Online Assessment Allows for Automated Capture, Real-Time Scoring, Reporting and Analysis

SAN ANTONIO, June 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Pearson today announced the
availability of an online version of the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test,
Second Edition (NNAT2), an assessment of student ability that yields a norm-
based score that can be used to identify gifted students who are likely to
have the potential for advanced scholastic achievement.

The online format of the assessment allows for automated capture, real-
time scoring and reporting. The online format is also more convenient for
school administrators and instructors, who do not need to store, distribute,
organize and ship test booklets.

The NNAT2 is appropriate for students in grades K-12. The test measures
general ability using diagrams to allow for a culturally neutral evaluation
regardless of the individual student's primary language, education, culture,
or socioeconomic background. The NNAT2 has been empirically validated for
assessment and identification of gifted minority children and been shown to be
free from race and gender bias.

Online items of the NNAT2 are presented one item per screen, facilitating
a student's focus on the task. The online format calls for minimal computer-
system requirements and provides online system-check tools, and automated
analysis of the readiness of the computer that will be used. NNAT2 employs a
secure browser to ensure that students cannot access other web sites or
applications during test delivery.

Administration of the online version, like the paper-and-pencil NNAT2,
takes 30 minutes and is specifically developed for use by a variety of
education professionals, including bilingual educators, testing coordinators,
gifted and talented teachers, special education teachers, functional life
skills facilitators, counselors and school psychologists.

The online test gives the user the flexibility of automated capture, real-
time scoring and analysis, without having to store and distribute paper
booklets. For the right user, this will dramatically help save time and
resources in administrating the NNAT2.

The NNAT2 is authored by Jack A. Naglieri, Ph.D., who has been an expert
in assessment for more than two decades and is a professor of psychology at
George Mason University. He is the author of more than 250 publications,
including scholarly articles, books, tests, rating scales, and computer
software solutions. He is also the co-author of the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale
of Ability (Wechsler & Naglieri, 2006). In 1985, Dr. Naglieri published his
first nonverbal test, the Matrix Analogies Test, which was renamed the
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) in 1997 and is now the NNAT2.

About Pearson

Pearson (NYSE: PSO) is the global leader in educational publishing,
assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at
their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides
effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media,
educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student
information systems, and teacher professional development and certification
programs. The company's respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice
Hall, the Stanford Achievement Test, the Wechsler Scales, AGS, PowerSchool,
SuccessMaker, TeacherVision and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings
help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within
reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the
Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

SOURCE Pearson

http://www.pearsoned.com

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