FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Greg Koenig
888-726-8100, ext. 122
gkoenig@siboneylg.com
www.SiboneyLearningGroup.com

Orchard Software offers school districts a testing, data management solution

ST. LOUIS, MO, January 9, 2007 -- To help schools meet the No Child Left Behind Act's high accountability standards, Siboney Learning Group developed the Orchard Gold Star District Application, which allows administrators to deploy state-specific Orchard assessments to all schools throughout the district and to access all Gold Star data.

According to "Testing for Results," an article published by the U.S. Department of Education: "A good evaluation system provides invaluable information that can inform instruction and curriculum, help diagnose achievement problems and inform decision making in the classroom, the school, the district and the home."

Orchard Gold Star's District Application provides such invaluable information. From quarterly benchmarks to weekly incremental evaluations, administrators can distribute Orchard Gold Star assessments at a district level to schools throughout the district. Using the District Application, administrators can access all Orchard Gold Star student achievement data broken down by student, class, school, or groups of schools, which can be viewed district-wide and sorted by demographics.

Having one version of a test disseminated district-wide ensures uniformity in student assessment data, while randomized tests facilitate student integrity. Reports can be broken down by state standards, essential skills, student, class, grade-level growth, and more, allowing districts to aggregate and disaggregate student data.

"Siboney understands the difficulty districts face in collecting and managing data on their students' progress," said Robin Tinker, Vice President of Marketing. "The Orchard Gold Star District Application addresses this challenge, laying a vast array of student information at the fingertips of district administrators, so that every child's learning needs are met."

Through the Orchard Gold Star District Application, students who change classes or schools can take their assessment results, targeted instructional activities, and supplemental instructional invention data with them. Districts can also standardize computer use through several settings, including a standardized login process, self-enrollment, and a guest login feature, so that from school to school, Orchard use remains the same.

Siboney Learning Group is a dynamic developer, publisher, integrator, and provider of comprehensive and motivational educational software.

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