New York, NY — October 6, 2009 — Scholastic today announced the National Center on Response to Intervention (NCRTI) has given Scholastic Reading Inventory™ (SRI) the highest possible rating for validity and reliability. NCRTI reviewed SRI, the leading progress monitoring tool for grades 1-12, as a part of the organization's first annual evaluation of Reading Screening Tools.

Scholastic Reading Inventory is the fast and accurate way to assess student reading levels and monitor reading progress using the Lexile Framework for Reading™. SRI helps teachers identify struggling readers, plan for students’ individualized instruction, gauge the effectiveness of their curriculum, and demonstrate accountability to school and district leaders.

The American Institutes for Research and researchers from Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas established NCRTI with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. The organization's mission is to provide technical assistance to states and districts and to build the capacity of states to assist districts in implementing proven models for Response to Intervention (RTI) programs and early intervention services.

In completing that mission, NCRTI established a standard process to evaluate the scientific rigor of commercially available tools and interventions that can be used in a RTI context. The review process requires three Technical Review Committees of national experts evaluate each product against evidence standards. Once tools are found to meet NCRTI's standards, information on the tools is disseminated through the Center's technical assistance activities and websites. The rating of SRI is based on the NCRTI Review Committee’s assessment of several aspects of the program, including:

• Reliability of the student performance level score
• Validity of the student performance level score
• Sensitivity to student improvement
• End-of-year benchmarking
• Specified rates of student improvement

"Across America, school districts are searching for a proven way to measure reading solutions for students. Many districts have already incorporated SRI into their Response to Intervention frameworks," said Margery Mayer, President, Scholastic Education. "The NCRTI endorsement is a wonderful addition to the already impressive successes of SRI. We are thrilled that NCRTI has recognized that the program has all the right components to ensure success for all students."

For more information about Scholastic Reading Inventory, please visit www.scholastic.com/sri.

Contact:

Sarah Trabucchi
Scholastic
212-343-6424
strabucchi@scholastic.com