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October 06, 2004
Pearson Educational Measurement, Ballard &
Tighe to Offer ELL Testing Solution
IPT® Test to Meet NCLB and Title III Requirements
IOWA CITY, Iowa, Oct. 6, 2004 – Pearson Educational
Measurement, the leading provider of educational
assessment services, and Ballard & Tighe,
pioneering publisher of educational assessment
and instructional materials, today announced they
will provide states with a K-12 testing, scoring
and reporting solution for English Language Learners
(ELL).
Ballard & Tighe will offer and support the
IPT (formerly IPT 2005), a newly created testing
system developed specifically to meet No Child
Left Behind Act (NCLB) and Title III requirements.
Pearson Educational Measurement, as a leader with
extensive experience in understanding and delivering
standards based testing and expertise in program
management, will manage all aspects of statewide
distribution, delivery, scoring and reporting.
“Meeting the requirements of NCLB is far
more complex than simply purchasing a reliable
test,” said Douglas Kubach, president and
CEO, Pearson Educational Measurement. “States
must also be equipped with a system that can offer
the capability of large-scale delivery, training
of test examiners, and methods of scoring and
reporting the test results on both a small and
large scale. States can be confident that when
they purchase the IPT/PEM Title III Testing Solution
they will get a full-service testing solution,”
added Kubach.
NCLB legislation requires that each state must
establish English language proficiency standards,
and then test ELL students annually using a proficiency
test aligned to those standards. Tests must reliably
and consistently assess students’ mastery
of English listening, speaking, reading, writing
and comprehension skills. Each state is also required
to demonstrate and report student progress toward
English language proficiency annually.
“Today, many states are faced with the question
of how to achieve full compliance with all aspects
of NCLB requirements. This complete testing, scoring
and reporting package can provide the answer,”
said Dr. Roberta Stathis, Ballard & Tighe’s
president.
Available in time for the 2005-06 school year,
the IPT/PEM Title III Testing Solution will deliver
a comprehensive solution to all NCLB Title III
requirements – consistently and cost effectively.
The Pearson and Ballard & Tighe team has worked
together to assure that each state will receive
the combination of a world-class test, high-quality
service, and ease of scoring and reporting.
“For states receiving custom items from consortia
development, but still needing to assemble the
resources for comprehensive testing, scoring and
reporting, the IPT/PEM offering can also be valuable,”
noted Dr. Stathis. “If states prefer, they
can contract for the IPT/PEM Title III Testing
Solution and, after a dedicated field test, their
custom consortia items can be layered into the
IPT testing system to provide a total customized
testing solution for the state.”
About Pearson Educational Measurement
Pearson Educational Measurement is the largest
full-service provider of large-scale assessment
services in the U.S., providing comprehensive
assessment services and products to local and
state education agencies as well as other assessment
organizations and the federal government. Pearson
Educational Measurement understands how assessment
activities promote learning and benefit students,
teachers, parents, and schools. It is helping
the largest states in the nation to meet the requirements
of the No Child Left Behind educational reform
act, including mandated summative assessments,
formative assessments, English language assessments,
alternative assessments, online testing, data
warehousing and data analysis and reporting services.
Pearson Educational Measurement operates as a
business of Pearson Education, the world’s
largest education company, which in turn is a
part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO; LSE: PSON), the international
media company. Pearson’s other primary operations
include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin
Group.
About Ballard & Tighe
Dedicated to making a difference in education,
Ballard & Tighe has provided valid and reliable
English proficiency assessments for over 25 years.
The company has provided high quality testing,
instructional and training products and services
to more than 2,200 state, regional, and local
school systems in more than 30 states and internationally.
For more information, visit Ballard & Tighe’s
special NCLB-related web site at www.nclb.ballard-tighe.com.
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