CONTACT:

Tyler Reed
Scholastic Inc.
212-343-6427
treed@scholastic.com

NEW YORK, N.Y. — April 15, 2013 — Bringing together leading cognitive scientists, instructional experts in reading and mathematics, cutting-edge game and app designers and adaptive technology innovators, Scholastic Education is transforming the K-12 classroom with six breakthrough programs designed to help all students reach Common Core proficiency – no matter their starting point.

Today, at the start of the Education Innovation Summit at Arizona State University, Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL) unveiled a suite of reading and math products that meet students where they are and propel them forward with powerful technology, engaging content and empowering support for teachers.

• MATH 180™ — a revolutionary intervention program designed to get middle school students Common Core-ready by rebuilding the foundations of mathematics.
• iRead™ —a breakthrough digital program for grades K-2 that ensures mastery of foundational reading skills for students of all backgrounds and reading levels.
• System 44® Next Generation —a powerful new version of rade;the foundational reading program for our most challenged readers in grades 3-12.
• READ 180® on the iPad —tablet access for teachers and students to the most successful personalized learning technology built for the Common Core.
• Common Core Code X™ (Code X) —a comprehensive, tablet-ready ELA curriculum that challenges middle school students to read, think, analyze, synthesize, question, cite evidence, debate, and write every day.
• nextpert™ — digital professional learning that transforms instruction for the Common Core.

Together these programs provide solutions for district and school leaders’ greatest concerns: preparing all kids for success with iRead for K–2 skills mastery; accelerating reading skills and comprehension for older struggling readers with System 44 and READ 180; making middle school English language arts class engaging and challenging with Code X; and, with MATH 180, building confidence and understanding for kids who struggle with math – often the same kids who need READ 180. Recognizing that the teacher is the most important factor in student learning, Scholastic is also offering nextpert, a digital, professional learning platform that provides teachers with 24/7 support and access to online courses and learning resources that help them transform instruction for the Common Core.

"At the core of everything we do is the belief that every student can succeed, every teacher can inspire, and every leader can empower," said Margery Mayer, President of Scholastic Education. "These programs combine innovation and experience to transform how students learn and teachers teach – and to ensure that school districts are closing gaps, fostering a growth mindset in students, and preparing them to meet college- and career-ready standards."

Embedded in the Scholastic suite of educational technology programs is:

• Smart, adaptive technology that gathers data through every interaction and uses it to personalize learning and provide actionable intelligence to the teacher.
• Professional learning support that builds teacher capacity in an era of heightened accountability.
• Content kids crave that opens doors to college and careers.
• Proven, research-based instructional practices that build understanding and fluency in math and reading.

Mayer added, "At Scholastic, we know that great teaching requires a great teacher and we create our technology programs to help the teacher become a force multiplier in the classroom."

MATH 180

Designed for struggling students in grades 6 and up, MATH 180 takes a cutting edge approach to mathematics instruction by focusing on:

1. ) The Core within the Core: Carefully curated by Common Core architects, MATH 180 focuses on mastery of the essential skills and concepts necessary to unlock algebra and advanced math.
2. ) Growth Mindset: Working with Carol Dweck’s Mindset Works organization, MATH 180 is carefully designed to help shift students’ attitudes about math from a fixed mindset to the belief that their efforts will lead to success.
3. ) Force Multipliers for Teaching: Guided by Deborah Ball, the country’s most respected voice on effective teaching practices, MATH 180 provides powerful resources and tools that help teachers become “Force Multipliers.”

MATH 180's blended learning approach ensures that student and teacher time is optimized at every moment. The unique instructional design pairs sophisticated technology and smart data to help teachers elicit thinking and build conceptual understanding, while adaptive software accelerates students’ learning by delivering the instruction and practice they need at the moment they need it.

iRead

Taking a new, innovative approach to K-2 reading instruction, iRead helps schools close the literacy achievement gap before it begins with a personalized learning progression for every child, embedded assessment that ensures children are taught to mastery, the best thinking from cognitive science and gaming theory, technology that complements what teachers do best, and an engaging, supportive environment for children and their families.

