IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), which enrolls nearly 37,000 students across 80 schools, has selected Scantron's Achievement Series(tm) as the platform for a new district assessment program to help teachers identify student strengths and needs in core subject areas, and to improve data-driven decision making district-wide, the company announced today.
Achievement Series is a content-neutral, highly flexible testing platform that gives educators the ability to score and analyze tests in real time, diagnose student needs, and make informed instructional decisions to improve student achievement. Indianapolis Public Schools will use Achievement Series to administer district benchmark tests to more than 31,000 students in grades two through 12 in English/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.
"We want to administer assessments to students on a regular basis -- every four-and-a-half weeks -- to give teachers information they can use to improve teaching and learning. Scantron's Achievement Series solution offers us the ability to do plain paper scanning and provide teachers with immediate access to the test results," said Richard Peters, Ph.D., director of the IPS Research, Evaluation and Assessment Division. "Another issue to consider was cost. Dollar for dollar, we found Achievement Series to be the best value in comparison to the other solutions we investigated."
Sean Ryan, general manager of Scantron's Testing and Assessment division, stated, "The initial roll-out of Achievement Series in Indianapolis is off to a solid start. By the end of the first week, Indianapolis had more than 85,000 unique scores in the system. They're definitely on their way to a strong implementation that should result in great instructional and student achievement success."
About Achievement Series
A winner of the 2005 Distinguished Achievement Awards sponsored by the Association of Educational Publishers, Achievement Series from Scantron allows educators to develop and administer tests both online and on paper, capture results, and produce standards-based reports. The system makes it easy for educators to secure timely and accurate assessment data needed to measure growth, inform instruction, and prepare students for district and state-level high stakes tests.
About Scantron Corporation
Scantron Corp. (www.scantron.com) is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH). Scantron is a leading technology provider of software and survey solutions for the K-12 and higher education markets. For more information call 1-800-722-6876.
About Harland
Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH) (http://www.harland.net) is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial and educational markets. Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. (http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com), a wholly owned subsidiary, supplies software and services, including customer relationship management, deposit and loan origination, core systems and mortgage services to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes. Harland Printed Products' offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms. Scantron Corporation (http://www.scantron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of both paper and electronic-based services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the financial, commercial and educational markets.
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements." These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of John H. Harland Company and members of its respective management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Reference is made to the Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements in Harland's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed under the Securities Exchange Act.