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Los Angeles Unified School District Partners With Carnegie Learning to Improve Middle and High School Math Achievement

Posted on: Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

Cognitive Tutor(R) Bridge to Algebra and Algebra I Curricula Adopted as District Continues Commitment to Raise Math Standards

Carnegie Learning announced today that it has been awarded a three-year, multi-million dollar contract by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to provide algebra readiness and Algebra I curricula to more than 25,000 middle and high school students. The LAUSD Board of Education approved the purchase last week and deployments will begin immediately in several schools with remaining implementations scheduled for January 2006.

Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor(R) curricula are currently taught in 62 schools across LAUSD. Today's announcement includes a significant expansion of Carnegie Learning's Algebra I curriculum as well as an adoption of the company's "Bridge to Algebra" program as an algebra readiness curriculum for all middle schools in the district. This expanded implementation is the result of success in current LAUSD deployments and of strong research results from other large urban school districts with comparable at-risk and English as a Second Language populations such as Miami-Dade.

"We are proud to play a key role in helping LAUSD to achieve higher math standards," said Dennis Ciccone, chief executive officer of Carnegie Learning. "LAUSD high schools are among our largest Algebra I customers, and the District is demonstrating a commitment to an aggressive improvement in the math scores of all students with the introduction of our Bridge to Algebra curricula to middle schools next semester.

"The Carnegie Learning curricula were developed by applying the best research into how people learn and then giving teachers the best tools available to help students to succeed," said Ciccone. "This week's decision validates the unique and proven research-based strength behind our Cognitive Tutor products."

Independent studies of Carnegie Learning implementations across the country including Miami-Dade, Pittsburgh, PA, Moore, OK, and Kent, WA, demonstrate that Carnegie Learning's curricula is proven to deliver a positive shift in standardized test scores, student attitudes toward math and problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Research also indicates strong results with Title I and special-needs populations including Exceptional Student Education students, those with limited English proficiency and students receiving free or reduced lunches.

Like many districts in the US, LAUSD's decision to partner with Carnegie Learning is a response to the growing awareness of the importance of math achievement in middle and high school. A recent Department of Education study now ranks U.S. students 28th in the industrialized world for math comprehension among 15-year-olds, and experts believe that poor high school math scores contribute to high drop-out rates and jeopardize our competitiveness in an increasingly global economy.

According to John J. Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable, the critical situation in American innovation threatens to undermine our standard of living at home and our leadership in the world. The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations, recently launched a new initiative led by leading business organizations to improve math and science readiness among American students. Castellani added that a strong consensus has emerged on what needs to be done to bolster American innovation and maintain our scientific and technological leadership, but we must mobilize Americans to adopt and carry out some straightforward solutions that will make a significant difference for our students and our economy.

About Carnegie Learning (www.carnegielearning.com)

Carnegie Learning is a leading provider of comprehensive mathematics curricula for middle school and high school students. The company's Cognitive Tutor(R) is helping more than 275,000 students in over 600 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. Cognitive Tutor is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education's "What Works Clearinghouse," and is the winner of the Software & Information Industry Association's 2005 CODiE Award for the Best Secondary Education Instructional Solution in Mathematics. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded by cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.

Source: Business Wire

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