RAPID CITY, S.D., April 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Teachers in South Dakota have newfound confidence that the Dakota Assessment of Content Standards (DACS) -- a Web-based assessment which is powered by Scantron's Performance Series -- is a reliable and valid measure of their students' understanding of the South Dakota Content Standards and a reliable measure of how they might do on the Dakota STEP.
Teachers throughout South Dakota use the DACS to obtain real-time data about the subject understanding of their students. In education circles, it is called formative assessment, and it is the process of testing students to find out which areas of instruction are effective and which areas need to be adjusted. Using the immediate information reported by the DACS, teachers can then assign remediation work to individuals or small groups of students to fill in the gaps of understanding.
The South Dakota Department of Education makes the DACS available to all teachers in South Dakota. Teachers at Todd County School District in South Dakota know how helpful the DACS can be in helping them measure exactly what their students understand and where they need some additional help.
"The immediate feedback of baseline information about student achievement allows our teachers to personalize instruction for every student. To be able to periodically analyze and interpret the data affords us the opportunity to see where we have "holes" in our curriculum," said Christine Rhodes, a teacher at North Elementary School.
A detailed predictability study just released by Scantron analyzed the ability of the DACS to predict which students in grades three through seven would score proficient on the Dakota STEP. Using a pool of 9,800 DACS and Dakota STEP scores, the DACS -- powered by Performance Series -- was found to be 90% accurate in determining which students would score proficient in reading and 89% accurate for math, across all grade levels. Therefore, of the students whose scores on the DACS showed they would show proficiency or better in the reading portion of the Dakota STEP, 90% of those students were actually observed to be proficient when they took the Dakota STEP. Similarly, of the students predicted to be proficient or better in the math portion of the DACS, 89% of those students were actually observed to be proficient in the Dakota STEP.
For teachers and administrators, this new study validates their commitment to the DACS. Dr. Pat Peel, Director of Student Achievement and Staff Development for Rapid City Area Schools, feels her teachers can focus more on quality teaching when they have the DACS to help them evaluate progress on standards.
"Our teachers use the DACS as a pre- and post-test assessment, particularly in math, and find the information very valuable in helping prepare their students for the Dakota STEP," said Dr. Peel. "When teachers realize their students are on track, it makes them feel good to know their efforts are paying off. Yet when they find areas of poor performance, they are empowered with knowing exactly where to focus their efforts."
Students throughout the state are taking the Dakota STEP this spring to meet the federal reporting requirements required under the No Child Left Behind Act. "This is truly a high-stakes test because there is so much at risk for schools that fail to show adequate yearly progress in improving their students' test scores," said Diann Wuebben, a counselor at Dell Rapids Middle School. "With the correlation study of the DACS, everyone feels more confident that we are on track to meet our objectives for AYP. And when we aren't on track, the DACS tells us exactly where to focus our efforts."
"This is a very powerful tool for me because I can create a prescription that addresses each of my students' weaknesses and I don't have to wait for the results," said Suzy Bashara, math teacher at Black Hawk Elementary School in Rapid City. "I am equipped with information to give each individual student the best chance to succeed in the Dakota STEP and the best chance to succeed in school."
About Scantron Corporation
Scantron Corporation (www.scantron.com) is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH). Scantron is a leading provider of software services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the educational, financial and commercial markets. The company has approximately 600 employees worldwide and annual revenues exceeding $110 million.
About Harland
Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH) (www.harland.net) is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial and educational markets. Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. (www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com), a wholly owned subsidiary, supplies software and services, including customer relationship management, deposit and loan origination, core systems and mortgage services, to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes. Harland's printed products offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms.
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements." These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of John H. Harland Company and members of its respective management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Reference is made to the Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements in Harland's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed under the Securities Exchange Act.