CTB/McGraw-Hill Releases Acuity UnWired - Clicker Integration Software for Acuity...

CTB/McGraw-Hill Releases Acuity UnWired - Clicker Integration Software for
Acuity Informative Assessment Solution

Integration of Formative Assessment with Student Response Devices Marks an
Education Technology First

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- CTB/McGraw-Hill, a leader in K-12 and
adult education, today announced the release of Acuity UnWired(TM) - new
clicker integration software for the Company's Acuity InFormative
Assessment(TM) solution. The launch of Acuity UnWired marks an education
technology first: the integration of online, benchmark, interim, and formative
assessment with student response devices.

Acuity UnWired enables students to take Acuity assessments using student
response devices, or "clickers," provided by Qwizdom(R) and eInstruction(TM).
Teachers can immediately act on assessment responses and generate
standards-aligned Acuity reports within minutes. The instantaneous feedback
provided through Acuity UnWired gives educators the ability to make
data-driven instructional decisions without delay, providing students with
targeted instruction in real-time.

"Clicker technology makes high quality formative assessment easier to
administer in the classroom," said Ellen Haley, President of CTB/McGraw-Hill.
"The overwhelmingly positive response from students, teachers, and district
officials indicates that clickers are enhancing Acuity's value as a superior
assessment system for learning and achievement."

CTB/McGraw-Hill has demonstrated Acuity UnWired in school district pilot
projects in five states, with universally successful results. A total of 14
pilots were conducted, consisting of more than 300 students across multiple
grade levels. Students noted almost unanimously that they preferred clickers
not only to paper and pencil, but also to online testing. Teachers reported a
high level of comfort and ease of use, and district officials were very
satisfied.

"Giving teachers the ability to get immediate feedback, without having to
grade a pile of papers, is very powerful," said Joe O'Reilly, Executive
Director of Student Achievement Support for Mesa Public Schools in Arizona.
"For example, as one teacher watched her students answer questions on a test,
she pointed to one question on her computer screen and said, 'They should know
that.' So, when the test was done, she immediately started re-teaching. This
truly expands the power of Acuity in the classroom and its strength as a
formative tool to immediately inform classroom instruction. Teachers who have
taken our course on using the clickers and Acuity report that students are
doing better, the instructional activities that can be assigned engage
students, and some students have actually asked for more formative tests to
show how they are doing."

Using clickers to administer Acuity assessments benefits both teachers and
students:

-- Clickers allow teachers to test quickly and easily, enabling them to
see
results in real time and immediately adjust instruction as guided by
test results.
-- Compared with online testing, clickers enable computer labs to be
freed
up for other valuable instructional purposes, eliminating lab
scheduling
conflicts.
-- Students report feeling more at ease taking assessments in their
classrooms with clickers, compared to taking assessments in an
often-crowded computer lab.
-- Using clickers with Acuity tests eliminates costly and time-consuming
printing, barcoding, distributing, collecting, and scanning of answer
sheets.
-- Today's tech-savvy students are familiar with and prefer using
hand-held, electronic devices. Feedback indicates that students enjoy
and engage in using new technology.

Student response devices, about the size of a television remote control, are
easy to use, and the receiver is a small unit that plugs directly into a
computer's USB port. The software instantly aggregates the results and uploads
the data to Acuity. The clickers utilize powerful and secure radio frequency
technology, ensuring a safe and secure mode of test administration.

CTB/McGraw-Hill is announcing the official release of Acuity UnWired at NECC
2009, held in Washington DC from June 28 through July 1. Demonstrations will
be conducted in Booth #3118. To schedule a private briefing, contact Brandon
Engle at (916) 204-7115 or Brandon_Engle@mcgraw-hill.com.

About the Acuity InFormative Assessment(TM) Solution
Winner of the 2009 CODiE award for Best Student Assessment Solution, Acuity is
a groundbreaking online assessment system that helps teachers gauge student
performance and deliver targeted classroom instruction. Acuity provides data
that enables teachers to target instructional efforts to areas of need, both
at the student level and the classroom level. Acuity contains four elements of
a comprehensive InFormative Assessment system: ongoing measurement
opportunities, in-depth reporting, analysis of performance data, and resources
for targeted instruction.

About Qwizdom
Qwizdom provides integrated education technology solutions for thousands of
schools throughout the U.S. and U.K. Striving to make learning both effective
and engaging, Qwizdom offers the most advanced radio-frequency classroom
response technology (patents pending), a complete software learning system,
more than 150 interactive curriculum programs, and a digital learning network.
Founded in 1984, Qwizdom has offices in the Seattle area, Cleveland, and the
United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.qwizdom.com.

About eInstruction
eInstruction pioneered the first student response system for the education
market during the 1980s. Its Classroom Performance System (CPS) provides
instructors and students with real-time feedback on comprehension during
instruction. Today CPS remains the leading student response system in
education, being used with over 1.5 million students in more than 60,000 K-12
classrooms and over 400,000 students in more than 400 colleges and
universities. In 2006, eInstruction acquired FSCreations and integrated its
ExamView(R) and Learning Series software and content platforms so instructors
can seamlessly use publisher and proprietary question banks in lesson plans,
quizzes and tests with eInstruction technology. The result is an integrated
system for instruction and assessment with real-time feedback. For more
information, please visit www.einstruction.com.

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 print and digital
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 65 languages. Additional information is available
at www.CTB.com.

SOURCE CTB/McGraw-Hill

Brandon Engle, Manager, Communications, +1-916-204-7115,
Brandon_Engle@mcgraw-hill.com