CTB/McGRAW-HILL AWARDED NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
CONTRACT FOR PERIODIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Acuity™ System Chosen to Support Student Learning
Monterey, Calif. – July 17, 2007 –
Under a five-year contract with the New York City Department of
Education (DOE), CTB/McGraw-Hill is providing New York City public
school teachers with instructional tools to help improve student
learning as part of the DOE’s ongoing periodic assessment
program. Educators now have access to Acuity diagnostic and predictive
assessments, which provide timely and detailed information on student
strengths and weaknesses as well as measure students’ academic
development to help ensure that students are learning what is being
taught in the classroom.
“Teachers have always used assessments to monitor their
students' progress. Now they'll be able to find out quickly exactly
what students are learning and where they need more help,"
said New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. “These
new assessment tools are quicker and more accurate than what our
schools have today. They'll make it easier for our educators to
tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of every student.”
“We’re honored to support New York City educators,
parents, and students with our Acuity suite of formative assessments.
Assessment is an important teaching tool that drives student learning
and achievement, and provides critical information to ensure teachers
have the information they need to prepare students to succeed in
the global economy,” said Mostafa Mehrabani, president, McGraw-Hill
Assessment and Reporting.
Acuity tools are highly flexible and can be customized to match
schools’ curricula and instructional calendars. The online
administration capability ensures that students and teachers receive
immediate progress updates on classroom learning. Classrooms that
administer paper-and-pencil versions of the assessments receive
online reports within five school days. As part of this periodic
assessment program, students are assessed five times a year in grades
3-8 and four times a year in high school in both English/Language
Arts and math.
“The New York City Department of Education is forward-thinking
in its creation of the periodic assessment program, which helps
teachers identify knowledge gaps as they are occurring and intervene
and remedy them earlier in the learning process. Acuity was developed
to provide point-in-time data to show exactly what students are
learning and where they need individualized assistance to move forward,”
said Ellen Haley, president of CTB/McGraw-Hill.
Individual schools can select from the following Acuity components:
- Predictive Assessments – These assessments mirror the
content and format of the New York State tests, are aligned to
grade-level standards, and are able to measure student growth
within and across academic years. They provide an indication of
future student performance on New York State tests, and can guide
tailored interventions to help individual and groups of students
move forward.
- Instructionally Targeted Assessments (ITA) – These assessments
provide insight into students’ skills and assess learning
during a specific instructional period. ITAs help teachers identify
which standards and performance indicators are most and least
understood so that instruction can be quickly adjusted based on
the information received.
- Custom Classroom Assessments – Acuity includes an item
bank of more than 20,000 research-based questions aligned to New
York State standards. Educators can use these items to create
custom assessments to measure student learning on a particular
set of academic objectives, enabling early, frequent and effective
intervention.
- Aligned Instructional Exercises – Acuity provides teachers
with a series of personalized instructional materials which guide
and assist in improving students’ mastery of subject matter.
These exercises can be assigned to classrooms as a whole, to groups
of students or to students individually.
- Informative Reports – Acuity’s detailed reports
provide instructional direction in a clear, easy-to-understand
format, and can be viewed at the student, class, school and district
levels.
About Acuity
Acuity was developed in consultation with administrators, principals,
teachers, and students. Acuity is a suite of diagnostic and predictive
benchmark assessments designed to show student growth toward state
standards and performance indicators in English/Language Arts and
math for grades 3-12 and in algebra for grades 6-12. Acuity features
online and paper-and-pencil administration options to match the
level of technology available in schools. Informative reports provide
the data teachers need to improve student achievement. Instructional
exercises tied to student performance and state-correlated online
item banks enable custom, teacher-created assessments to help students
remain current on classroom instruction.
For more information, call (800) 538-9547 or visit www.acuityforschool.com.
About CTB/McGraw-Hill
As the nation's leading publisher of standardized and standards-based
achievement tests for pre-school, elementary, middle, high school,
and adult education, CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC offers a broad range of
assessments, software and services. CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC is part
of the Assessment and Reporting group of McGraw-Hill Education (MHE),
a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). MHE is a leading
global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions
that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill
Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than
40 languages. Additional information is available at www.ctb.com.
Media Inquiries
Kelley Carpenter
Director, Communications
McGraw-Hill Assessment and Reporting
(831) 393-7196
kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.com |
