware was mention of an article from the
T.H.E JOURNAL issue of August of 1986, which included a special
report by the National Task Force on Educational Technology,
"Transforming American Education: Reducing the Risk to the Nation."
In its section V it acknowledges that the documentation of evidence
of the benefits of computer aided instruction ("technology in
education") is "restricted by the limited access of students to
computers and by the relative newness of the technology in
education."

However, there has been enough evidence gathered to give the Task
Force confidence that technology is a viable means of effecting the
transformation necessary:

     High school students who received computer assisted instruction
     scored significantly higher on objective tests than students
     who received traditional instruction. Based on the analysis
     covering 42 separate studies, the average student using
     computer assisted instruction would have scored better than 60
     out of every 100 students taking a standardized test.

     Students who received computer assisted instruction in each of
     28 studies in elementary schools received better examination
     scores than other students. In no study did students receiving
     only conventional instruction achieve higher scores on a final
     examination of course content.

     In nearly 80 percent of the cases, the analysis found that
     college students receiving computer based education had a
     higher examination average than students instructed with
     traditional methods.

The National Task Force envisions the computer and other educational
technologies as means to provide the learning environments and
procedures recommended throughout this book:

Individualized and flexible:

     It is becoming clear that individual learners (and teachers)
     need no longer conform to one standard teaching/learning
     pattern for all. Programs can be custom-designed to serve each
     learner. . . adapted to the needs of each student. . . allow
     students to progress at varying speeds according to their
     individual abilities.

     The most significant impact of technology on education will
     come from the extensive transformation of the curriculum and
     instructional practice. The movement should be toward learning
     geared to each individual, . . including pacing at a rate
     appropriate for each student.

     The greatest promise of technology is that it has the
     capability to manage and deliver learning geared to the needs
     of each student.

     Although Americans acknowledge individual differences, we have
     grown accustomed to a system in which young people are taught
     in groups with uniform practices and pacing and are evaluated
     against group norms.

     To transform education, we must create a system in which an
     individual learning plan permits each learner to proceed at a
     rate and pace that is challenging but achievable, makes no
     unjust comparisons with the progress of others, prevents
     students from becoming passive and assures positive
     reinforcement and steady progress. Such a plan will allow the
     most able to move to new realms without restriction and the
     least able to find their own distinct achievement levels.

Efficient and effective:

     The Task Force believes that education can be made more
     cost-effective and its quality enhanced through
     technology-based education. Technology should enable education
     to buy more learning per dollar and thus expand its benefits to
     society.

Non-traditional and participatory:

     The next five to ten years should be a transition period in
     which education is transformed from traditional delivery of
     learning based on time-in- grade to a system in which each
     student learns in the way and at the pace best suited to him or
     her.

     The student must participate actively for any learning to take
     place.

Prescriptive:

     The computer is a device uniquely suited for education. With
     related technology, it enables people to deal with vast amounts
     of information. It can be programmed to adapt learning to the
     needs of each student, providing corrective advice and allowing
     the student to proceed as rapidly or as slowly as he or she is
     able. However, the computer will never replace the teacher. As
     an excellent information processing tool, it will require the
     teacher to become an expert at guiding and managing learning.

     Higher education institutions should: Perform research on the
     emerging role of the teacher as a diagnostician of student
     needs, a designer of individual methods of instruction and
     manager of technological resources and learning processes.

Additional evidence is becoming available, albeit slowly. For
example, Dr. Elizabeth J. Hooper recently conducted experiments at
Iowa State University reported in her dissertation, Using
programming protocols to investigate the effects of manipulative
computer models on student learning. Her experiment had to do with
the learning of a computer language, as much of the pioneering work
in this area understandably does. "Conclusions about the effects of
the manipulative model were . . that the model did promote learning.
. . [although] this learning was not measurable by using standard
scoring procedures."

Malcolm Knowles, respected researcher in adult learning cited
elsewhere herein, in a diatribe about how the technical writers of
computer training manuals know much more about computers than
training, considers "the computer to be the most potent tool for
adult learning to appear in modern history." Many similar
educational leaders agree. Some were quoted in the previous chapter.
The fact that mountains of data on the beneficial effects of
computer aided instruction are not immediately available does not
reduce the potential of the technology.

Whether or not increased educational effectiveness by computer aided
means can be readily demonstrated, due to the scarcity of qualified
instructors (as a consequence of the scarcity of funding) there soon
will be few other choices. Gerald Kissler, vice provost at UCLA,
acknowledged in an address at the November 1986 Western Educational
Computing Conference that computer courseware evaluation is a
complex process and stated that the question of proven effectiveness
is no longer relevant. Regardless of whether or not students score
better than they would under a traditional approach according to pre
and post test analysis, they are spending more time in scholarly
activities and are enjoying their learning experiences much more
with computers. That, alone, makes computer aided learning a viable
alternative.

