Pearson Launches Pearson Inform 4.1 Data Analysis and Decision Support Tool for K-12 Districts
This latest release includes additional reports and expanded capabilities that make it easier for educators to identify groups of students that need intervention, plan improvement strategies, and monitor student progress.
FOLSOM, CA – May 29, 2007 – Pearson School Systems today launched the newest version of Pearson Inform, its achievement data analysis and decision support tool for K-12 school districts. This latest release includes additional reports and expanded capabilities that make it easier for educators to identify groups of students that need intervention, plan improvement strategies, and monitor student progress.
Using Pearson Inform 4.1, district administrators can now look at students who are performing at the same level, select groups of students with specific learning needs across the district, and collaborate with teachers to develop targeted instructional strategies. The application also includes expanded capabilities that allow principals and other administrators to assign report permissions, designating different user groups to view, add, delete, or modify shared reports.
Marion County Public Schools, in north central Florida, has been using Pearson Inform for nearly three years to analyze data and ensure that its more than 42,000 students achieve at the highest levels. Ranked as an “A” district by the Florida Department of Education, Marion County is one of the state’s top performing districts.
“We have a responsibility to provide students with a high quality education that meets their individual learning needs. In a district as large and geographically diverse as Marion County, it is a challenge to give everyone—from district administrators to classroom teachers—access to the data and analysis tools required to meet this important responsibility,” said Christine Sandy, executive director, elementary education for Marion County.
“With Pearson Inform, we have put a powerful data analysis tool into the hands of our district’s educators and the informed decisions it allows us to make have resulted in outstanding student performance.” Kristin Lyon, program specialist, Curriculum and Instruction, added, “With each update, Pearson School Systems continues to expand the ways our teachers and administrators use Pearson Inform to support student learning.”
Many of the new features and capabilities in Pearson Inform 4.1 are the result of feedback from school districts that currently use this comprehensive tool. Two powerful new reports in Pearson Inform 4.1 allow educators to compare and evaluate student achievement data from new perspectives. The “Gains Report” helps educators determine which students have improved from one assessment to the next and the “Goals Report” allows them to graphically compare student test results to school or district performance goals, or monitor progress to ensure that students are on track for meeting Adequate Yearly Progress.
The application also includes expanded capabilities that allow drill-down to students at the district, school, and classroom levels. The Item Response Analysis report enables graphs at every level to drill down to students. District administrators also have expanded ways to create and edit the Report Library. Principals may create Report Library folders and manage reports specific to their schools, allowing them to guide their teachers in collaborative data analysis and instructional planning, based on a library of reports unique to their school.
The Course Grades Display in Pearson Inform 4.1 has also been enhanced for more intuitive report creation, when comparing course grade performance to assessment results. Other grade reporting enhancements give educators more flexibility in selecting reporting periods for viewing grades for individual students. Pearson Inform 4.1 also includes numerous upgrades that improve the user’s overall experience.
“Today’s educators need to access and analyze specific student data in order to make the critical instructional decisions that will ensure all students are successful,” said Mary McCaffrey, president, Pearson School Systems. “With new reports and enhanced analysis capabilities, Pearson Inform 4.1 gives teachers, principals and administrators instant access to the information they need to determine the best educational path for each student.”
For more information about Pearson Inform 4.1, visit www.pearsonassessments/inform.
About Pearson Education
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About Pearson’s Assessment group
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