* About us

* What makes us better

* Services we offer

* Types of students we assist

* Success stories

* Samples of student work demonstrating improvement

* Schools and colleges that have accepted A-1 students 

A. H. was a twelve-year-old middle school student who received D's in all her subjects. Following a customized program of remediation designed by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, her grades advanced to all A's within one quarter.  Later, she was accepted at Catonsville Community College, and planned to be a veterinarian. 

Reading Comprehension  - Learning Disabilities - Test Taking

E. C., an eight-year-old student, could not fully comprehend what he read. He scored on a first grade reading level. After A-l Evaluation and Tutoring provided a few months of remediation, he overcame his learning differences, and his reading fluency and comprehension improved. He remembered more of what he studied, and was able to write reports with greater accuracy.  He overcame test anxiety, his grades rose significantly, and he scored on a fourth grade reading level while still in a third grade class.   When he transferred to a new elementary school, his teacher placed him in classes for gifted and talented.

Overcoming dyslexia and dyscalculia to achieve high success academically

K.H., a seventeen-year-old girl, originally wrote her name with the letters in reverse order, writing from the right side of the page to the left, and required a year to learn + 1's and + 2's.   Her mother withdrew her from these studies upon the birth of a second child, but K.H. returned years later.   When she returned, she was at the same level as when she left. She caught up five years in standardized math test scores over the summer, and recently graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a rigorous public school in Baltimore.   She received such high grades in all honors classes, including English, calculus and four science classes taken simultaneously, that she did not need to take her final exams.   She was accepted into all of the colleges of her choice, and entered her freshman year at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Avoided Repeating the Grade

S.C. was a ten-year-old student whose teacher recommended he repeat the grade. After a one-to-one intensive course of study over the summer, custom tailored to his needs by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, he scored four years higher in standardized testing in reading, writing and math.  He did not have to repeat the grade.

Homework - Organization - Study Skills

A.H. was a ten-year-old student who had difficulty remembering homework assignments. He failed to organize his materials or time. He required more hours than his peers to complete the same amount of homework because he had inadequate academic and study skills. Following a course of remedial treatment designed for him by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, his study and organizational skills improved, and he completed twice as much homework in half the time he required before. 

Special Education  -  Basic Skills  -  IEP Meetings - Mainstreaming out of Special Education

C.T. was a ten-year-old student special education student who could not read. Additionally, his parents had been unsuccessful in securing the services they wanted him to have from his school.  After Hilda Coyne accompanied them to his I.E.P. meeting, the parents understood the school procedures better, and he received an increase in services from his school. He not only acquired strong reading, writing and math skills in the program designed for him by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, his cooperation and social skills developed with both his peers and teachers.  Later, he entered a mainstream classroom and received good grades. He then entered a magnet school, received straight A's in all honors courses, and plans to be an environmental scientist. 

Advanced three years in reading comprehension in six months

C.P., a nine-year-old, hearing-impaired boy with an auditory processing deficit, as well as ADHD and epilepsy, for which he received medication. He could not read at the beginning of the school year, and was unable to process a sentence written on the kindergarten level until he had heard it five times.   He did not know simple math facts or how to print the alphabet well.   After six months of the appropriate interventions, he could read and listen to a paragraph written on the second grade level after hearing it once, or rarely twice.   He could add and subtract, and was beginning his multiplication tables.   He was learning to write in cursive and his progress continued at the same accelerated pace of advancing three years in standardized reading comprehension test scores in six months.         

Adult improvement in reading and in listening comprehension

C.J., a fifty-two-year-old woman in a responsible professional position, was unable to process auditory input sufficiently to score even on a primer (kindergarten) level in standardized listening comprehension testing when she began remedial studies.   After two months of customized remediation, she progressed four years in grade level in her test scores.

G. G., a sixteen-year-old student, passed all subjects but math. He received added assistance in school, but was unable to recall math facts or to compute either number or word problems.  A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring aided him with a customized program in both his language-based difficulties in word problems and in processing math facts, which allowed him to develop automatic recall of those facts. His grades in math advanced from 20's to 78's within six weeks. He also achieved higher SAT scores. Later, he attended Harford Community College and received  good grades in all subjects, including math. 

Z.W. was a twenty-two year old college student who was unable to comprehend his texts or to express ideas adequately in writing.  After A-l Evaluation and Tutoring provided a few months of customized remedial treatment, his standardized test scores rose.  He was also able to comprehend his texts on a college level, and to express his ideas well both in verbal and written reports.

C. B. was a middle school student with an attention deficit disorder. He scored three years below grade level in reading.  After a course designed by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring to remedy his reading deficits, his reading scores rose significantly. Then, as a student accepted by Archbishop Curley High School, he scored on a twelfth grade level in reading and math while he was still in ninth grade.  He received excellent grades in all of his subjects.

S.M. was a fourteen-year-old student with dyslexia. He was in a seventh grade special education class.  After he began his studies with A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, his deficits diminished and his standardized reading and math test scores increased. His teachers then placed him in eighth grade mainstream classes.  He graduated with two diplomas at the end of his senior year in high school, one from his high school and one from barber college. He planned to work part time as a barber to help pay for his college tuition, and to attend college part time with a major in chemistry. 

D.C. was a five-year-old who was so frustrated with the learning process she would cry when asked to read or write. She was unable to read, or to print all of her letters and numbers.   She felt unable to try, and lost all motivation to achieve academically.  After a few months of a customized program of remediation provided by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, she gained confidence and skills. Her printing became legible, and she scored on a first grade level in reading, spelling and arithmetic standardized tests.  Her self-esteem and socialization skills increased.  She became so cooperative and willing to participate socially that when her parents bought her a new outfit, she pretended she was a model.