An example of how much more enjoyable learning is with technology
was provided by an elementary school computer lab coordinator who
reported that one day recently the computer lab was full of
extremely active children when the principal walked in and asked,
"What class is this?"

Response: "Recess."

Dr. Alfred Bork, author of several recent books on the subject
(listed prior to the appendices), in another address at the November
1986 W.E.C.C., made the point that education in the United States
today is in the same shape as "The Six Million Dollar Man" was in
when he shattered his body. The response is similar regarding
education: "We have the technology; we can rebuild it."

Among other significant observations made by Dr. Bork, he mentioned
that at least half of the current teachers in America will retire in
10 years, and, because of the low salaries offered beginning
teachers, few will replace them. (Recall a previous chapter's
reference to "To Be a Teacher," an NBC news white paper sponsored by
IBM on 5 January 1986 and other news reports. They revealed that
700,000 teachers are expected to leave the teaching profession in
the next 5 years.)

Consequently, technology will have to provide an educational system
which will be much less teacher dependent than the present one.

Dr. Bork recognizes the cost savings in having students use their
own homes equipped with computers as the primary study facility
rather than erecting new campuses. He cited the cost savings claimed
by England's Open University.

Further evidence that computer based learning is more effective than
traditional procedures is provided in the April 1986 issue of
Electronic Education. The article, "Ears to Technology!" reports the
benefits to students who use computers to learn musical skills at
the New England Conservatory of Music.

     . . An elaborate pre-test was given at the outset, establishing
     ear-training skills in harmonic and melodic intervals, triads
     and harmonic progressions. In late May, students were given a
     "post-test." The results were encouraging. While all music
     students improved their scores a great deal from the beginning
     of the semester, those in the computer using groups
     collectively showed a significant increase of 50 percent over
     those who did not use the computer.

In "There's a Conch in my Computer!," Christina Yahn reports the
results of a computerized marine ecology project for fifth and sixth
grade students:

     "Our students are showing gains on life science test scores by
     participating in this approach to teaching marine ecology.
     They're excited, interested and involved in the environment
     around them and, now through the use of computer technology,
     they can successfully manipulate database information and apply
     these skills in scientific investigations."

In "Pulling it Together in Port Hueneme," school officials of a
largely Spanish & Filipino speaking community report success in
their "English as a Second Language" courses:

     "In the past, the reading lab served 30 kids a day, four days a
     week with the fifth day set aside for reporting," remembers
     Norma Johnson, systems manager/trainer at Blackstock Junior
     High. "With the computers, we can now give 360 kids lab time
     every day of the week -- all totally individualized instruction
     -- and the computer handles the reporting."

     Test scores among students have improved. For example, computer
     using sixth-grade students at Blackstock increased their
     objective mastery scores an average of 10 percentage points by
     the end of the 1983-84 school year. Last year's results
     indicated improvements, also. And, in all areas of computer
     curriculum, Blackstock students continue to do better on
     standard tests than students at Hueneme's other
     non-computerized junior high school. . .

     In the lab, teachers also learned that students who were slow
     learners in the classroom were not always slow with a computer
     . . . What they were seeing was evidence of the different ways
     people are able to learn. The same written material a student
     struggled with, for example, was easily understood when
     presented as a picture or a graph.

     One of the most exciting possibilities raised by the computers,
     . . is their ability to test students to determine how each one
     learns best and then prescribe an individualized education
     plan.

Several presentations at the Tenth Annual Western Educational
Computer Conference support the viability of computer based
education. Rita Haberlin and Patricia Kulda reported some of the
benefits to students in an earth science course at the College of
Alameda [California] in "The Computer as Science Tutor: the
Importance of Graphics and Animation."

Students of all ages and abilities have responded enthusiastically
to this medium. Some students become addicted and run the tutorials
over and over again until they have mastered the material. The
tutorials have been used by both the competitive students and by
students that might otherwise have failed the course. Student
performance as measured by test scores usually improves by one grade
after using the program. Students were asked in a questionnaire if
the tutorials helped them learn the material and if so, why? The
following quotations were a sample of their comments.

     "The programs helped me understand the reading materials and
     the lecture notes much better. I flunked the first test and did
     not use the program. I used the program and have passed the
     tests."

     "English is my second language. I sometimes did not understand
     what the teacher was teaching and I rushed to the computer room
     and asked the computer for help. It was my teacher. A teacher
     that never talked."

