LAS Links From CTB/McGraw-Hill Chosen by Nevada to Support Students' Acquisition of English Language Skills

CTB/McGraw-Hill's LAS Links™ assessment was selected by the Nevada Department of Education for its statewide English language learner (ELL) program, providing educators with another three years of consistent and clear assessment results on the English language proficiency progress of students.

LAS Links is an integrated suite of English-language proficiency assessments designed to help educators accurately and reliably measure and report students' English language skills, and provides information that can be used to monitor their progress. As part of the contract renewal, Nevada will be adding a new form of LAS Links assessment to ensure valid and reliable administration in all grades by alternating the assessments year to year.

"We are very happy to enter into another three-year contract with CTB, which will provide us with six consistent years of valuable and useful data on individual student's listening, speaking, reading, writing and comprehension skills," said Steven Ross, Title III director for the Nevada Department of Education. "We've received excellent support from CTB which has truly been a partner in education to us, ensuring that we have a valid, reliable, and timely assessment program."

"CTB is pleased to continue to serve the English language learning program of Nevada. The State is at the forefront of efforts to promote quality assessment and education programs for limited-English proficient students and is currently leading the independent English Language Proficiency Collaboration and Research Consortium, a group of six states that are working together on studies and research for the improvement of ELL testing and instruction. "

For more information regarding the English Language Proficiency Collaboration and Research Consortium (ELPCRC) visit www.ELPCRC.org.

About LAS Links Assessment and Instructional Tools

LAS Links is an integrated system of reliable, research-based assessments and instructional guidance for all English language learners. The system also provides compliance with NCLB Title III requirements. Features include:

  --  K-12 proficiency assessments for accurate placement/evaluation
  --  Benchmark assessments for ongoing progress monitoring
  --  Instructional guidance and staff development tools to help teachers
      use test results to inform learning and address students' needs

The K-12 assessment uses a common vertical scale to measure the four required domains of Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, and incorporates realistic illustrations, contextualized reading passages, photographs, and culturally relevant test content to encourage students to do their best. Test formats include multiple-choice and performance-based questions that address a wide range of language skills. Test items include language from subjects such as math, science, technology, and social studies. The LAS Links system is compatible with any English language proficiency test a state or district chooses to administer. For more information, visit www.CTB.com/LASLinks.

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.

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SOURCE: CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC

CONTACT: Kelley Carpenter
Director, Communications
+1-831-393-7196
kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.com

Web site: http://www.ctb.com/
http://www.ctb.com/LASLinks
http://www.elpcrc.org/