Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) Announces Agreement To Acquire Key Assets of the CTB Assessment Business of McGraw-Hill

MINNEAPOLIS, June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), a leading provider of educational assessment services, today announced it has agreed to acquire key assets of the CTB assessment business of McGraw-Hill. The move will strengthen DRC's position as a leader in the development and administration of K–12 assessments. It also enables McGraw-Hill to focus more squarely on its core mission of improving results for students, educators and professionals by enhancing teaching and learning. The transaction is expected to close today. Its financial terms were not disclosed.

"With the addition of CTB's products and services, we will continue to broaden the portfolio of assessment solutions we can offer education clients across the country," said DRC Chief Executive Officer and President Susan Engeleiter. "CTB has a record of more than 85 years of excellence in assessment. It is a leader in norm-referenced and custom state assessment programs, and pioneered successful testing programs in the adult education and language proficiency assessment markets. We are excited about integrating CTB's products, experience and expertise into our business as the education industry continues to evolve."

DRC has provided customized, full-service assessment services to the K–12 education market for more than 35 years. The company is known for facilitating the transition to online assessment and delivering innovative, highly reliable technology solutions to state departments of education nationwide. This acquisition will expand DRC's presence in the United States as CTB serves approximately 8 million students across the country. DRC will acquire CTB's statewide custom business and summative shelf assessment products, including TerraNova®, LAS Links®, TABE® and TASC Test Assessing Secondary Completion™ high school equivalency assessment.

"Our mission at McGraw-Hill is to improve educational outcomes, and we feel that we're better positioned to accomplish this by focusing on supporting teaching and learning rather than the summative testing market," said David Levin, president and chief executive officer of McGraw-Hill. "We value the contribution that CTB has made to education, and we are pleased for the business to find such an excellent home at DRC. We're also excited to continue our work in formative assessment, which we see as key to enhancing instruction and integral to our process of developing personalized and adaptive courseware."

CTB brings additional expertise to DRC in research, test development and reporting. In the K–12 market, CTB customers include public, private and charter schools, and districts. Both companies are recognized for helping states transition to new college- and career-readiness state standards nationwide.

One of the first U.S. assessment providers to introduce objective, standardized achievement tests to schools, CTB in recent years has developed innovations including web-based assessment and reporting, student response device software and adaptive assessment. While the sale of CTB will represent McGraw-Hill's exit from the summative and shelf testing markets, the company will continue to develop and deliver formative assessments, as these are closely aligned to the company's K–12 instructional products and services.

The companies have developed a transition plan to ensure that CTB customers will experience a smooth transition into working with DRC on their assessment programs.

About Data Recognition Corporation

Founded in 1978, Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) is a privately held company headquartered in Maple Grove, Minnesota. DRC is one of the most experienced testing contractors in the nation, serving 13 states and delivering assessments for multi-state consortia. The company is a leader in transitioning states to online testing via its DRC INSIGHT™ Online Learning System. DRC INSIGHT is a secure, powerful online testing engine that supports and enhances the testing experience for students and educators. For more information, visit www.datarecognitioncorp.com.