McGraw-Hill Education Expands Accessibility for Adult Ed Test Preparation Tools with New Offline and Spanish Offerings

NEW YORK, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill Education announced today two new test preparation solutions designed for adult education centers and institutions that provide adult learners increased accessibility to study materials to prepare for high school equivalency exams. These solutions extend the Common Core High School Equivalency Series to address the need for accessible, high-quality test prep materials for native Spanish speakers, rural students and adults in correctional facilities.

A new offline test prep product, High School Equivalency Achieve Interactive, is currently available and uses a LAN (local area network)/computer-based model to simulate a digital test-taking experience for students who lack Internet access in rural areas or correctional institutions. Also, two new solutions, available in July, give native Spanish speakers access to high-quality high school equivalency test prep. These products are added to the Common Core High School Equivalency Series, a series built from the ground up on the Common Core, College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education, and 2014 assessment targets for all three new exams.

Offline Access to High School Equivalency Test Prep

• High School Equivalency Achieve Interactive is a LAN/computer-based product geared toward the corrections market and rural areas without Internet access.
• Digital test prep solution built in offline format is important because the market-leading 2014 GED® test is offered exclusively online, with no pencil and paper version.
• According to McGraw-Hill Education's research, 98 percent of correctional facilities have computers, and 40 percent of all correctional facilities need a LAN/computer-based high school equivalency test prep solution.
• Roughly 2 percent of those seeking a high school equivalency degree are in corrections facilities without access to online test prep solutions. A high school equivalency degree can significantly ease the transition from incarceration to community life, offering essential skills for sustained employment, ongoing training and college readiness.

High School Equivalency Test Prep for Spanish-Speakers

• At the end of the academic school year of 2010 to 2011, only 57 percent of limited English proficient (LEP) high school students graduated with a diploma. In 2010, 66 percent of LEPs were Spanish speakers. These students have a greater need for Spanish solutions to help obtain their high school equivalency certificates as adults.

Common Core Basics: Spanish Edition

• Launching in July 2015, Common Core Basics: Spanish Edition will offer in-depth instruction and foundational skill building for adults at six through eight grade equivalency levels.
• Product includes a one-to-one direct translation of the English Common Core Basics program for the adult learner to prepare for the test in their native language for reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies.
• Actual Spanish speakers do the translations, not a computer, ensuring the highest quality test prep for Spanish-speaking students with accommodations made to suit the grammar, syntax, context and flow of the Spanish language. The product features the same materials as the English version, so all students in a class will be working from the same content in their native languages.           

Comprehensive Study Guides for Review and Practice in Spanish

• To complement the Common Core Basics Spanish edition, McGraw-Hill Education Repaso para el examen GED and Repaso para el examen TASC (available Q4 2015) will provide supportive study guides for review and practice in Spanish for adults at grades 9 though 12 equivalency levels.
• Each product includes review and practice for all four tested content areas (Reading & Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies) in one comprehensive book.
• The guides can also be easily used as a supportive resource to in-depth core instruction and test preparation in English.  

"These are markets where accessibility is extremely important, but often challenging, especially within correctional institutions," said Christine Willig, president of McGraw-Hill Education's School group. "These new product releases extend accessibility and ensure correctional institutions and native Spanish speakers have equal access to high-quality high school equivalency test prep materials."

With these new offerings, McGraw-Hill Education builds out the Common Core High School Equivalency Series and its portfolio of test prep materials to assist adult learners who otherwise may not have access to high-quality learning tools customized to their needs. Learn more about these new offerings at www.commoncoreachieve.com.

About McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill Education is a learning science company that delivers personalized learning experiences that help students, parents, educators and professionals drive results. McGraw-Hill Education has offices across North America, India, China, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions available in nearly 60 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Contact:
Brian Belardi
McGraw-Hill Education
(646) 766-2951
brian.belardi@mheducation.com 

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education