N.S., a ten-year-old student, received good grades in language arts, English, spelling and arithmetic, but was failing in her science, social studies and Spanish classes in a private school in Baltimore City.  After three months of remedial instruction given by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, her grades improved in these subjects. 

GRE

L.A. wanted to enter graduate school but her language skills were not as strong as she needed them to be.  Following a few months of tutoring with a customized program, tailored to her specific academic needs by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, her GRE test scores rose.  Later, she studied online in an advanced degree program.

E.L. was a sixteen-year-old student with a learning difference.  His school expelled him.  He had so many learning deficits and communicated so poorly that his peers easily victimized him.  When behavior problems between peers arose, he received the blame for incidents he never initiated.  Following a customized academic program designed for him by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, he re-entered school in special education classes until his teachers placed him in mainstream classes.  He was able to relate to peers and staff with improved communication skills. He graduated with honors, and entered the family business. 

L.M. was an eighth grade student who wanted to attend McDonough School where her brother was a high school student. She failed the entrance examination.  She scored six years below grade level in reading in standardized testing. After intensive study with A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring over the summer, she scored on a ninth grade reading level. She passed the Independent Schools Entrance Examination, The school of her choice admitted her as a tenth grade student on a baseball scholarship. The Baltimore Sun included her in their All City baseball team.

B.G., a twenty-two-year old student, wanted to pass the military placement examination, but failed the math portion.  After studying with A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, she reported that she received the maximum test score in the arithmetic subtest of the military placement examination.

N.G. was a fifteen-year- old dyslexic student who had problems processing information, which affected her memory.  She often wrote facts in the middle of her report which described the content at the end of the paragraph she studied, and described the last paragraph she read in the middle of her report.  She struggled to maintain the appropriate sequence when writing about what she had read. With a customized remedial treatment program, she overcame the problem, and was able to recall and to write about what she had read in the appropriate sequence in which it occurred in her reading. This enabled her to remember better what she read and to increase her test scores.

A.F. was a twenty-eight-year-old college graduate who had so much difficulty with printing, notetaking and copying accurately that he could not read his own writing. He had relied on computers to write and to spell correctly for him. Furthermore, although he spoke well, his writing skills were so weak that he was not able to get or to keep a job. In addition, although he wanted to go to graduate school, he did not believe that he had the skills needed for acceptance into a graduate school program. After following a customized program developed for him by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, he completed his academic studies successfully. Later, he became a business manager in Baltimore City.

I.J. was a fifteen-year-old student who was failing in most of his subjects in high school.  Following a program of remediation designed for him by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, he scored five years higher in standardized reading tests.  His SAT scores improved significantly. After, he became a student at Morgan State University. 

J.W. was an administrative assistant with weak spelling skills.  She scored on a fifth grade reading level, and suffered from low self esteem.  Although she was able to hide her deficits by using spell check and grammar check, she was frightened her academic weaknesses might be exposed, causing her to lose her position.  Following a customized program of remediation with A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, she scored on a college reading level.  Her reading and spelling improved to such an extent she received a B+ in her final grade in social anthropology at Johns Hopkins University.

M.B. was a seventeen-year-old student who was failing in her studies at Polytechnic High School.  She scored on a fifth grade reading level and did not want to repeat the grade or to be held back in her senior year in high school. Within a few months of a remedial treatment program designed for her by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, her reading scores rose to twelfth grade levels, and her report writing improved significantly.  She graduated with her class, started  studies in Baltimore City Community College, and planned to be an electrical engineer. 

Passed A Career Examination

M.C. graduated from a teacher's college but was unable to pass the qualifying tests in the Praxis National Teacher's Examination. She scored below college level reading skills in standardized testing, and had weak math skills. Following a personalized course of instructino created by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, she scored on a college level in reading and math examinations, and passed the Praxis examination that she had failed twice before.

D.Z. was a high school dropout.  She failed to pass the GED examination four times.  After studying with A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring for six months, she passed both the GED and the written portion of the Maryland driver's license examinations. 

W.B. was a forty-year-old adult who was unable to read or write.  After several months of individualized instruction provided by A-l Evaluation and Tutoring, tailored to his needs, his standardized test scores in reading and writing increased significantly.  His self-esteem and socialization skills improved as well.  He especially enjoyed reading the sports section in the newspapers rather than only being able to watch games on television.  He overcame his sense of inadequacy, and married his friend of many years.

J. N. was an eight-year-old student who had problems printing letters or writing in cursive. His writing seemed similar to that of a four-year-old child.  He reversed some of the letters, mixed letter heights, and was unable to stay on the lines when printing.  Following a customized program created by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring helped him to overcome these problems and to write legibly.  Next, he perfected his cursive writing, and his written expression became age appropriate.  He was able to express ideas freely, unimpeded by handwriting problems, and to get credit for correct spelling. 

B.E. was a college freshman who was failing the only subject he studied.  In addition, he had weak time management and study skills, and scored five years below college reading level. After following appropriate techniques of remediation in a customized program designed by A-1 Evaluation and Tutoring, he scored on an eleventh grade reading level. He learned to organize his time and study habits. As a result, he received higher grades in psychology, art history and computer science classes the following semester.  He later attended classes part of the time at the two year college and part of the time at a four year college until he enrolled in the four year college full time.  He graduated from the University of Baltimore, and planned to go to graduate school. 

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Please call Hilda Coyne, a Learning Specialist with over 20 years of experience, at 410-644-8828. She will be glad to answer your questions, and to help you to overcome your learning difficulties to achieve success.