Houghton Mifflin Co. News Release - September 8, 2009

School Districts Nationwide Count on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Saxon Math for Success

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt witnesses increased interest in the program that stresses foundational concepts, promotes mastery learning and improves student motivation and retention

BOSTON — September 8, 2009 — Global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is witnessing increased interest from school administrators nationwide in Saxon Math, the Company's pedagogical approach to K–12 mathematics based on practice, review and assessment that incorporates more than 25 years of successful classroom experience. Traditionally popular among private schools, this innovative approach is gaining favor among math teachers and school administrators in public and urban districts, including those in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and New York. Its popularity driven in part by the momentum created by the Department of Education's Race to the Top Fund, Saxon Math supports the fund's objective to assist states that progress dramatically toward multiple education reform goals.

"Saxon Math is a fantastic program for school districts looking to improve student retention of math concepts year to year," said Mike Lavelle, K–12 president, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "Districts with diverse and transient student populations have realized great success due to the program's cumulative lesson plan and frequent review of key concepts. As teachers and students face increased pressure to meet state-mandated performance measures, Saxon Math consistently prepares them for testing achievement and ensures that students will retain material long afterwards."

Founded on the philosophy that mathematics learning should build on prior learning, Saxon Math is the only major math program in today's market that distributes instruction and practice across the academic year, instead of concentrating related concepts into individual chapters to be taught over a short window of time.

Public school districts in Rochester and Kingston, New York have joined Oregon's Hermiston, Ione and Morrow County School Districts in adopting Saxon Math. Additionally, districts across the country have achieved measured results after only a year's use of the program. Chicago Public Schools' Lee Elementary and Sandoval Elementary schools have attributed a marked jump in test scores to Saxon Math's ability to teach students how to master and retain concepts. Pueblo District 70 in Colorado adopted Saxon Math K–5 in 11 elementary schools in 2008. Just one year later, the Avondale Elementary, Prairie Winds Elementary and South Mesa Elementary schools have experienced a measured increase in student performance from third to fourth grade.

"In Rochester, we've seen first grade students make incredible gains with Saxon Math," said Deborah Lazio, principal of School #25. "These students started the year at a mid-K level of math knowledge and ended the Saxon year with a mid-second grade math knowledge — a 224-percent gain and almost two full years of math knowledge increase."

"Even in an age of calculators and computers, students must still build strong mathematical foundations and master basic math skills that will set them up to become successful future problem solvers," said Al Goren, assistant superintendent of Kingston City Schools. "After a comprehensive curriculum review, we are confident the Saxon program will do just this — provide students with strong math skills they will retain and use for life. There are many fancy, new ‘tricks’ for teaching math, but we realized basic skill instruction actually works."

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.