IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scantron(r) today announced the availability of the combined Achievement SeriesSM and Performance Series(SM) interface, which is a complete assessment solution for formative and diagnostic assessment. The solution was introduced at the National Educational Computing Conference in June and is the first complete assessment resource modeled after recommendations of the U.S. Department of Education National Education Technology Plan that call for a unified assessment in a single, online platform.
"The launch of this solution to the market represents Scantron's commitment to building technology-based assessment resources to meet the evolving needs of the education community," said Tim Loomer, president of Scantron's Testing and Assessment Division. "The combination of Achievement Series and Performance Series in a single interface provides school districts with a tightly integrated resource to manage multiple forms of assessment."
Coalinga-Huron Unified School District (CHUSD) in Calif. is in the early deployment phases for the complete assessment solution and feels the implementation is critical to the district's focus on school improvement. "Our teachers are excited to have assessment data right at their fingertips. The ability to manage detailed information regarding their students' progress allows them to affect instruction in real time," said Dr. William McDermott, CHUSD superintendent. "The combination of Performance Series and Achievement Series has also created the ability for standardization and uniformity across our ten school campuses -- one district-wide tool for testing and reporting assessment data."
"The Scantron programs have revolutionized and focused our district's approach to data-driven instruction with the ease of using any computer with a simple-to-follow format that allows even the most techno-phobic teachers to be experts," said Marcos Sigala, assistant superintendent of instruction at CHUSD. "Scantron has provided the greatest unifying factor in our district's attempt to improve instruction on a daily basis."
To help districts seeking a similar solution as CHUSD, Scantron released a white paper, Max Yield Data: Integrating Assessment Technology for a Comprehensive Solution, that addresses the needs and benefits of integrated assessment products and describes how the Scantron solution fits into the National Education Technology Plan for accurate and timely assessment data. Max Yield Data is available for download on the Achievement Series product page at www.scantron.com.
The combined Performance Series/Achievement Series platform completes a "full-circle" approach to testing where teachers can use the computer-adaptive assessment in Performance Series to measure student subject understanding and then periodically assess for gains during the school year using Achievement Series. It further helps educators raise the level of student achievement through its unique ability to manage all their benchmark tests, summative assessments and formative assessments in one source. The combined solutions gives educators a single, Web-based resource to drive classroom instruction where test results are compiled, analyzed and reported immediately.
Available together or as independent products, the new solution offers a tightly integrated approach to managing and administering multiple forms of assessment throughout the school year.
About Achievement Series
Achievement Series(SM) is a powerful web-based assessment platform that educators use to develop and administer tests both online and on paper, capture results, and produce standards-based reports. The system makes it easy for teachers and administrators to access the timely data needed to measure growth, make decisions, and inform instruction. Achievement Series is a winner of the 2005 Distinguished Achievement Awards sponsored by the Association of Educational Publishers.
About Performance Series
Performance Series(SM) is a web-based, computer-adaptive test that educators use as a diagnostic, for student placement, and to do progress reporting. By administering a reliable and valid standards-based test that adapts automatically to each student's level and reports results instantly, educators gain clear snapshots of students' performance across a range of subjects including mathematics, language arts, science and reading. Performance Series is a winner in the 2005 Distinguished Achievement Awards sponsored by the Association of Educational Publishers and a finalist in the SIIA 20th Annual Codie Awards.
About Scantron Corporation
Scantron Corporation ( 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 provider of software services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the educational, financial and commercial markets. The company has approximately 600 employees worldwide and annual revenues exceeding $110 million.
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About Harland
Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH) (www.harland.net) is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial and educational markets. Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. (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's printed products offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms.
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.