Houghton Mifflin Co. News Release - July 13, 2009

Five-Year Study of St. Lucie County Public Schools Shows Direct Link between Digital Learning and Student Success in Math and Reading

Integrated offerings from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt helped to boost St. Lucie County by a full grade

BOSTON — July 13, 2009 — St. Lucie County Public Schools and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced the results of an aggressive five-year campaign to turn the Florida school district into a world-class educational system by retrofitting traditional schools with twenty-first-century technologies. The study found not only student performance improvement in math and reading, but also a direct correlation between the amount of instructional time spent on interactive courseware solutions and student achievement in those areas. Over the five-year campaign, St. Lucie County moved from a C-rated to a B-rated district — just shy of an A rating, based on Florida's A+ Plan accountability system.

The study tracked the integration and implementation of four digital solutions from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Destination Math, Destination Reading, Assess2Know test-item bank (A2K), and the content management solution Learning Village) into 31 K–12 schools in St. Lucie County. The targeted sample of schools, students, teachers and administrators represented the district's population demographically.

In addition to boosting the district's overall rating, 80–90 percent of teachers reported that Destination Math, Destination Reading and Learning Village, coupled with regular performance assessments, provided effective technology tools to improve their teaching and student learning. Ninety-seven percent of teachers agreed that the computer-assisted instruction (CAI) model helped their students to master the content and skills taught in their classrooms, and 90 percent believed that CAI was effective in helping struggling learners.

"The integration of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt technologies into the classroom has empowered our teachers and students to optimize teaching and learning and to positively impact student achievement," said St. Lucie County public schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Owen Roberts. "Over the past five years, St. Lucie Public Schools have implemented a suite of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt technology solutions-based curriculum in reading and mathematics that have significantly contributed to students' overall academic improvement — and with our continued partnership improvement, we expect to continue in the years ahead."

Destination Reading and Destination Math serve as supplemental instructional resources to support core instruction either as extensions of learning, practice, remediation or acceleration, or as a means to provide individualized or small-group instruction in a highly engaging, interactive learning environment. Both programs were used to meet the academic needs of at-risk learners and also provide a learning management system (LMS) that tracks students' performance over time. Learning Village provides a content-diagnostic web-based platform where teachers, administrators, parents and students can access instructional content and learning resources as well as best practices and professional development materials.

Rather than simply providing the platform and curriculum content for St. Lucie County, a systemic training plan was also developed and launched in collaboration with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to provide teachers and administrators with ongoing instruction and technical support across all areas of implementation. This enabled St. Lucie County professional development staff to coach teachers on the use of the technology while ensuring the sustainability of its use in coming years.

"The needs of school administrators, teachers and students have changed as technology has become more advanced and more readily accessible," said K–12 President Mike Lavelle, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "By bringing together all of the elements needed for success — from curriculum management and professional development to core curriculum and virtual courses — our digital solutions are driving new educational experiences for all stakeholders."

Study Methodology
Within the context of existing research and best practice, St. Lucie County Public Schools created a vision and a strategic technology plan to redesign and upgrade its technology infrastructure. This was accomplished by providing technical support in all schools, providing ongoing professional development to educators, establishing partnerships with information technology (Panasonic Foundation, Dell, CELT) and instructional technology organizations (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology), and developing curricular, instructional, assessment and professional development systems to drive the processes of teaching and learning in schools and classrooms. The investigation focused on the implementation of four primary technologies: Destination Reading and Destination Math, Learning Village (FOCUS—First Online Curriculum Uniform System, locally named system), and the use of a test-item bank (Assess2Know or A2K) for progress monitoring. The study focused on the efficacy and impact of the Destination Reading and Destination Math solutions on student and school performance in the district over the past five years. Thirty-one schools were selected for the evaluative study. The targeted sample of schools, students, teachers and administrators represented the district's population demographically.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company is a global education leader and the world's largest publisher of educational materials for pre-K–12 schools. The Company publishes a comprehensive set of best-in-class educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for students and educators. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning literature for adults and young readers. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, visit www.hmhpub.com.