Everyday Mathematics™ Contributes to Orange County Public Schools' Record- High FCAT Math Gains

Wright Group/McGraw-Hill congratulates Orange County Public Schools for making outstanding progress on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Grade 3 math scores. Roughly 96% of Orange County's Grades K-5 elementary schools use Everyday Mathematics, published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill.

"Orange County is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when dedicated teachers and administrators come together with a shared goal," said Dan Caton, president of Wright Group/McGraw-Hill. "The district should be proud of its accomplishments, just as we are proud to partner with them to teach young people essential mathematics skills."

Award-Winning Math Instruction

The 2008 FCAT Grade 3 math scores showed continued progress for Orange County since implementing Everyday Mathematics: 70% of Grade 3 students performed at Level 3 or above, up from 67% last year. That's 11 percentage points higher than 2003 before the program was used.

This April, Orange County Public Schools was the recipient of the 2008 Everyday Mathematics Outstanding Achievement Award for making progress in math education. To see a documentary-style video detailing Orange County's experience with Everyday Mathematics and the awards ceremony video, visit EverydayMathSuccess.com .

About Orange County Schools

Serving more than 180,000 students in Grades Pre-K-12, this district's student population is 35% Caucasian, 31% Hispanic, 28% African American, 4% Asian, and 2% multicultural. Forty-seven percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For more information, please visit OCPS.net .

About Everyday Mathematics

With more than 20 years of history, Wright Group/McGraw-Hill's Everyday Mathematics for Grades Pre-K-6 helps students measure up to the demand for greater mathematical competence and problem-solving ability. Everyday Mathematics was developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, the research-based curriculum is used in nearly 185,000 classrooms across the United States by more than 3 million children. The third edition was recently launched and offers more support for learning differences, extra help for English-language learners, enhanced assessment and new support for the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten mathematics classrooms. The third edition also features new technology components to support teachers and students. The Everyday Mathematics eSuite includes an online lesson planner with digital access to all teacher materials, an interactive online student edition, animated games for additional fact practice, an assessment management system to monitor student progress, and multilingual family letters in nine languages to support the home-school connection.

Visit EverydayMathSuccess.com to read about the program's efficacy and to see videos of the program in use in the classroom and see WrightGroup.com/parent_connection/index.html for parent resources.

About Wright Group/McGraw-Hill

Wright Group/McGraw-Hill publishes innovative core and supplemental literacy and mathematics programs for differentiated instruction and teacher training in Grades Pre-K-8. The research-based approach is anchored in real- world applications and is based on the assessed needs of students, combining developmentally appropriate materials with explicit outcomes.

Wright Group is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower the success of 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 MHEducation.com. For more information on Wright Group's products, call 1-800-648-2970 or visit WrightGroup.com .

  Media Contacts:

  Amy Tillinghast                          Melina Metzger
  Wright Group/McGraw-Hill                 Paul Werth Associates
  (614) 750-7285                           (614) 224-8114 Ext. 236
  amy_tillinghast@mcgraw-hill.com          mmetzger@paulwerth.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: Wright Group/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Amy Tillinghast
Wright Group/McGraw-Hill
(614) 750-7285
amy_tillinghast@mcgraw-hill.com
or
Melina Metzger
Paul Werth Associates
(614) 224-8114 Ext. 236
mmetzger@paulwerth.com

Web site: http://www.wrightgroup.com/
http://www.everydaymathsuccess.com/
http://www.ocps.net/
http://www.mheducation.com/