Deadline for 2007 Lexile National Reading Conference Early Bird Registration Now April 30.

More Than 50 Experts in Literacy, Improving Student Achievement, Assessment Slated to Present at Fourth Annual Conference, June 18-20, in Orlando 

DURHAM, N.C. -- MetaMetrics([R]) Inc. announced today that discounted early bird registration for its 2007 Lexile([R]) National Reading Conference, June 18-20, has been extended until April 30, 2007. The theme for the conference at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., is "Reading Beyond the Classroom." Educators can save $100 by registering before the April 30 deadline.

The 2007 Lexile National Reading Conference will focus on what K-12 educators can do to eliminate reading achievement gaps and promote educational equality for all students. The conference is designed for classroom teachers, librarians, reading and literacy specialists, curriculum and instruction specialists, administrators and researchers.

The conference is hosted by MetaMetrics, developer of The Lexile Framework([R]) for Reading and its companion scale, The Quantile Framework([R]) for Mathematics. The Lexile Framework provides a common, developmental scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty. Lexile measures enable educators, parents and students to select targeted materials that can improve reading skills and to monitor reading growth across the curriculum, in the library and at home.

"As momentum continues to build for Lexiles in states and districts around the country, we extended the early bird registration deadline for our popular conference so that as many educators as possible can attend to share best practices for bridging the reading gap," said Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president, MetaMetrics. "This year's conference boasts an especially impressive list of educators making keynote presentations and hosting concurrent sessions."

In addition to 40 concurrent sessions, the conference features prominent keynote speakers, including Quality Quinn, author and international literacy consultant; Mel Riddile, Ed.D., 2006 MetLife/National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) High School Principal of the Year; Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D., professor of urban education and director of the center for literacy, University of Illinois at Chicago; Joseph Torgesen, Ph.D., director, Florida Center for Reading Research; Jim Warford, executive director, Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA); and Clayton Wilcox, Ph.D., superintendent, Pinellas County Schools, Fla.

Early bird registration is $299 per person, and standard registration is $399 per person. To register or for more information, visit www.lexile.com/conference2007.

Special conference room rates at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort start at $155 per night. The resort is located on the Disney property, with easy access to all four Walt Disney World Theme Parks, golf courses and entertainment districts. For more information about Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, visit www.disneyurl.com/MeetCSR.

About MetaMetrics Inc.

MetaMetrics, a privately held educational measurement company, develops scientifically based measures of student achievement that link assessment with instruction, foster better educational practices and improve learning by matching students to materials that meet and challenge their abilities. The company's team of experienced psychometricians developed The Lexile Framework for Reading and its companion scale, The Quantile Framework for Mathematics. The Lexile Framework (www.Lexile.com) provides a common, developmental scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty. Lexile measures enable educators, parents and students to select targeted materials that can improve reading skills and to monitor reading growth across the curriculum, in the library and at home. Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure, Lexiles are part of reading and testing programs in the classroom and at the district and state levels. More than 100,000 books, 80 million articles and 60,000 Web sites have Lexile measures, and all major standardized tests can report student reading scores in Lexiles. The Quantile Framework (www.Quantiles.com) measures mathematics achievement and the difficulty of mathematical skills and problems similar to the way Lexiles measure reading ability and text readability. Quantiles([R]) identify the mathematical skills a student has mastered and those that require instruction, enabling educators to use Quantile measures to target instruction, monitor student development and forecast performance on high-stakes tests.

MetaMetrics, Lexile, Lexile Framework, the Lexile symbol, Quantile, Quantile Framework and the Quantile symbol are trademarks or U.S. registered trademarks of MetaMetrics Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. e 2007 MetaMetrics Inc. All rights reserved.