Additional Program Information

Developer and contact

The research underlying SuccessMaker^® was initiated by Patrick Suppes at Stanford University during the 1960s, continued by Mario Zanotti at the Computer Curriculum Corporation (Suppes and Zanotti, 1996), and extended and distributed by Pearson Digital Learning. Address: One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Email: communications@pearsoned.com. Web: www.pearsoned.com. Telephone: (201) 236-7000.

Scope of use

According to the developers, SuccessMaker^® has been used in more than 17,000 schools across the world. The program has been used with at-risk and accelerated learners, general and special education students, and English language learners.

Teaching

The software is a supplemental program that can be used in conjunction with existing language arts programs. “Foundations” courses contain basic skills-building exercises, while “Exploreware” courses focus on application and literature-based reading aimed at building higher level analytical skills. Each student progresses through the computerized lessons at his or her own pace. The proportion of instruction across concept areas is adjusted for the individual so that weaker areas receive more emphasis. If a student continually struggles with a new concept, rather than staying on the difficult concept, SuccessMaker^® sets the material aside to be reintroduced at a later point. This individualization allows each student to progress on his or her own time schedule. SuccessMaker^® also periodically checks the student’s recollection of material previously mastered. Professional development for using SuccessMaker^® is available and focuses on instructional strategies to incorporate SuccessMaker^® into the curricula and customized on-site support for teachers.

Cost

Not available online.