Data-Driven Michigan School District Chooses Pearson Inform; Teachers and Administrators Will Use Web-Based Tool to Articulate and Analyze Performance Data, Ensure that Students Continue to Achieve.

MESA, Ariz. & HOLLAND, Mich. -- West Ottawa Public Schools has a lot to celebrate this school year. This spring, all of the schools in the Holland, Mich. district made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), one of the cornerstones of the No Child Left Behind Act. To ensure that its students continue to achieve, the district has chosen Pearson Inform v3.3 as its tool for managing and analyzing student achievement data and performance. Pearson Inform is a comprehensive, Web-based analysis and decision-support solution for accessible and effective reporting on student, school and district performance.

"We wanted to present student achievement data in a digestible, easy-to-understand and intuitive way so that teachers can use the information to develop action plans and monitor ongoing student progress," said Bill Dinkelman, director of technology integration, West Ottawa Public Schools. "Pearson Inform will allow us to analyze our weaknesses and duplicate our successes."

With the newest version of Pearson Inform, educators in this district on the shores of Lake Michigan will have student achievement data from national, state and local classroom assessments at their fingertips. Using this easily accessible data, teachers can quickly identify students who need extra or alternative assistance, allowing them to differentiate instruction to meet individual learning needs.

"It is exciting to support school districts, like West Ottawa, that understand the power of well-managed data," said Mike Evans, president, Pearson School Systems. "I am confident that teacher enthusiasm for the ways that they can use our reporting series to help students meet state achievements standards will grow throughout the school year."

West Ottawa's administrative team and principals have begun using Inform to frame and plan "data dialogues" focused in improving student achievement with grade and department-level groups of teachers throughout the district. The addition of Inform will enhance these "data dialogues" and is a critical step in continuing to improve classroom instructional decisions.

Rosemary Ervine, superintendent, West Ottawa Public Schools, highlighted the role data plays in the district. "We embrace the use of data in order to personalize and prescribe academic programs to meet student needs," she said. "The use of a tool like Inform is critical in our ongoing efforts to make informed instructional decisions that benefit all children."

About Pearson Inform

Leveraging data from multiple sources such as student information systems, assessment systems and data warehouses, Pearson Inform captures, shares and reports on a variety of student and assessment information, including student demographics, grades, state tests, standardized tests, district tests and more. It further enables districts and schools to perform comparative and longitudinal analysis based on aggregate and disaggregate performance data driven by the No Child Left Behind Act and state requirements.

About Pearson School Systems

Pearson School Systems (PSS) is impacting K-12 student performance and district information management through its offering of integrated district enterprise solutions. These innovative, digital solutions help schools perform and students succeed. Pearson School System's portfolio includes student information solutions such as SASI, Pearson Centerpoint, and CIMS(R), reporting solutions such as Pearson Inform and assessment solutions such as Pearson Benchmark.

Pearson School Systems is a business unit of Pearson Education, the world's leading integrated education company, which in turn is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO) the international media company. For more information, please visit: www.pearsonschoolsystems.com