Teachscape Acquires Edgenuity
Acquisition will combine professional learning resources with integrated instructional improvement system to increase
district performance
SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2009—Teachscape, the leader in the development and delivery of outcomes-based professional development programs for educators, has acquired Silicon Valley-based Edgenuity, Inc., a software and services company providing analytic solutions to school districts to improve achievement. This acquisition will combine Teachscape’s professional learning products and services with Edgenuity’s instructional improvement technologies to provide educators and districts with a web-based, integrated solution to reach new heights of instructional effectiveness.
Edgenuity’s software, known as the Edgenuity Achievement Suite, integrates the three core competencies for effective teaching in K–12 districts:
- curriculum
- instruction
- assessment
Underlying the system is a set of applications and knowledgebases to help districts strategically define what educators should teach and when they should teach it. The Achievement Suite gathers and analyzes multiple measures—both formative and benchmark assessments—and evaluates the impact of teaching practices. By analyzing instructional practices relative to student performance, these tools inform teachers about specific adjustments that they can make to their instruction to help all students learn. Teachscape will continue the company’s practice of building capacity for instructional leaders and developing research-based teaching practice, producing a coherent, evidence-based strategy for predictably increasing student achievement.
“Through the application of best practices and research-based initiatives, Edgenuity has been instrumental in enabling district turnarounds,” said Mark Atkinson, Teachscape’s Chief Executive Officer. “With federal and state education agencies clearly focused on the deployment of integrated data systems to improve teacher effectiveness, the addition of Edgenuity’s software tools enables Teachscape to help teachers drive student achievement as never before.”
Roy Pea, Professor of Learning Sciences at Stanford University and Director of Stanford’s Center for Innovations in Learning said, “Understanding how teacher practices, curriculum and assessments align to outcomes is imperative as districts strive to advance achievement for all students in an environment of greater accountability. Teachscape has the research and content to systematically improve instruction within P–12 education. With this acquisition, Teachscape is poised to be a key player in data-driven, learning-focused school reform.”
The Edgenuity Achievement Suite includes four related components:
- Curriculum Edge is an application that looks at the core concepts and critical skills needed to attain the standards, and provides instructional pacing guides and tools for building and sharing units and lessons, as well as test blueprints for state, benchmark and formative assessments.
- Assessment Edge captures multiple measures of student performance and provides graphically rich learning profiles and reports of achievement at the student, class, school, and district levels.
- Instruction Edge gathers data from observational protocols and self-assessments for analyzing instructional strategies, including how performance of strategies compares to research.
- TransParent Edge provides parents with confidential, up-to-date online profiles of their children’s academic performance.
Edgenuity was founded by Eric Docter (CEO) and Ameetha Palanki (CAO). “We are excited to be part of Teachscape”, said Eric Docter, Edgenuity’s Chief Executive Officer. “This merger represents a unique and integrated solution to help districts make smart decisions about changes to classroom practice and provide rich resources and services to help teachers become more effective in reaching all students.” Both Edgenuity executives will bring a wealth of experience to Teachscape as they assume senior roles within the company.
About Teachscape
Teachscape is a technology-enabled school effectiveness company that provides research-based, data-driven, job-embedded professional learning for educators throughout a school system. As a strong proponent of the National Staff Development Council’s standards, Teachscape’s mission is to integrate 21st century skills into every teacher’s day. Teachscape has partnered with respected institutions including Stanford University, McREL, the Concord Consortium, the University of Texas and others to shape its approach to professional learning. For more information, visit Teachscape at http://www.teachscape.com.
