CTB/McGRAW-HILL CHOSEN BY ARIZONA’S LARGEST
SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING PROGRAM
Acuity™ and TurnLeaf AMS™ Systems Selected
by Mesa, AZ, to Enhance Learning and Gain Detailed Reporting on Student
Performance
Monterey, CA – August 22, 2007 –CTB/McGraw-Hill
is providing Mesa public school teachers with powerful tools to
inform instruction, improve learning and track student progress.
Beginning this fall, educators in Arizona’s largest district
will use Acuity’s predictive assessments to gain an in-depth
understanding of students’ academic progress toward state
standards. In addition, the district will use TurnLeaf AMS, a flexible
data management, analysis, and reporting system to aggregate results
from a variety of assessments, including the Arizona Instrument
to Measure Standards (AIMS), into a single reporting view.
“With the new assessment tools, teachers will have increased
capacity to understand how students are performing throughout the
school year, gauge their progress in mastering academic standards
and tailor instruction and assessments to meet individual learning
needs in the classroom,” said Dr. Debra Duvall, superintendent
of Mesa Public Schools. “This robust assessment system, along
with the data management and reporting tools, will give our educators
a quick and efficient method for monitoring achievement. Ultimately
this kind of detailed information will benefit both the student
and the teacher.”
“Mesa recognizes the importance of using assessment as a
teaching tool to drive daily classroom instruction and boost student
learning and achievement,” said Ellen Haley, president of
CTB/McGraw-Hill. “We’re proud to support the district’s
students, parents and educators with tools that help turn assessment
results into dynamic information that enhances educational goals.”
Acuity tools are highly flexible and customized to align to Arizona’s
educational standards. Mesa Public Schools initially will administer
Acuity via paper-and-pencil, and will be incorporating online Acuity
assessments in the future. When using both paper-and-pencil and
online assessments, students and teachers will typically receive
progress updates within 24 hours. As part of Mesa’s district
assessment program, students are assessed three times a year in
grades 3-8 in reading and math. In addition, Mesa schools will be
using Acuity Algebra in grade 9.
“We wanted an assessment product that would provide ongoing
information and data to show us whether or not students were moving
toward mastery at every grade level, as well as provide remediation
tools specific to our standards," said Sandi Kuhn, principal
at Lowell Elementary School, who served on the assessment selection
committee. "Acuity allows us to track the progress of our students
throughout the year. In addition, we can pull test items from the
item bank and use them as an instructional tool as well as a measurement
tool, so there are no surprises when our students take the summative
assessments at the end of the year."
Mesa Public Schools can select from the following Acuity components:
- Predictive Assessments – These assessments mirror the
content and format of the AIMS tests, are aligned to grade-level
standards, and are able to measure student growth within and across
academic years. They indicate future student performance on Arizona
state tests, and can guide tailored interventions to help individuals
and groups of students move forward.
- Custom Classroom Assessments – Acuity includes an item
bank of research-based questions aligned to Arizona state standards.
Individual or groups of teachers 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 3-8 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 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
(831) 393-7196
kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.com |
