Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts, 2nd Edition, given Tier 1 Rating in Louisiana

New York, NY – (May 30, 2018) Amplify, a company that creates next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that Louisiana rated the second edition of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (Amplify CKLA) as Tier 1, the top rating in the state. Amplify CKLA is the only K–5 Tier 1 ELA program in Louisiana that includes foundational skills.

Amplify CKLA is a comprehensive curriculum that brings a proven, systematic approach to foundational skills together with knowledge-rich reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities. Based on widely recognized cognitive science and reading research, Amplify CKLA offers two distinct strands (knowledge and skills) for grades K–2 and integrates them into one for grades 3–5.

Amplify CKLA 1st Edition materials had been previously listed as Tier 1 in Louisiana. According to the Louisiana Department of Education website, Tier 1 materials exemplify quality, meet all non-negotiable criteria, and scored the best possible on all indicators of superior quality.

“We are thrilled that Louisiana recognized the strength of Amplify CKLA and gave it a Tier-1 rating,” said Alexandra Clarke, senior vice president and general manager of ELA curriculum at Amplify. “Many educators in Louisiana have seen exciting progress in their classrooms with Amplify CKLA, and we hope that this Tier-1 rating will enable more schools in the state to bring the world to their students with our knowledge-rich curriculum.”

About Amplify
A pioneer in K-12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of all their students. Today, Amplify serves more than three million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Amplify announces launch of new integrated mCLASS® early literacy suite to support all students in reading on grade level by third grade

Brooklyn, NY – (January 28, 2019) Amplify, a company that creates next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today that it is launching a new mCLASS suite that includes both teacher-led and adaptive student-driven instruction, as well as the mobile version of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment developed by the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon’s College of Education. The updated mCLASS early literacy suite integrates assessment, instruction, and intervention programs to help educators easily provide rich, differentiated reading instruction for all students. The new mCLASS suite is available for educators to begin using in the 2019–2020 school year.

“At Amplify, we are laser-focused on early literacy and research-based identification of risk, and we are committed to providing teachers with highly effective, time-saving tools to help every student read on grade level by the end of third grade, ” said Krista Curran, senior vice president and general manager, Assessment and Intervention, at Amplify. “For this reason, we’re excited to launch an enhanced version of our gold-standard mCLASS early literacy suite to better support the more than 120,000 educators and 1.65 million students who are using the program across the country today. We have improved our mCLASS assessments and reporting, and added screening for reading difficulties such as dyslexia as well as adaptive instruction tailored to each student’s specific needs. This integrated suite means schools can help support all students in becoming confident readers with one easy-to-use tool.”

Amplify launched the first version of mCLASS in 2001, making mCLASS one of the longest-running and most extensively researched early literacy programs on the market today. mCLASS has served more than 14 million students in all 50 states over the last 18 years.

Developed by the University of Oregon, where DIBELS research has been going on for decades, DIBELS 8th Edition is founded on a substantially strong, valid and reliable research base for identifying and supporting struggling readers, including those at risk for dyslexia. As of fall 2018, approximately 21 states have passed legislation for dyslexia screening in order to support the early identification of students at risk for dyslexia, and more states are currently considering enacting similar legislation. The screening tools in the new edition of mCLASS help educators meet the demands of the new legislation.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with Amplify with the introduction of mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition,” said Hank Fien, director, Center on Teaching and Learning at University of Oregon. “Our launch of DIBELS 8th Edition represents our continued commitment to providing evidence-based assessments, reporting, coaching and interventions as part of our education extension mission. This partnership, along with the Center on Teaching and Learning’s ongoing commitment to the highest standards of evidence, make DIBELS 8th Edition a powerful tool for educators.”

mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition features improved assessments, deeper insight into students’ instructional needs, and more intuitive reporting. It offers reduced assessment time and more useful data through adaptive test design and new skill profiles that better support differentiated instruction.

The updated mCLASS suite also offers adaptive, student-led instruction for the first time in the form of mCLASS: Amplify Reading Edition, in which mCLASS results send students on a highly engaging, game-based journey to learn the specific skills they need to advance their literacy skills. This new option enhances the mCLASS instructional experience, which will also include even more resources for teacher-led instruction.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves four million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

About University of Oregon’s Center on Teaching and Learning
The Center on Teaching and Learning (CTL), one of the largest research centers at the University of Oregon (UO), was established in 2000 as part of the College of Education. Over the last decade, CTL has been awarded 75+ state and federal research grants. CTL is committed to conducting rigorous research on the design, delivery and efficacy of curriculum, instruction, and assessment as individual elements used in schools, especially in the primary, elementary, and middle school grades. CTL’s mission is to conduct, translate, and disseminate research that focuses on the solutions to serious but practical problems in school systems.

