Online Community Launched for CTB/McGraw-Hill's Acuity Assessment

CTB/McGraw-Hill, a leading provider of PreK - 12 and adult education assessment solutions, announced the official launch of the Acuity® Online Community, a web-based social networking forum where users of the Company's Acuity InFormative Assessment™ solution can collaborate and exchange ideas. The Acuity Online Community is a resource that helps teachers, district administrators, and technology directors successfully improve student achievement using CTB's Acuity assessment solution.

"The Acuity Online Community promotes engagement between Acuity users, and allows visitors to the site to benefit from their collective experiences," said Ellen Haley, president of CTB/McGraw-Hill. "In turn, CTB receives a wealth of practical feedback for advancing assessments and educational technology."

After an initial test period, CTB received an overwhelmingly positive response from initial Acuity Online Community users. Educators clearly welcome the opportunity to share ideas and experiences, and appreciate the ability to support each other in using Acuity to achieve improved student outcomes.

"We see the Acuity Online Community as a great opportunity for us to collaborate with colleagues across the country," said John Miller, Coordinator of Benchmark Assessments with the West Virginia Department of Education's Office of Assessment, Accountability and Research. "By pooling resources with educators that share common goals, we can build on our Acuity knowledge base and maximize the benefits gained from assessment technology."

  The Acuity Online Community comprises several different forums:

  --  Share - sharing user success stories and best practices
  --  Discuss - best practices, tips and tricks, for getting the most out of
      Acuity
  --  Suggest - suggest ideas for enhancing Acuity and its associated
      services
  --  Regional - areas for specific geographical regions to discuss matters
      of special interest
  --  Events - a listing of Acuity-related webinars, conferences, and
      chatroom discussions

Easily and securely accessible directly from the Acuity application, this Online Community also includes a portal of CTB created resources, including interactive tutorials, white papers, training materials, and videos that are available to all Acuity users.

About Acuity

The groundbreaking Acuity InFormative Assessment solution helps teachers gauge student performance and deliver tailored instruction for every student. Used by more than 65,000 teachers and 1.5 million students nationwide, Acuity heralds a new generation of assessment, enabling educators to deliver true data-driven instruction. Acuity contains four elements of a comprehensive assessment system: ongoing skills measurement, in-depth reporting, data analysis, and resources for individual instruction and intervention. CTB/McGraw-Hill also offers comprehensive professional development, online community forums, implementation, and support services. Acuity won the 2009 CODiE award for Best Student Assessment Solution and is recognized by Outsell Research as a "rising star" in their 2009 K-12 Testing and Assessment Review. For more information, visit www.AcuityforSchool.com or call 800.538.9547 to schedule a live presentation.

About CTB/McGraw-Hill

As a 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 McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. Additional information is available at www.CTB.com.

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SOURCE: CTB/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Brandon Engle, Manager, Communications, +1-916-933-1291,
Brandon_Engle@ctb.com

Web Site: http://www.ctb.com/