In comparison, non-Excel schools showed mean pass rates of 96.3 in 1999 and 96.9 in 2000.
Phonemic awareness plays a critical role in a child s ability to learn to read.
These improved scores come in the wake of data released last month that show significant gains at 15 of the 20 Project Excel schools on the Virginia Standards of Learning and Stanford 9 tests. Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Domenech implemented Project Excel last year. These test scores are very encouraging, Domenech said. The Excel schools have really embraced this program, and I credit the success we are seeing to the dedication and hard work the teachers and principals have put into implementing the components of Project Excel. It is also possible that improved phonemic awareness tutoring intervention in Excel schools contributed to the rise in the alliteration pass rate.