Press Releases

Scantron^® and Thinkronize Partner to Create Complete Formative Instruction Solution

Scantron to Integrate Web-based Assessment Solutions with netTrekker Search Engine to Provide Educators with Direct Access to Thousands of Standards-based Online Resources

IRVINE, Calif. (July 5, 2006) - According to a May 2006 report1 by Eduventures, the leading information services company for the education market, in the 2004-05 school year more than 6 million K-12 students benefited from the use of "formative instruction," an instructional approach that combines three distinct phases: assessment, diagnosis, and prescription. Although this figure represents an increase of approximately 13 percent from the previous year, the number is still surprisingly low, given the recent influx of sophisticated "solutions" designed to help educators with all three phases.

So why don't more students experience the full benefit of the formative instruction process? The answer, according to the report, is that the link between the assessment and diagnosis phases, and prescriptive action is often unclear. In other words, once you assess and diagnose student performance, how do you put those findings into action? Where do you go to directly address student needs?

Blazing a new trail in formative instruction, Scantron^®, a leading provider of formative and diagnostic assessment solutions for K-12 education, and Thinkronize Inc., developer of the award-winning netTrekker suite of safe educational search products, today announce a new partnership to provide educators with a clear and direct link from assessment and diagnosis to prescriptive action. Through this partnership, Scantron will integrate its Web-based diagnostic and formative assessment solutions with the netTrekker d.i. safe Internet search engine - providing a complete solution for formative instruction. As a result, K-12 schools and districts that employ Scantron's Performance Series™ or Achievement Series™ solutions will be able to instantly link to standards-based online resources using netTrekker d.i. and match those resources to student learning needs at the individual, classroom and school levels.

"K-12 administrators told us quite clearly that the 'marriage' of two best-of-breed solutions is exactly what they're looking for to help implement the formative instruction process," said Tim Wiley, senior analyst for K-12 solutions at Eduventures, and author of the study. "Since the hallmark of formative instruction is the systematic integration of the assessment, diagnosis, and prescription into the course of learning, it is exciting to see two companies such as Scantron and Thinkronize, who are very well known in the K-12 industry, partner to integrate their solutions to help educators achieve their mission."

Performance Series™ from Scantron is a computer-adaptive diagnostic test that allows educators to quickly pinpoint students' proficiency levels, across a range of subjects, corresponding to specific state standards. Through this collaboration, educators will soon be able to click on an icon next to a specific standard on a Performance Series report and instantly link to netTrekker d.i. to access educational resources to directly address students' needs in that standard. Designed to support differentiated instruction, netTrekker d.i. provides educators with fast and easy access to more than 180,000 educator-selected, standards-based online resources.

Educators using Scantron's Achievement Series, a content-neutral flexible testing platform, to develop and administer online and paper tests, capture results, and produce standards-based reports will have the same capabilities. For example, if an educator uses Achievement Series to develop and administer a district benchmark assessment and sees that an individual or group of students is struggling to meet a particular standard, through the use of neTrekker d.i. the educator can quickly locate lessons, learning exercises, videos or any number of resources that specifically address student confusion and help them master the standard.

"At Cobb County our teachers have access to two terrific applications: assessment data through the Scantron systems and instructional resources from netTrekker. To make it even easier for teachers to maximize this value, we'd love a solution that connects the pieces," said Linda Morrell, director of instructional technology for Cobb County School District in Georgia. "We are very pleased to know that two market-leading companies like Scantron and Thinkronize have teamed up to provide a tight link between assessments and teaching tools that will help teachers quickly and easily turn the data into action."

About Thinkronize

Thinkronize, an Internet developer of award-winning K-12 educational products, was founded in 1999 and grew out of a passion and commitment to enhancing teaching and learning with the Internet and standards-based online resources. The company's flagship product, netTrekker classic, was launched in October 2000 and has won 11 industry awards for excellence since its inception. Thinkronize currently serves over 8.3 million students in 48 states, including adoptions by key districts and states nationwide, making it one of the fastest growing companies in the education industry. In recent years, the company has expanded the netTrekker product line to include two-time award-winning netTrekker d.i., designed for use in schools to help educators meet individual students' learning needs, and netTrekker home, available for purchase by parents whose district or school has not yet purchased a netTrekker school subscription. For more information visit www.thinkronize.com or phone 877-517-1125.

About Scantron Corporation

Scantron Corporation (www.scantron.com), headquartered in Irvine, Calif., helps education and commercial organizations measure and improve effectiveness with assessment and survey solutions. Scantron provides tools for the rapid, accurate and reliable capture of data with innovative software and survey solutions that leverage the company's expertise in world-class forms printing and scanner manufacturing. Scantron is a subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings Corp., which is wholly owned by M&F Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: MFW).

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For More Information: JP Clark | 949-639-7640 | jp_clark@scantron.com