Johns Hopkins Researchers Give Carnegie Learning Math Curricula Highest Mark for Effectiveness

Business Wire, June 12, 2007

Math Publisher Advocates for More Rigorous, Third Party Research

PITTSBURGH -- Carnegie Learning, Inc., a leading publisher of math curricula for middle, high school, and postsecondary students, reported today that The Best Evidence Encyclopedia, a free web resource created by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE), has rated Carnegie Learning math curricula among the three most effective programs in the category of Middle and High School Mathematics.

The Best Evidence Encyclopedia rates Cognitive Tutor as having "strong evidence of effectiveness." Similar to the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), the Best Evidence Encyclopedia reviews the same evidence but employs more stringent criteria. Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor[R] is the only mathematics curriculum to have received high ratings for research demonstrating effectiveness from both the CDDRE and the WWC.

With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, The Best Evidence Encyclopedia is intended to give educators and researchers fair and useful information about the strength of the evidence supporting a variety of programs available for students in grades K-12. The reviews conducted by the Best Evidence Encyclopedia are meta-analyses or other quantitative syntheses that apply consistent, scientific standards to bodies of evidence that both meet high standards of methodological quality and evaluate realistic implementations of programs currently available to educators.

"Carnegie Learning's studies of effectiveness are based on the highest standards of educational research and validate its value across a wide range of instructional settings and student characteristics," said Christopher Dede, the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "No other mathematics curriculum has comparable evidence supporting its worth."

Carnegie Learning has long advocated for rigorous standards in creating, executing, and evaluating research into the effectiveness of curricula. Carnegie Learning Algebra I curriculum is currently being evaluated in two randomized and carefully controlled studies funded by over $7 million from the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by RAND Corporation. Carnegie Learning also conducts ongoing research focused on improving the effectiveness of its products. As part of this effort, the company has partnered with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh in the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (www.learnlab.org), a National Science Foundation funded center focused on improving education through the use of careful experimentation in schools and extensive analysis of student data.

"We are committed to using research to improve instruction and encourage unbiased analysis of the data, like the Johns Hopkins review," said Dr. Steve Ritter, Chief Product Architect at Carnegie Learning, Inc. "There are extreme variations in what this industry presents as real data, and it's critical that educators understand how to differentiate between compelling data and sales positioning."

About Carnegie Learning, Inc. (www.carnegielearning.com)

Carnegie Learning, Inc. is a leading publisher of core, full-year mathematics solutions as well as supplemental intervention applications for middle school, high school, and postsecondary students. The company's Cognitive Tutor[R] programs are helping more than 475,000 students in over 1300 school districts across the United States succeed in math by integrating interactive software sessions, text, and student-centered classroom lessons into a unique learning platform for algebra readiness, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, high-stakes test preparation, and Integrated Math programs. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded by cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.