Questar Assessment, Inc. (OTCBB: QUSA) announced today that it has launched SSSMART, a unique content-area reading assessment program for Grades 4-8. “We are extremely pleased to be able to provide this innovative, breakthrough solution to help educators provide the
knowledge, skills and strategies that students need to comprehend the content areas,” said Andrew L. Simon, Questar President and CEO.
The SSSMART program was designed by former International Reading Association (IRA) President Dr. Roger Farr and Kimberly Munroe and developed in conjunction with assessment professionals at Questar.
SSSMART incorporates several components that support a comprehensive instructional measure:
- SSSMART is a total program that focuses clearly on students’ ability to read, understand, and learn from their science, social studies, and mathematics textbooks.
- SSSMART provides professional development strategies and instructional activities to help teachers improve student performance.
- SSSMART assesses academic vocabulary, CUES (Concepts and Understanding of Essential Skills), comprehension, and skimming & scanning.
Simon explained that studies indicate an alarming drop in literacy rates in Grades 4 through 8. Although children learn to read stories by the 3rd grade, reading and comprehending textbooks requires a different set of skills. To address those challenges, the program provides detailed score reports with tailored action plans, professional development strategies and instructional activities. The SSSMART support materials provide a comprehensive program of instructional intervention, reinforcement, and enrichment to help teachers answer the question that inevitably follows assessment results: ”What do I do next to help my students?”
Questar reported that the response to SSSMART has been overwhelmingly positive among focus groups, pilot users and expert panelists engaged to review the product, all of whom agreed that SSSMART addresses the knowledge, skills, and strategies that students need to succeed in the content areas. “SSSMART truly is a unique program that combines a depth of academic evaluation previously unavailable to educators,” Simon noted. “It is a total program that allows educators to monitor students’ progress and inform their instruction throughout the school year.”
ABOUT QUESTAR ASSESSMENT, INC. (formerly TASA)
Questar Assessment, Inc. headquartered in Brewster, N.Y., offers a comprehensive suite of educational assessment solutions to states, schools, school districts and to third parties. As one of the nation’s leading providers, Questar provides products and services that range from test design, development, calibration, and psychometric services through print production, distribution, scanning, scoring, reporting, and data analysis services, as well as readability analysis of written materials. To meet the requirements in electronic assessment, Questar offers on-line testing services to schools and educational entities in the K-12 market as well as customized assessment engines for curriculum providers. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.questarai.com.
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking” statements as contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are enumerated in the company’s reports filed with The Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements.