October 30, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Project Drive, a program developed by the Civitan International Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), is helping people with low reading skills prepare to take the Alabama learner's license exam. "The state's driving manual is written on approximately a tenth-grade reading level," says Robin Lanzi, Ph.D., program director with the Civitan Center. "We modified the manual to approximately a second-to-third grade reading level and developed a curriculum to accompany the manual."

Although designed specifically for special education students, the manual is available to all Alabamians with low reading skills. "There are many people in Alabama who can drive, but who may have difficulty passing the written test due to a combination of things, including low reading and comprehension levels," says Lanzi.

A pilot study of the program, funded by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, was recently conducted in eight counties throughout Alabama, targeting 16 special education high school classes. "Of 157 students who used the materials to study for the test, 103 took the test and 77 percent of them passed," says Lanzi. "And since the pilot project ended, more of the students have taken and passed the test."

The study found no significant differences between those who passed the test and those who did not based on IQ and reading comprehension levels. “It appears that the factor that may make the most difference in whether or not a student passes the learner's license test is the number of hours spent studying the material, rather than IQ or reading ability,” says Lanzi.

The materials were developed in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, special education teachers and driver's education teachers. "The Department of Public Safety certified that the manual is in every way equivalent to the state's manual," says Lanzi. "There is special emphasis on road safety — rules of the road and reading road signs."

While the manual is different, the learner's license test is the same. "We did not seek any special accommodations," says Lanzi. "Although the manual is written on a second-to-third grade reading level, a number of words beyond the lower reading level, such as hydroplane, certificate and barbiturate, were maintained, because these words appear on the exam."

A secondary objective of the program is to help people obtain and keep jobs. "There are many people who can work and who want to work, but because they do not have a driver's license may have a hard time keeping a job," says Lanzi. "Usually, keeping a job involves being on time. If you can't drive yourself, it may be hard to always be on time. A driver's license can also be a big boost to students' self-esteem. It's a big step toward independence, productivity and community inclusion."

Manuals and curriculum guides are being produced by the Alabama departments of special education and driver's education, and are being distributed to all special education and driver's education teachers in Alabama this year. For more information, contact Lanzi at (205) 934-3171.