Diagnostic Assessments Added to Pearson PASeries Reading

Enhancement to Formative Assessment Tool Allows Teachers to Identify Student Reading Strengths, Areas for Improvement

SAN DIEGO – July 6, 2006 – Pearson Education announced today at the 2006 National Educational Computing Conference that it is adding a complete diagnostic suite of assessments to PASeries™ Reading. Part of the PASeries (Progress Assessment Series™) formative assessment product line, PASeries Reading is designed to measure reading progress throughout the school year and to forecast growth for students in grades 3-8.

PASeries Reading uses the industry-standard scientific Lexile Framework® for Reading. Lexiles® provide a common scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty, allowing easy monitoring of student progress.

“Our PASeries formative assessments offer teachers scientifically based, easy-to-use tools for measuring student growth toward performance standards,” said Douglas Kubach, president, Pearson Educational Measurement, developer of PASeries. “By enhancing PASeries Reading with diagnostic assessments, it becomes an even more powerful tool for tying formative assessment to classroom instruction and ensuring that all students achieve at the highest levels.”

PASeries Reading now includes screener, progress and diagnostic tests, focusing on overall ability as well as specific skills in reading. Reading diagnostic tests will cover comprehension, literary analysis and vocabulary or, for lower grades, vocabulary and phonics.

PASeries assessments are scientifically valid, reliable and research-based. PASeries tests are designed for completion in one class period and for delivery either on paper or online with quick electronic reporting of results.

In the 2005-2006 school year, the progress of more than 130,000 students in nearly 200 school districts nationwide was evaluated with PASeries formative assessments.

The new diagnostic assessments will be provided to current PASeries Reading customers at no additional charge beginning in August 2006. PASeries is distributed to states and districts by Pearson Educational Measurement and Pearson Assessments. For more information about the PASeries product line, visit www.PearsonPASeries.com, send e-mail to PASeries@pearson.com or call 1-888-281-8443.

About Pearson Education
Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational publishing. With brands such as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Educational Measurement, Pearson Assessments, Pearson Digital Learning, Pearson School Systems, Pearson Learning Group and many others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from birth through college and beyond. Pearson Education is part of Pearson, the international media company, whose other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Contacts:
Lisa Wolfe, L. Wolfe Communications, 773-325-9935, lwolfe@lwolfe.com