Discovery Education Unveils Discovery Education ThinkLink Assessment
January 25, 2007
Formative Assessment Service Positions Discovery Education as Leader in Assessment Market
Discovery Education today extended its expansion into the assessment market with the launch of Discovery Education ThinkLink Assessment, reinforcing the division's commitment to providing educators with the best tools to improve student achievement. This suite of assessment products stems from the powerful, proven ThinkLink Learning formative assessment services that help educators improve student learning and predict how students will score on high-stakes achievement exams.
The tests within the ThinkLink Assessment suite of products are created specifically to match student proficiency requirements as defined by each state's unique No Child Left behind plan. In 2004-2005, 92 percent of ThinkLink schools maintain or improved adequate yearly progress status (AYP). One school district, Birmingham City School Districted, reported gains of 50 percent in two years in grade 8 math and 27 percent in grade reading after implementing ThinkLink.
In 2007, Discovery Education ThinkLink Assessment is expanding its services to 21 states and Washington, D.C.--an increase from eight in 2006. The states include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Discovery Education acquired ThinkLink Learning in April 2006, expanding the business unit's high-quality products and services to include formative assessment. Founded in 2000 at Vanderbilt University, ThinkLink pioneered a unique approach to formative assessment that uses a scientifically research-based continuous improvement model that maps diagnostic assessments to state high-stakes tests. Benchmark Assessment, from ThinkLink, assesses student progress toward meeting state standards for reading/language arts, math, and science. The assessment products powered by ThinkLink are proven to predict performance with up to 80-90 percent accuracy.
"The introduction of Discovery Education ThinkLink Assessment reinforces our goal of helping educators engage and measure 21st century learners," said Jaqueline Shrago, senior vice president, Educational Assessment, Discovery Education. "We are excited about expanding our reach to 21 states and Washington, D.C. in 2007, giving us an opportunity to enable even more educators to use technology to monitor student progress toward meeting state academic standards."
