Pearson's Highly Accurate Measure of Text Complexity Makes WriteToLearn More Powerful Tool for Attaining Common Core State Standard Literacy Skills

Reading Maturity Metric 30 Percent More Accurate Than Previous Formulas

Bloomington, Minn. (PRWEB) January 16, 2013

As teachers around the country implement the new Common Core State Standards, WriteToLearn from Pearson provides an even more powerful tool for preparing college- and career-ready readers and writers. WriteToLearn now includes Pearson's text complexity measure, the Reading Maturity Metric (RMM), offering 30 percent improvement over previous readability formulas. RMM has been added to the nearly 1,000 informational reading passages, along with Common Core State Standards' text complexity grade bands. This additional information is now available to teachers to help them select the most appropriate readings for their students using Common Core criteria.

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is that students comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. In response to the Common Core requirement for a more accurate measure of text complexity than offered by standard readability formulas, Pearson's Knowledge Technologies researchers developed RMM based on empirically derived growth in individual word meanings.

“To build the reading comprehension skills outlined in the Common Core Standards, students must be reading texts that are both within their current ability and, yet, are sufficiently challenging to accelerate the normal reading process,” said Alistair Van Moere, president of the Knowledge Technologies business of Pearson. “With informational reading passages spanning elementary through secondary grade levels, WriteToLearn will provide students with even more targeted, personalized learning opportunities than ever before and ensure that they are on track to build the reading and thinking skills required for success in college and careers.”

With WriteToLearn, students build the literacy skills outlined in the new Common Core State Standards by practicing essay writing and summarization skills, and their efforts are measured by Pearson's Knowledge Analysis Technologies™ (KAT) engine. WriteToLearn places strong emphasis on the comprehension and analysis of the types of informational texts detailed in the new standards. With this release, WriteToLearn also adds writing prompts specifically targeted at the informational and argumentative skills required by the Common Core.

WriteToLearn qualifies for federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For more information, visit http://www.writetolearn.net. To learn more about the Reading Maturity Metric, visit http://www.readingmaturity.com/.

About Pearson
Pearson, the world's leading learning company, has global reach and market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing PSO. For more information, visit http://www.pearsonassessments.com.

For more information: Adam Gaber, Pearson, 800-745-8489 / adam(dot)gaber(at)pearson(dot)com / @apgaber (twitter)

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