     "The programs made studying more fun and exciting so therefore
     easier to learn and retain."

     "By visually seeing what was explained and being an active
     participant I learned more in a short period of time."

     "It was nice to go at my own speed and be able to stop and take
     notes. The computer was always so polite."

     "The graphics help the most. The motions help me to remember
     the names of the subjects and processes. Also it made the
     material more interesting." "I was able to go through the
     material at my own pace, and if there was a part I didn't
     understand I could go back to it."

Robert D. Loevy, political science professor at the Colorado College
in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reports these beneficial results of
his use of "President: A Computer Program That Simulates Being
President of the United States":

     Students enjoy running the simulation (it received all "A" and
     "B" grades in student evaluations) and most commented on the
     tensions created by wanting to fund important government
     programs but also seeing the need to keep the overall economy
     under control. The computer program did a particularly good job
     of teaching students the effect which the size of the national
     budget can have on both the unemployment rate and the inflation
     rate.

     The computer simulation PRESIDENT had the unexpected bonus of
     permitting college students to experiment with a variety of
     political and economic philosophies while serving as student
     president of the United States. Some chose a very conservative
     stance, emphasizing military defense at the expense of
     education and poverty programs, while others took a more
     liberal position, cutting military expenditures and spending
     more heavily on education and poverty programs and regional
     public works programs (such as improving interstate highways or
     upgrading national parks and forests). Student Presidents often
     were successful (re-elected to another four years) by pursuing
     either philosophy, but only if they did not go to the extremes
     and maintained a generally middle course on the overall size of
     the budget.

     The computer simulation PRESIDENT often brings home to the
     student the extent to which pressure can border on agony in
     presidential decision making. As one student wrote on an
     evaluation: "I never thought I would ever send American
     soldiers to fight in Europe, but, when the Neo-fascists army
     was about to take over Italy, I had to do it."

In "The Home Computer and Education, Six Case Studies," Glenna Bovee
McKnight reports the tenacity one couple observed in a daughter's
interest in authoring at the computer.

     Dawn Dahl initiated the purchase of an Apple II Plus for her
     two daughters in 1982 with the idea that the computer would be
     a good learning tool for them. At the time of purchase, Debra,
     the older daughter, was already an enthusiastic computer user
     because of computer sessions with a buddy down the road. Debra
     enjoyed spending an hour or two after school every day at the
     computer, she said. She enjoyed writing stories and poetry on
     the computer and she even worked hard on what she called her
     short novel for more than six months. The book was a fantasy
     adventure with a complicated plot and a large cast of
     characters. It followed the same general idea as the wizardry
     game that was Debra's favorite computer activity through nearly
     2 years of this study. When Debra's parents saw how complicated
     Wizardry was (it resembled Dungeons and Dragons), they marveled
     that Debra would work that hard when she did not have to.

The computer as an authoring aid is likewise lauded by Mariestelle
Brown of the North Iowa Area Community College in "Inspiring Iowa
Writers" [edu Magazine, fall 1986]:

     Before they had access to the user-friendly DECmates, many
     students sought ways to circumvent the revising required for
     effective communication. Now, with the help of the DECmates,
     their willingness to make revisions and fresh drafts exceeds
     the requirements and expectations of their instructors.

     Students who previously dreaded writing assignments come to
     more comfortable terms with writing once they find that the
     DECmates allow them to produce copy that is easy to revise,
     edit, and print again.

     . . . Students see . . and improve their writing in a
     non-threatening environment before students risk themselves and
     their writing to the critical marks and remarks of human
     readers.

     . . . Students increased the level of their average papers by
     more than a grade level from first to final drafts. . . through
     revision leading to more combined and complex sentence
     structures.

In "A School where Computers Make a Difference," (Principal, January
1986) Mark Donahoo discusses the positive effect computer based
learning had on the progress of students in a Chicago school:

     All of the teachers who participated in the program were
     enthusiastic about its achievements. One veteran teacher, who
     had been among the most negative in the beginning, actually
     modified her own classroom instruction to complement
     instruction offered by the computer curriculum. All of the
     pupils were excited about the program, and teachers reported
     increased interest in related classroom work.

     A number of kindergarten children learned a large number of
     first-grade words, and even moved into first-grade math
     although their participation in the program was limited to just
     four months.

     . . . Classes assigned to the lab had a much higher rate of
     attendance than the rest of the school.

     Most satisfying of all were the results of the 1985 Iowa Test
     of Basic Skills, which showed significant gains at every level
     even though less than a third of the students were exposed to
     the computer program for periods of from four to seven months.