Set in Beastie Hall, a virtual school built entirely of books, iRead delivers explicit instruction and systematic skill practice to master reading inside an exciting digital environment created by leading experts in game design and motivation. Adaptive technology continually monitors performance and meets every student at his or her level by customizing pacing, instructional load and content. And the technology provides organized, actionable data to help teachers track student progress and address skill gaps.

System 44 Next Generation

For students in grades 3–12 who have not yet mastered these foundational phonics and decoding skills, Scholastic now offers System 44 Next Generation. The result of Scholastic’s collaboration with Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams of Brown University and Dr. Ted Hasselbring of Vanderbilt University, System 44 Next Generation combines the best practices in phonics, reading and writing instruction with cutting edge adaptive technology to help students master the skills required for success with the Common Core.

The program’s adaptive software presents phonics in a unique way, specifically designed for older students who are able to grasp complex systems even as they struggle with reading. Presenting the English language as a clear, finite system made up of 44 sounds and 26 letters, System 44 Next Generation provides direct instruction and intensive, adaptive practice beginning with letter-sound correspondence and progressing through fluent word recognition. The program has been proven effective by multiple independent studies, including a recent randomized study from Saginaw, Mich., demonstrating that System 44 is effective in raising reading achievement for students with learning disabilities. As with the other programs, System 44 generates rich data to help teachers group students for direct instruction so they can advance quickly through the program.

READ 180 for the iPad

Students who master the foundational skills, move seamlessly from System 44 into READ 180, which accelerates students to grade level and beyond.

As school districts shift toward the use of tablet devices in classrooms, Scholastic is excited to announce the completion of an ambitious effort to make READ 180, used every day by 1.5 million students across the country, available on the iPad.

One of the most thoroughly researched and successful educational technology program of all time, READ 180 is designed for students who are two or more years below grade level in reading and leverages adaptive technology to individualize instruction for students and provide powerful data for differentiation to teachers so students can accelerate their learning and catch up to their peers. Built for the Common Core, READ 180 for the iPad will provide all students with an explicit and accelerated path to college and career readiness.

In August, when Scholastic releases READ 180 on the iPad, the program will be the most sophisticated and ambitious educational application available on the device. Schools that use READ 180 Next Generation, will have access to READ 180 on the iPad for free.

Common Core Code X

To help ensure students are ready for the Next Generation assessments coming in the 2014-15 school year, Scholastic has developed a rigorous English language arts curriculum for middle school called Code X.

Tablet-ready and designed to ensure that students become deep readers and measured writers, Code X is built around a series of workshops that challenge students as they work toward each workshop’s culminating performance task. In those performance tasks, students are asked to read, think, analyze, synthesize, question, cite evidence, argue, debate, and write every day.

Code X provides teachers who are confident with the instructional shifts of the Common Core with rich texts and resources to enhance their understanding and teaching, and it ensures that the less confident or newer teachers have professional learning tools and day-by-day instruction to implement the new standards comprehensively, thoughtfully, and effectively.

nextpert

At Scholastic, we believe deeply that learning is a social endeavor and that support for the student must be matched with support and learning opportunities for the teacher.

In Fall 2013, Scholastic will launch nextpert, a professional learning platform that gives teachers tools and at-their-fingertips support to help them transform their instruction for the Common Core. A new approach to digital professional learning, nextpert sets teachers up for success in the classroom, on their evaluations, on Next Generation assessments, and in preparing students for achievement in work and in life.

The system includes lessons and assessment-building tools, 24/7 access to online courses and resources tied to individual goals, peer collaboration tools, and easy access to on-demand expert mentoring.

For more information about Scholastic Education’s innovative new programs, visit: www.scholastic.com/innovation.