Maui Educational Consortium: Mathematics-Science Improvement Partnership Grant Purchases Carnegie Learning for Hawai'i Public Schools; Three-Year Grant Aims to Improve Math Scores for Middle and High School Students.

MAUI, Hawai'i -- Carnegie Learning(R) announced today that the Hawai'i Public Schools, in conjunction with the Maui Educational Consortium: Mathematics-Science Improvement Partnership Grant, has purchased Carnegie Learning math curricula for six schools on the islands of Maui and Molokai.

The Maui Educational Consortium: Mathematics-Science Improvement Partnership is a joint initiative between the Maui Department of Education and University of Hawai'i Maui Community College to reexamine middle, high school and community college math instruction methods and the way students learn math, in particular Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II.

"This is an exciting time for education in Maui County and in choosing Carnegie Learning's curricula and the follow-on assessment process, these schools have made a clear commitment to helping our students to better prepare for the future," said Dr. Debra Nakama, Maui Community College's Articulation Coordinator and Project Director. "This program focuses specifically on mathematics and complements ongoing education improvement initiatives at each school, the district and community college."

The first phase of the three-year grant will be used to implement Carnegie Learning's Algebra I curriculum at Moloka'I, Maui, Baldwin, and Lahainaluna High Schools, as well as Maui Waena Middle School and Maui Community College. In the second phase, these schools will implement the Cognitive Tutor Geometry and Algebra II curricula in 2006-07.

As pilot sites in the Maui Educational Consortium: Mathematics-Science Improvement Partnership Grant, these schools receive incentives such as professional development courses for Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II instructors as well as Carnegie Learning textbooks and software. Carnegie Learning's blended curricula combines classroom instruction, text, and software to help students grasp concepts better, and to allow instructors to track each student's progress individually in an environment that promotes collaboration between the instructor and students.

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Maui Educational Consortium has engaged Dr. Denis Newman from Empirical Education, Inc. to assess the effectiveness of Carnegie Learning's programs. Empirical Education will provide research services to enable Maui Department of Education and Maui Community College to conduct standard scientific tests measuring the success of the program and will provide a profile of students most likely to benefit from the curriculum. The results will help determine how the Carnegie Learning program is expanded within Maui District and throughout the state.

Carnegie Learning's curricula is based on more than two decades of cognitive science research at Carnegie Mellon University studying how students think, learn, and apply new knowledge in mathematics. The Cognitive Tutor software identifies weaknesses in a student's mastery of mathematical concepts, customizes prompts to focus on areas where the student is struggling, and provides the teacher with a report on each student's progress.

About Maui Community College (http://maui.hawaii.edu)

Maui Community College is an integral part of the University of Hawai'i System and provides affordable, high quality credit and non-credit educational opportunities to a diverse community of lifelong learners, including undergraduate students living on Maui, Molokai, or Lanai, as well as U.S. mainland students seeking a multicultural educational experience and international students with the desire to study abroad.

About Carnegie Learning (www.carnegielearning.com)

Carnegie Learning is a leading provider of mathematics curricula for middle school and high school students. The company's Cognitive Tutor(R) is helping more than 300,000 students in over 700 school districts across the United States succeed in math by integrating interactive software sessions, text, and teacher-led classroom lessons into a unique learning platform for algebra readiness, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Integrated Math programs. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes our Cognitive Tutor Algebra I program as one of only two math curricula scientifically proven to have significant, positive effects on student learning. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded by cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.