CTB/McGraw-Hill Awarded Georgia Assessment program

CTB/McGraw-Hill, the nation's leader in PreK-12 and adult education assessment solutions, today announced a five-year $62.5 million award from the Georgia Department of Education to serve as the primary contractor for the administration of the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). The contract award begins with the 2006/2007 school year and includes four annual renewal options through 2010.

The Georgia CRCT is the state's large-scale assessment program serving approximately 1 million students, and is designed to measure students' knowledge as aligned with Georgia's state curriculum, recently voted as one of the best in the country by the Fordham Institute, and meet federal No Child Left Behind testing and reporting requirements. CRCT assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, and state levels which is used to diagnose individual student strengths and areas requiring improvement, as well as support quality education programs throughout Georgia. The CRCT content areas and grade levels include Reading, English/Language Arts and Mathematics at grades 1-8, and Science and Social Studies at grades 3-8. Additionally, CTB/McGraw-Hill will provide alternative assessments in Braille and large print for special needs student populations.

"We are honored to combine our demonstrated heritage of delivering high- quality assessments with our innovative, actionable reporting capabilities in service to the students, educators and parents of Georgia," said Mostafa Mehrabani, president of McGraw-Hill Assessment and Reporting. "We rely on operational excellence, digital innovation, and a strong commitment to program management, and will apply our best practices and integrated solutions to the CRCT administration."

Under the terms of the contract, CTB/McGraw-Hill will develop custom test questions, manufacture and distribute CRCT test books, process and score tests, and manage the overall program delivery. The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill, a leader in educational assessment reporting, will work with CTB/McGraw-Hill to produce and deliver the CRCT score reports in print and electronically, as well as standards-based CRCT Study Guides for every subject and grade. Drawing on the psychometric expertise of CTB/McGraw-Hill and the data display insight of The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill, these reports will present detailed student assessment data in formats appropriate to each audience, with the goal of using assessment results to enable decision-making and enhanced instruction. The flexible report publishing system and high-speed variable printing technology will ensure that reports are quickly published and delivered to educators, students and parents within reporting timelines.

CTB/McGraw-Hill serves more than 18 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. As the reporting partner for states and districts, The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill presently provides innovative reports and personalized learning resources in support of over 35 percent of tested students nationwide.

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, a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

About The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill

Established in March 2000, The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill has quickly become a nationally recognized leader in educational assessment reporting. The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill's innovative patent-pending system offers dynamic reports and differentiated learning tools for families, teachers, and educational leaders. The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill is part of the Assessment and Reporting group of McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

SOURCE: CTB/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Media Inquiries:
Kelley Carpenter
Director, Communications
McGraw-Hill Assessment and Reporting
(831) 393-7196
kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.com

Web site: http://www.mheducation.com/