     . . Joanne Kiewicz recently tested her first graders on a
     lesson that involves selecting a picture that fits into a
     sequence. This test of logic and comprehension traditionally
     has been tough for her students; but after doing picture
     sequence drills on the computer, 22 of 26 passed.

     On a recent math test, Ann Andino's 27 fourth graders recorded
     an average grade-level gain of eight months after using the
     system for six months. One student, Terrence, jumped from a low
     third-grade level to fourth grade in just four months. Andino
     says that before Terrence began working on the computer, "he
     hated math. Now he's an eager beaver."

Arthur S. Melmed provides an excellent and succinct survey of
literature about individualized, computer based education in "The
Technology of American Education: Problem and Opportunity (T.H.E
JOURNAL, September 1986):

     Empirical evidence confirms that experimental learning
     technologies will compete favorably, measured by student
     achievement, with well- practiced traditional classroom
     instruction. This is true whether learning is measured by
     end-of- year normed achievement texts or by curriculum based
     competency tests.

     A little-discussed important feature of student learning is
     revealed in several studies, namely the variation in the
     individual time-rate of learning among students, which is much
     constrained in traditional classroom instruction. Students
     typically learn faster under self-paced learning conditions,
     sometimes 50 to 100 percent faster.

     . . . In summary, the evidence is that motivated students of
     all ages will learn successfully from educational software,
     with little traditional classroom teaching. . . .

     . . . Empirical evidence from student learning in various
     settings strongly suggests that individualization can improve
     student achievement . . in numerous evaluations of computer
     assisted instruction . . . . . Evidence suggests that an
     individualized instructional program will allow a substantial
     number of students to complete the education requirements for
     secondary school graduation before their 18th birthday, and
     perhaps well before that.

Similarly, Cecil McDermott reviewed 73 research reports about
computer aided instruction dating from 1962 to 1985 and generalized
therefrom ("IMPAC: One State's Approach to Focusing Technology On
the Task of Improving Basic Skills" in the May/June 1986 issue of
Electronic Learning):

     (2) CAI saves significant amounts of time over "conventional
     instruction" -- as much as 20 to 40 percent.

     (3) Retention rates following CAI are at least as good as, and
     often better than, retention rates following conventional
     instruction. . . (9) Students using computers have positive
     attitudes toward ease of use and toward learning through the
     use of a computer or terminal. . . Microcomputers also free
     teachers from being dispensers of information and permit them
     to be managers and coordinators of instructional activities.

From the following nine articles or reports, Plato/Wicat, pioneering
developers of one of the better known and more widely used computer
based curriculum systems, has prepared a surprisingly objective
summary of the findings on CAI effectiveness in a question and
answer format:

     Jesse Orlansky. "Effectiveness of CAI: A Different Finding,"
     Electronic Learning, September 1983.

     Gerald W. Bracey. "Computers in Education: What the Research
     Shows," Electronic Learning, November/December 1982.

     Charles L. Blaschke and Patricia Abrams. "Computer- Assisted
     Instruction (CAI): The Bottom Line," an unpublished report
     prepared for the International Communications Industries
     Associations, 1985(?).

     E. A. "Ned" Johnson. "Guarantee Success with Plato," an
     unpublished report of the Seminole Community College (Sanford,
     Florida) Basic Skills Math/English/Reading Adult Migrant
     Education Project, 1982.

     Raul Aceves. "California State University Dominguez Hills
     Career Development Program Project Description 1983-1984 Plan,"
     unpublished report, November 1983.

     St. James Grade School (St. Paul, MN). "Evaluation Report:
     Control Data Reading Math Series," unpublished report, June
     1983.

     Betty Brown. "Plato Promises Grade Gains," Electronic
     Education, October 1981.

     William J. Genova. "Evaluation: Effects of the WICAT Reading
     Comprehension Program on Student Learning," unpublished report
     prepared for the U. S. Department of Education, 1983.

     Leslie Rotenberg. "Booting Up for Reading: Two Nationwide
     Programs That Use Computers to Teach Reading," Teaching and
     Computers, May/June 1984.

Overall, what are the findings on the effectiveness of CAI?

Learning Time:

     First, the most consistent finding is a reduction in learning
     time. In military studies, students who used CAI averaged 30
     percent time savings and showed achievement results equal to
     those for traditional instruction. In elementary and secondary
     studies, there are also consistent findings which show CAI can
     improve the speed at which students learn a given amount of
     material. Some studies have shown up to 88 percent time
     savings.