Media contact: media@amplify.com

Amplify partners with Core Knowledge; acquires rights to new language arts program

Known for its scientifically based content and approach, Core Knowledge’s influential work anticipated the Common Core State Standards, so its practices and philosophy are true to the rigorous spirit of the standards and exemplify the manner in which they ought to be implemented.

Through this partnership with Core Knowledge, Amplify Learning will develop and market to schools nationwide a unique, effective reading and language arts program for grades K–3 that will expand to include grades 4 and 5. Amplify Learning is one of three divisions within Amplify, a company committed to re-imagining the way teachers teach and students learn.

The Core Knowledge approach teaches students about the world with engaging fiction and nonfiction content from the sciences, history, and the arts. As students acquire skills in reading and writing, they also develop the broad vocabulary and background knowledge that will allow them to read with comprehension and think critically. From Aztecs to fables to the solar system, from basic sound and spelling patterns to essays based on close reading, Core Knowledge Language Arts® has everything students need to get on the path to college and career readiness—and everything teachers need to meet the Common Core standards.

The rigorous and engaging Core Knowledge Language Arts® program will initially be offered as a print product, to be supplemented with digital enhancements as early as by the next school year. Through its ongoing digital strategy to build dynamic, interactive and academically rigorous curriculum, Amplify Learning will evolve the Core Knowledge Language Arts® program to a full digital format over time.

Amplify Learning is building a fully integrated, adaptive, digital curriculum that will enable educators to meet the rigorous goals set by the Common Core standards and strive to narrow the achievement gap. Its products are designed for tomorrow’s promise and today’s realities. The company is creating exciting new approaches to teaching and learning that are: as immersive as the best films; as compelling as the best video games; as social as the best networking applications; as personal as the best tutors; and as analytically sophisticated as the best search engines.

Together, Amplify and the Core Knowledge Foundation are looking forward to ensuring that students across the country meet the Common Core standards and graduate from high school college and career ready.

Using its long-term rights to the Core Knowledge Language Arts® program, Amplify will continue its work as a leading education innovator and bring additional fresh, technologically advanced products to the marketplace that are founded upon this highly regarded and academically robust material.

Said Josh Reibel, Chief Executive of Amplify Learning and Amplify Insight, “With its deep academic experience, Core Knowledge has spent years addressing the same set of educational issues that today drive the Common Core. We’re excited to now have the exclusive opportunity to market these resources more widely and to use them over time to offer even more transformative educational products that are all Common Core aligned.”

Added Reibel, “What’s more, the Core Knowledge Sequence, and its esteemed, knowledge-building language arts program, are an especially good fit with our groundbreaking development of an all new digital curriculum that is academically rigorous and engaging for kids.”

The path to college, or a rewarding career, begins in early childhood. Core Knowledge puts all students on that path. Combining well-established findings from cognitive science with classroom-based feedback from hundreds of teachers, Core Knowledge has created a successful academic model for preschool through eighth grade. Researchers established decades ago that reading comprehension and critical thinking are only possible with relevant prior knowledge. Over the past 25 years, the organization has identified the essential, foundational knowledge, vocabulary and skills children need to learn and organized them for efficient and effective teaching in a grade-by-grade, age-appropriate sequence.

Said Linda Bevilacqua, president of the Core Knowledge Foundation. “As we surveyed the landscape of education innovators to work with us on expanding Core Knowledge and incorporating our philosophy into new digital tools, we determined that Amplify had extraordinary capacity to enhance and deepen the Core Knowledge learning experience. Unlike its competitors, Amplify understands that in order to improve teaching and learning, technology must be a means to an end, not an end in itself—a means to enhancing effective educational practice, as they have demonstrated with their successful assessment and intervention tools for teachers, such as mClass.” Bevilacqua said, “Amplify’s approach will give teachers and students an even more efficient and effective platform for building essential knowledge. Their digital expertise with the Foundation’s expertise in curriculum development will provide the basis for extraordinary collaboration.”

About Amplify
Amplify is working to transform the way teachers teach and students learn. We are changing the realities of today’s classroom experience by leading the way in data-driven instruction, breaking new ground in mobile learning and paving the way for the next generation of digital curriculum and assessment. We’ve helped over 200,000 educators and three million students in all 50 states begin their digital transition through mobile assessment solutions, adaptive curricula, and tools that harness the power of data for classroom teachers. Headquartered in New York City with more than 1,000 employees across the country, Amplify is led by a team of digital education experts and has provided industry-leading instructional tools, data analytics and assessment solutions to the K–12 market for more than a decade as Wireless Generation, now a part of Amplify. Learn more at www.Amplify.com.

