The recent discovery of vast numbers of teachers in Atlanta who faked students’ scores on high stakes tests is an astonishing twist in the use of tests in U.S. public schools.
To deal with this issue, some have called for the elimination of standardized tests. However, we feel that accountability data is too important to stakeholders to drop completely.
Hopelessness about how to improve student achievement is one of the reasons teachers felt compelled to cheat on these standardized tests.
If teachers had a better way to know where students stood academically, if they had a better idea about the areas where their students needed help, if the teachers felt they had a chance to help all their students, then perhaps there would be less incentive to cheat.
And it goes without saying that if students received the evaluation, support, and direction they needed, their scores improve.
Teachers need useful, formative assessments to help them determine each student’s strengths and weaknesses. Administrators need a way to know during the school year if their teachers are actually helping their students. Students deserve to learn and achieve.
All groups need a partner to show them how this can be done. This is where Merit Software fits in.
There is a clear link between college remediation needs and how well students performed before entering high school, according to data released by the New York City Department of Education.
Merit Software is pleased to announce that 
Students who struggled with reading in early elementary school grew up to comprise 88 percent of those who did not receive a high school diploma, according to a new study.
In what amounts to a ‘Race to the Top’ for higher education, the U.S. Department of Education is offering competitive grants to help states increase their college completion rates.
I am writing to thank you for making 
Both English and mathematics teachers are more likely to rate the ability to write clearly and persuasively higher than mathematical ability as absolutely essential or very important for college and career readiness.
A 3rd grade teacher at a California public school recently wrote how, and why, she likes using 
IBM’s Watson computer recently crushed the competition on the popular game show “Jeopardy.” One can’t help but wonder about the current and future role of technology in education.
A new book, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” says many students are not learning anything in U.S. colleges.