Products from Your Home State of New York

Testimonials from New York

Measuring Up

"We at Highgate Heights Elementary School have recently been recognized by the New York State Commissioner of Education for being the most improved school in the state, based upon our students' performance on the state assessments in 4th Grade English Language Arts and 8th Grade Math.

This accomplishment is due to the commitment, hard work, and achievements of our principal, Will Keresztes, as well as our teachers, staff, students, and parents with focus on an improved and innovative educational program. One important factor in our plan is the use of materials that provide test practice. Our teachers agree that the use of the series "Measuring Up" for the NYS ELA and NYS Math Tests has promoted success for their students.

Teachers' comments are:

• "This series is kid-friendly. It provides simple examples that are clear and easy for kids to understand."
• "Measuring Up" is very well done. It is divided into sections on a topic and covers each topic thoroughly."
• "Use of "Measuring Up" at the 7th Grade level provides a good preparation for the 8th Grade Test."
• "When our students use "Measuring Up," improvement is obvious in spite of the many obstacles to learning that our children face."
• "Use of these materials is certainly a permanent part of our instructional plan."

-Linda Crato, Program Coordinator, Highgate Heights Elementary School, NY

"The Measuring to the New York State Standards Math and Language Arts review workbooks were a great help to us in the Elmira Heights Central School District this year. Faced with the demands of preparing our 6th grade students for the New York State Tests, the task of searching for printed material in the format of the NYS test questions left us in a quandary. It was after examining the Measuring worktexts that we found what we were looking for. Measuring Up Diagnostic Practice Tests were a "mimic" to the actual format of the NY State Test in which it drastically helped our students to learn the vocabulary and become familiar with the format. The students were able to familiarize themselves with the test before they even took it, which made them feel more comfortable, and in return they felt they were able to do a lot better. I would recommend Measuring Up to any school."

-Terry L. Allison, Sixth Grade Math Teacher, Cohen Middle School, Elmira Heights Central School District, NY

"Our school is currently using Measuring Up® worktexts and Diagnostic Practice Tests for grade 4 English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science instruction and New York State Test preparation. We have been using the program for about four years now and the teachers really like it.

Typically in our school, we pre-test the students with a DPT and from there the teachers identify the problem areas and address them with their students, using Measuring Up® worktexts to extend and supplement skills where the basal program falls short. At the beginning of the school year, we use Measuring Up® for balanced instruction, covering all the content areas. As the tests approach, we focus in on the areas of the test using Measuring Up® during our before and after school programs and Saturday school.

What we like most about Measuring Up® is that it can be used with the entire class or for small group instruction. We group students by the skills they are struggling with. Measuring Up® allows the teachers the flexibility to focus in on different skills with different students. Measuring Up® is not overwhelming, yet there is enough information to keep the children interested since it is student friendly, and includes instruction and independent practice. The Diagnostic Practice Tests provide the cumulative practice that the students need before they take the New York State Test.

All of these elements of the Measuring Up® series have absolutely helped us to increase our test scores!"

-Margaret Masi, Reading Specialist/Title I, PS 17, Yonkers Public Schools

"I teach all of the lessons in Measuring Up [worktext] and assess as I go along. If there are areas of weakness seen in the assessment, then we go back and target those areas. We had a 97% pass rate last year...this year it is 100% for the NYS Science 8 State test. I am not saying that it is all of the Measuring Up book that did this, but it sure had quite a bit to do with it along with the teachers that they have had in the past. My students have consistently stated that if it were not for this book, they do not feel as if they would have done as well on the test."

-Erin Cook, Hammondsport Central School, NY

"We found the program beneficial because of its close correlation to the state standards and the correlation to the state tests for reading, math and science. It is used in our after school programs as well as a supplement for classroom instruction. Our scores have increased considerably and we do believe that the program had a great deal to do with the improvement. Our staff have additionally met with parents and have conducted workshops on how to use the activities at home to further support their children's education."

-Anna Efkarpides, Principal, P.S. 11 Q/ District 30, New York

Keep on Reading

"Our teachers just love Keep On Reading. We have seen significant improvement in our students' ability to apply comprehension strategies to fiction and nonfiction. It was also so easy to implement into our curriculum because our state standards are included not only in the table of contents but also in every lesson."

-Sharon Rodriguez, Reading Specialist, New York