Rourke Educational Media Forges Partnership With MetaMetrics to Promote Reading Growth

DURHAM, NC--(Marketwired - Dec 3, 2014) - Rourke Educational Media, which provides preK-12 educators with content-rich learning materials that help students of all ages and backgrounds succeed, announced today it is partnering with MetaMetrics®, the developer of the Lexile® Framework for Reading, to provide Lexile measures for many of its titles.

Lexile measures, used in all 50 states, are receiving renewed attention as districts work to align their content and implement the Common Core State Standards. Moreover, Lexile measures connect learners of all ages with resources at the right level of challenge and monitor their progress toward state and national proficiency standards.

Dr. Sandi Agle, current coaching specialist and former longtime director of media services in The School District of Lee County (Fort Myers, Fla.), applauds Rourke Educational Media -- a global leader in educational technology, print, and distribution -- for taking this important step to help student learning worldwide.

"The idea behind all of this scientific data is relatively simple: If a teacher is aware of how well a student can read and how difficult a book is, then the teacher can predict how well the student will comprehend the text," Dr. Agle said. "Lexile measures can also be used to correlate a student's growth in reading over a time period. By matching students with appropriate texts, teachers can ensure a higher rate of literacy success and students will make reading choices that are appropriately challenging."

"We are thrilled to partner with Rourke Educational Media," stated Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president and co-founder of MetaMetrics. "From their global outreach to their attention and dedication at the classroom level, we are pleased to team up to help readers of all ages."

James Colandrea, president and CEO of Rourke Educational Media, said he and his team are excited about the partnership with MetaMetrics.

"Since we were founded more than 30 years ago, our company's mission has been to engage students, support educators, and increase student learning," said James Colandrea, president and CEO, Rourke Educational Media. "We are proud to partner with MetaMetrics to provide its innovative Lexile measures for our content to ensure students have a 'targeted' reading experience and grow as readers."

About MetaMetrics
MetaMetrics is focused on improving education for learners of all ages and ability levels. The organization develops scientific measures of academic achievement and complementary technologies that link assessment results with real-world instruction. MetaMetrics' products and services for reading (The Lexile® Framework for Reading, El Sistema Lexile® para Leer), mathematics (The Quantile® Framework for Mathematics) and writing (The Lexile® Framework for Writing) provide unique insights about academic ability and the potential for growth, enabling individuals to achieve their goals at every stage of development. Connect with the organization at: http://blog.lexile.com.

About Rourke Educational Media
Rourke Educational Media, based in Vero Beach, Fla., helps to improve student learning through digital content, traditional print publishing, and response-to-intervention learning solutions that support the Common Core, Next Generation Science, and state and national standards. A global leader in educational technology, print, and distribution, Rourke Educational Media promotes literacy/reading, science and math for the preK-12 market, and offers interactive eBooks, assessment tools, print resources and other learning resources for the classroom, library and parental involvement. For more information, visit www.RourkeEducationalMedia.com.