Oklahoma State Department of Education Awards CTB/Mcgraw-Hill End-Of-Instruction Testing Program
Schools to Administer Tests Online for Faster Results, Improved Learning
PRNewswire
MONTEREY, Calif.
Jul 18, 2005
CTB/McGraw-Hill, the nation's leading provider of K-12 and adult education assessment solutions, today announced a new five-year contract with the Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) to develop and implement the Oklahoma End of Instruction tests in Algebra I, Biology I, U.S. History, and English II.
This award represents the second End of Instruction testing contract awarded to CTB/McGraw-Hill through the state's competitive bidding process. The process allows the Oklahoma SDE to renew its contract with CTB annually for the next five years, and thereby expand the learning benefits fostered through the current customized program. Oklahoma requires middle and high school students to complete the End of Instruction tests for Algebra I, Biology I, U.S. History, and English II.
"We're pleased to collaborate with CTB/McGraw-Hill to provide the schools and parents with data that helps students succeed. This program builds upon existing classroom instruction, improves competency in core subjects, and encourages the ongoing student progress that we strongly support throughout Oklahoma," said Sandy Garrett, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Oklahoma SDE plans to offer all End of Instruction tests online through a two-year phased-in approach for schools preferring online administration. The online administration of tests will provide a faster turnaround of results to students and educators to support improved student achievement and enhanced instruction. Oklahoma schools are among the nation's leaders in technology use and continue to strive for educational excellence through the application of innovative assessment technology.
"The Oklahoma State Department of Education and Superintendent Garrett are forward-thinking in their use of technology as a teaching and learning tool, and we are proud to be part of the state's transition to online test administration," said Mostafa Mehrabani, president, McGraw-Hill Assessment and Reporting. "We look forward to helping provide Oklahoma teachers with real-time access to information they need for targeted instruction and student progress monitoring."
The No Child Left Behind law requires states to establish a school accountability system that determines Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for public schools and districts. Oklahoma will use the Algebra I and English II End of Instruction test scores as one of the measures used to calculate AYP for its school systems. Currently, passing the End of Instruction tests is not a graduation requirement in Oklahoma.
In K-12 education, CTB/McGraw-Hill serves more than 16 million students annually in 8,700 school districts in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and the worldwide U.S. Department of Defense system. In adult education, CTB/McGraw-Hill currently provides test results for more than 4 million adult students nationally and provides the education assessment for the nation's largest correctional systems.
About CTB/McGraw-Hill
As the nation's leading publisher of standardized 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 McGraw-Hill Education's Assessment and Reporting group, and is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek. Founded in 1888, the Corporation has more than 280 offices in more than 37 countries. Sales in 2004 were $5.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/ and http://www.ctb.com/.
SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Education
CONTACT: Kelley Carpenter
Director, Public Relations
McGraw-Hill Assessment and Reporting
831.393.7196
kelley_carpenter@ctb.com