McGraw-Hill and NWEA Enter Strategic Partnership to Improve Student Outcomes and Announce a New Reseller Agreement

NEW YORK and PORTLAND, Ore., March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading providers of education and learning solutions McGraw-Hill and NWEA today announced a strategic partnership to connect curriculum and assessment with the goal of improving student outcomes and meeting the needs of the modern classroom.

The companies aim to collaborate on how best to make assessment data actionable by integrating it with core and intervention curriculum to deliver high-quality, research-based solutions that unlock the potential of each student and support their individual learning journeys. Through the partnership, both companies will research ways in which their current solutions work together and explore new opportunities to support teachers with data-informed instruction that enhances a classroom culture focused on student success.

"Making connections between curriculum and assessment is a critical part of the impactful work of great educators," said Chris Minnich, CEO of NWEA. "We're excited to provide those resources that make these connections easier empowering teachers to do more, and we're starting with early reading."

As a first step, the two organizations are focusing efforts to improve the nation's literacy proficiency. According to research, students who are not reading at grade-level by third grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school, and the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card indicates only 35% of fourth-graders are proficient in reading. Given this reality, McGraw-Hill is now an exclusive reseller of the MAP^® Reading Fluency™ assessment, NWEA's pre-K-3 universal screening and progress monitoring assessment of early reading that quickly and efficiently identifies at-risk students, supports instructional planning and closely monitors the progress of students with reading difficulties. This group-administered, automatically-scored assessment of oral reading fluency, comprehension, and foundational skills is powered by LanguaMetrics^™ and includes EduSpeak® speech recognition software under license from SRI International®.

McGraw-Hill will now offer MAP® Reading Fluency™ in conjunction with its own products aimed at building a strong foundation in reading skills, specifically SRA Reading Mastery, which is used in thousands of schools across the country and has provided effective reading instruction to a wide range of students, including significantly at-risk populations, for over 35 years. Flexible and comprehensive, SRA Reading Mastery is appropriate for use as a supplemental intervention program or a comprehensive core reading program.

The combination of the MAP® Reading Fluency™ assessment with the long-standing, evidence-based SRA Reading Mastery curriculum allows schools to easily assess and provide appropriate and effective instruction to ensure every student has a strong foundation in reading.

"Both NWEA and McGraw-Hill understand the vital importance of ensuring that students develop early literacy skills, and the opportunity that early literacy education presents in helping close achievement gaps in the future," said Heath Morrison, President of McGraw-Hill's School Group. "We both understand that a strong foundation in reading is the basis for all learning, and that third grade reading proficiency is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success. Focusing on foundations in reading allows us to have the greatest impact on student outcomes, which makes the combination of SRA Reading Mastery and MAP® Reading Fluency™ an exciting first step."

To learn more, please visit: https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/explore/map-reading-assessment.html

McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill is a learning science company that delivers personalized learning experiences that drive results for students, parents, educators and professionals. We focus on educational equity, affordability and learning success to help learners build better lives. Headquartered in New York City, McGraw-Hill has offices across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions for PreK-12, higher education, professionals and others available in more than 75 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

NWEA
NWEA^® is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency—and provide insights to help tailor instruction. Educators in more than 10,000 schools, districts, and education agencies in 141 countries rely on our flagship interim assessment,MAP^® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool,MAP^® Skills™; our reading fluency and comprehension assessment,MAP^® Reading Fluency™ and our new assessment solution that combines growth and proficiency measurement. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA can partner with you to help all kids learn.

Contact:
Tyler Reed
McGraw-Hill
(646) 766-2951
tyler.reed@mheducation.com

Contact:
Simona Beattie
NWEA
(971) 361-9526
Simona.beattie@nwea.org 

SOURCE McGraw-Hill