About Core Knowledge

Educational excellence and equity demand a strong foundation of knowledge for all children—and a coherent plan for teaching what every child needs to know. The Core Knowledge Foundation publishes and distributes a wide variety of education books and materials for educators and parents. At the heart of all of our products is the Core Knowledge Sequence, a detailed outline of recommended curricular content to be taught in language arts, history and geography, mathematics, science, music, and the visual arts from preschool through grade eight. We also support a nationwide network of Core Knowledge schools with instructional materials and professional development workshops. Learn more at www.coreknowledge.org.

Language Studio, an English Learners companion to the Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® curriculum, recognized by WIDA Prime V2

Language Studio is a supplemental companion program to Amplify’s Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) elementary reading curriculum that is currently being used in thousands of schools across the country.

Language Studio was created to reflect the importance of deep, sustained development of background knowledge and connected vocabulary for English learners. The program provides thirty minutes of daily English Language Development instruction that can be delivered flexibly by primary classroom teachers and dedicated ESL teachers. Pulling from research-based principles to build academic language, Language Studio supports English Learners by differentiating instruction across five English proficiency levels.

WIDA is a consortium of more than 30 states dedicated to advancing academic language development and achievement of English Learners. The WIDA PRIME V2 correlation tool allows educators to make informed decisions on instructional materials by determining whether they meet WIDA Standards. The standards include scaffolding supports for students, linguistically and developmentally appropriate grade-level content, and opportunities for higher order thinking skills. Language Studio’s review indicates that it meets each and every one of the standards.

“At Amplify, we are committed to providing groundbreaking literacy and language offerings built on evidence. Language Studio is a unique approach that focuses on teaching language skills through content based instruction. We are pleased that the quality of our work is reflected in the WIDA Prime V2 correlation,” said Larry Berger, Amplify’s Chief Executive Officer.

About Amplify

Amplify’s digital products for English language arts, math, and science are leading the way in data-driven instruction and setting the standard for next-generation curriculum. A full suite of proven early literacy products helps build strong foundations for student achievement. Amplify has brought mobile assessments, instructional analytics, and riveting, rigorous curriculum to thousands of schools. To date, Amplify has supported more than 200,000 educators and 3 million students in all 50 states. For more information, please visit www.amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

Core Knowledge Language Arts® receives high marks from independent EdReports.org review

The English Language Arts curriculum met expectations in every “gateway” of the EdReports review system for grades 3-5.

“We’ve seen time and again in schools and districts nationwide how CKLA develops strong and motivated readers by building a foundation of background knowledge and foundational skills,” said Susan Lambert, vice president of CKLA at Amplify. “EdReports.org’s review further validates the effectiveness of our curriculum.”

The content review team at EdReports.org measured the following areas, or gateways, in its review process: text quality and alignment to the Common Core State Standards; building knowledge with texts, vocabulary and tasks; and instructional supports and usability indicators.

Teachers and administrators rely on EdReports.org’s objective and independent reviews to support their curriculum decisions.

About CKLA

Core Knowledge Language Arts®, for grades PreK-5, offers educators a proven approach for building strong readers and ensuring that students are prepared for the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. The curriculum instills both background knowledge and foundational skills through two instructional strands for grades K-2 that integrate into a single strand in grades 3-5. Using both print and digital resources, CKLA provides:

  • Carefully sequenced background knowledge in social studies, science, literature and the arts to build vocabulary and comprehension.
  • An unprecedented, thorough approach to developing decoding and other critical foundational skills.

CKLA, which is widely used in districts in New York, Louisiana and other states around the country, originated in response to the reading crisis in today’s schools. A substantial number of students are reading below level by the end of grade 3—an indicator of future success. The act of reading requires both decoding—translating the written code to oral language—and comprehension—the act of using prior knowledge, language skills and reasoning skills to form connections and make meaning. However, many students lack access to background knowledge about the world. CKLA closes the achievement gap by bringing the world to kids, offering them a wealth of information and teaching them the necessary skills to read, write and think critically about texts and their contexts.

About Amplify

Amplify’s digital products for English language arts, math and science are leading the way in data-driven instruction and setting the standard for next-generation curriculum. A full suite of proven early literacy products helps build strong foundations for student achievement. Amplify has brought mobile assessments, instructional analytics, and riveting, rigorous curriculum to thousands of schools. To date, Amplify has supported more than 200,000 educators and 3 million students in all 50 states. For more information, please visit www.amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com