Achievement:

     In terms of achievement, results are generally positive. A
     summary of 51 CAI studies concluded that over all of those
     studies, CAI students would average a 13 percentile point gain
     over traditional students if all the separate results were
     converted to the same norm-referenced test.

Attitudes:

     Finally, in virtually all CAI studies, students show very
     positive attitudes towards computers. They enjoy the ability to
     move at their own pace and the lack of embarrassment over
     mistakes. They also feel increased control over the learning
     process.

Are there any studies that track the use of CAI over an extended
period of time?

     Yes. A four-year study of a comprehensive CAI program was
     conducted in the Los Angeles Unified School District. This
     study focused on the performance of elementary Title I students
     who used the computer every day for 10 or 20 minute sessions.

     When students received 10 minutes of CAI instruction in math
     every day, they showed significantly higher results in
     computational skills than students in traditional classes. When
     the students received 20 minutes of CAI per day, they doubled
     their computational skills. The students who received CAI
     instruction in reading and language arts showed somewhat
     smaller gains than in math, but they had consistently positive
     increases.

     Feelings of internal responsibility for student success were
     consistently higher among the CAI students. Cost comparisons
     showed CAI expenses to be equivalent to those for traditional
     instruction.

     What do the results show for the PLATO/WICAT Basic Skills/High
     School Skills programs?

     A number of studies have been conducted on the outcomes of the
     Basic Skills/High School Skills programs. Here are a few
     examples.

     Students at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida who
     participated in the BS/HSS math program showed an average grade
     level increase of l.0 years after 20 hours of instruction.
     After 20 hours in the BS/HSS English program, there was an
     average grade level increase of .8 years.

     At the Career Development Program in Dominguez Hills,
     California, after 40 hours of participation in BS/HSS, students
     increased their math scores an average of 2.3 years. Reading
     scores increased an average of 1.0 years and language scores
     went up 2.3 years.

     With students in grades 5 to 8 at St. James Grade School in St.
     Paul, Minnesota, similar results were found. In math, after 30
     hours of BS/HSS instruction, students showed an average grade
     gain of 2.5 years. In reading, they increased 1.4 years.

     In two junior high schools, one in East Boston and one in Los
     Angeles, positive results also were found. After using BS/HSS
     for 12 weeks, the students showed higher gains in mathematics
     than students in traditional classes. Here again, the more time
     students spent on the BS/HSS program, the higher their
     achievement gains.

What are the outcomes for System 300 curriculum
programs?

     A study of the 4-8 Reading Comprehension program showed
     significantly higher pre/post test gains for students using the
     CAI Reading Comprehension program. Skills developed in this
     program transferred directly to Basal reader tasks, and
     students showed more frequent dictionary use. The size of
     reading gains was directly proportional to the amount of time
     students spent working on the Reading Comprehension program.

     In Port Hueneme, California, at Blackstock Junior High School,
     students made good use of the System 300 curricula. One seventh
     grade math class spent one hour per week on the System 300 math
     programs. Another did not. Both had the same teacher and used
     the same textbooks. After one semester, both of these classes
     took the California State Objective Mastery Test. Ninety
     percent of the System 300 students passed; but only 64 percent
     of the other class passed.

     At the end of one year, Blackstock's sixth grade scores on the
     State Objective Mastery Test increased 10 percentile points
     from the 47th to the 57th percentile. Seventh and eighth
     graders also made positive gains.

Other impressive results of CAI are reported by Keith P. Cowan,
Principal of the S. S. Conner Elementary School in Dallas, in an
article, "A Look At Computer Assisted Instruction," published in the
Texas Computer Education Association NEWSLETTER of June 1987. In
addition to his glowing report of his experience with the Computer
Curriculum Corporation's (CCC) system, he cites that firm's report
of a 1978 to 1981 study by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in
the Los Angeles School District:

     "ETS found that students taking CCC courses as little as ten
     minutes a day scored 30% higher in math and 13% higher in
     reading than students who had not participated." They also
     claimed that students exhibited less truancy, tardiness, and
     vandalism. CCC has statistics of schools in South Carolina that
     show students increasing skills one month for each hour of
     computer time. They tell of South Colonies Schools in Albany,
     New York doubling the achievement growth rate for all fifth
     graders after one year with a CCC system. In Calvert County
     Schools in Maryland, CCC served 5,000 students at all levels.
     According to test results, "The district has gone from 13th to
     3rd in state test scores since using CCC." In Key West Florida,
     Horace O'Bryant was the only middle school in Florida to win
     the prestigious "Superior School Award" from the U. S.
     Department of Education. "CCC's system played the key role in
     creating individualized instruction, which was the major factor
     in the award."