LAS Links From CTB/McGraw-Hill Chosen by Nevada to Support Students' Acquisition...

LAS Links From CTB/McGraw-Hill Chosen by Nevada to Support Students'
Acquisition of English Language Skills
State Extends CTB Contract Three Years to Help Serve the Learning Needs of
Nearly 80,000 ELL Students

MONTEREY, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- CTB/McGraw-Hill's LAS Links(TM)
assessment was selected by the Nevada Department of Education for its
statewide English language learner (ELL) program, providing educators with
another three years of consistent and clear assessment results on the English
language proficiency progress of students.
LAS Links is an integrated suite of English-language proficiency
assessments designed to help educators accurately and reliably measure and
report students' English language skills, and provides information that can be
used to monitor their progress. As part of the contract renewal, Nevada will
be adding a new form of LAS Links assessment to ensure valid and reliable
administration in all grades by alternating the assessments year to year.
"We are very happy to enter into another three-year contract with CTB,
which will provide us with six consistent years of valuable and useful data on
individual student's listening, speaking, reading, writing and comprehension
skills," said Steven Ross, Title III director for the Nevada Department of
Education. "We've received excellent support from CTB which has truly been a
partner in education to us, ensuring that we have a valid, reliable, and
timely assessment program."
"CTB is pleased to continue to serve the English language learning program
of Nevada. The State is at the forefront of efforts to promote quality
assessment and education programs for limited-English proficient students and
is currently leading the independent English Language Proficiency
Collaboration and Research Consortium, a group of six states that are working
together on studies and research for the improvement of ELL testing and
instruction. "
For more information regarding the English Language Proficiency
Collaboration and Research Consortium (ELPCRC) visit www.ELPCRC.org.
About LAS Links Assessment and Instructional Tools
LAS Links is an integrated system of reliable, research-based assessments
and instructional guidance for all English language learners. The system also
provides compliance with NCLB Title III requirements. Features include:
-- K-12 proficiency assessments for accurate placement/evaluation
-- Benchmark assessments for ongoing progress monitoring
-- Instructional guidance and staff development tools to help teachers
use test results to inform learning and address students' needs

The K-12 assessment uses a common vertical scale to measure the four
required domains of Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, and
incorporates realistic illustrations, contextualized reading passages,
photographs, and culturally relevant test content to encourage students to do
their best. Test formats include multiple-choice and performance-based
questions that address a wide range of language skills. Test items include
language from subjects such as math, science, technology, and social studies.
The LAS Links system is compatible with any English language proficiency test
a state or district chooses to administer. For more information, visit
www.CTB.com/LASLinks.
About CTB/McGraw-Hill
As the nation's 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 the Assessment and Reporting
group of McGraw-Hill Education (MHE), a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies
(NYSE: MHP). MHE is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and
reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages.
McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than
40 languages. Additional information is available at www.CTB.com.
SOURCE CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC

Kelley Carpenter Director, Communications +1-831-393-7196
kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.com