The Challenge

• Like many high schools, Woodland High School in suburban Georgia realized it had an adolescent literacy problem, with many students unable to read grade-level material in their classes. Even teachers of 9th graders in pre-International Baccalaureate classes found that they had to read aloud to help students understand their texts. The school recognized that low literacy among 9th and 10th graders was highly correlated with dropout rates—and administrators vowed to do something about it.

The Solution

• Woodland High School enrolled about half of its 9th graders in Ramp-Up Literacy to help them become strong readers and effective writers across the curriculum—and to boost graduation rates.

The Results

• Woodland High School increased by almost 10 points the percentage of students passing the 9th-grade Georgia End-of-Course Tests from 2004 to 2005, while the state increased by only 4 percent during the same period. With these gains, the school narrowed the achievement gap with the state. In 2005, 80 percent of Woodland 9th graders passed these tests.

• Woodland credits Ramp-Up Literacy and other America’s Choice solutions, including Ramp-Up Mathematics and a two-year implementation of the America’s Choice School Design, with helping students stay in school, become successful, and pass high-stakes end-of-course and graduation tests. Graduation rates have risen dramatically.

9th Graders Out Gain State with
Increase in Passing Rate on State Test

Increase in percent passing 9th-grade Georgia End-of-Course
Tests in literature and composition, 2004-05

School Snapshot
Woodland High School
Bartow County School District

• Suburban
• Grades: 9–12
• 1,660 students
• 30 percent economically disadvantaged
• 12 percent special needs
• 1 percent English language learners
• 87 percent white
• 7 percent African American
• 4 percent Hispanic