Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


CA School Association Partners with Publisher To Improve Assessment

The Small School District Association (SSDA) has announced a strategic partnership with educational publisher CTB-McGraw Hill to bring the formative assessment suite Acuity to small districts throughout California at a reduced price.

The group has cited several of the features offered by Acuity as essential for effective assessment and educator training. These include:

  • Research-based tests and items;
  • Diagnostic and predictive reporting aligned to CST standards;
  • Comprehensive professional development, including data analysis training; and
  • Tests that can be administered online, on paper, or using student response devices.

"We are pleased to welcome CTB/McGraw-Hill as our latest strategic partner," said Al Sandrini, executive director of SSDA. "Our work is to help simplify the work that small school districts must do to produce stellar results for their students and their staff."

SSDA describes as its mission to provide top quality support services and encourage favorable legislation for small school districts in California, which notably includes promoting technology-based educational tools to help small schools enhance performance and reduce costs. Sandrini praised the company for its assistance in aiding smaller, budget-challenged districts.

SSDA and CTB-McGraw Hill are sponsoring a webinar, "Fundamental Concepts in Educational Measurement," Wed., Sept. 30, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT. It will focus on the latest research in validity, reliability, measurement error, classical test analysis, and item bias. The webinar is free to all SSDA members, and $25.00 for non-members. A registration form can be found here.

About the Author

Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here.

Featured

  • circuit patterns

    Anthropic Intros Lower-Cost Claude Sonnet 5

    Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as its most autonomous mid-tier offering to date and a lower-cost alternative to its flagship Opus 4.8 system. The company said the model can plan multi-step tasks, operate tools such as browsers and terminals, and complete agentic work at a level that previously required larger and more expensive models.

  • interconnected nodes with currency symbols

    Report: Half of Gen AI Projects Could Exceed Budget by 2028

    Organizations may be underestimating the cost of generative AI as they move from experimentation to production, according to Gartner's "10 Best Practices for Optimizing Generative and Agentic AI Costs" report.

  • Abstract background with a dynamic wave

    New Microsoft Initiative Aims to Help Move AI Projects from Experimentation to Production

    Microsoft has launched Frontier Company, making a $2.5 billion bet that the next competitive battleground in artificial intelligence will not be foundation models, but helping enterprises put those models to work.

  • lock symbol with quantum bits in dynamic motion

    Microsoft Accelerates Quantum-Safe Security Timeline

    Microsoft is speeding up its quantum-safe security timeline, noting that advances in quantum computing and new federal requirements have pushed post-quantum cryptography from a future planning issue into an immediate engineering priority.