Carnegie Learning Credited with Helping Kentucky School District Achieve Highest 2009 Academic Gains in the State

PITTSBURGH - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Union County Public Schools, a rural district in western Kentucky, made the highest academic gains in the state in 2009 and one of the largest gains in the history of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, and Superintendent Joshua Powell names the implementation of Carnegie Learning Math Programs among the reform initiatives that resulted in significant improvement in student performance. Union County Public Schools' current Kentucky district ranking is 87 out of 175 school districts, up from 161 last year.

In 2008, Union County Public Schools declined the Kentucky Department of Education's ASSIST program for education reform and, instead, created a Union County Public Schools in-house team to implement measures to increase student achievement in the low-performing district. Among the district's initiatives was the fall 2008 adoption of Carnegie Learning Bridge to Algebra and Algebra I textbooks and software for middle school students. Following one year of implementation, end of year testing indicated a 13% increase from the year before in the number of students scoring proficient and distinguished, and a 10% drop in the number of students scoring novice in math.

"Carnegie Learning was just the program we needed to enhance our mathematics instruction," said Joshua Powell, Union County Public Schools Superintendent. "Our great increase in math scores at the middle school is a direct result of the program's effectiveness which improved student engagement and conceptual understanding of mathematics. We have added Carnegie Learning Math Curricula to the high school this academic year and we are eager to see the results."

Union County Public Schools this year purchased Carnegie Learning Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II programs for all high school students. In addition, Union County is implementing Carnegie Learning Professional Development Services for in-classroom support throughout the academic year.

Carnegie Learning Bridge to Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry textbooks are approved by the Kentucky State Textbook Commission for use in middle schools and high schools in the state through 2015.

Carnegie Learning Math Programs include interactive software lessons, print resources, collaborative classroom activity, ongoing formative assessment of student and class progress, and Professional Development services. Based upon an artificial intelligence model, the Cognitive Tutor Software provides self-paced, differentiated instruction that identifies a student's strengths and weaknesses and individualizes instruction to improve conceptual understanding. Instructors can re-sequence units to build a custom program that meets the intervention or acceleration needs of a class or an individual. Carnegie Learning Textbooks are designed to engage students and teachers in collaborative classroom activities that strengthen understanding of math as it applies to the real world, and encourage students to work cooperatively to solve problems, while improving reasoning and communication skills.

About Carnegie Learning, Inc. (www.carnegielearning.com)
Carnegie Learning, Inc. is a leading publisher of innovative, research-based math curricula for middle school, high school, and post-secondary students. Our curricula - Bridge to Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Integrated Math programs - provide differentiated instruction that helps 500,000 students in nearly 2600 schools throughout the U.S. to succeed in math as a gateway to graduation and the 21st century workforce. Carnegie Learning Blended Math Curricula integrate interactive software, text, and collaborative classroom activity for core, full-year math instruction. Carnegie Learning Adaptive Math Curricula Solutions feature Cognitive Tutor Software that may be customized for Response to Intervention programs. All solutions are supported by Carnegie Learning Professional Development Services. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded in 1999 by cognitive and computer scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.

Carnegie Learning, Inc.
Mary Murrin, 412-690-2442 X176