DRC/CTB

DRC/CTB

Type	Publishing
Founded	Los Angeles, California (1926)
Founder	Ethel Clark
Headquarters	20 Ryan Ranch Road Monterey, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Parent	Data Recognition Corporation (DRC)
Website	CTB.com

DRC/CTB (CTB), a division of Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), is a publisher of educational assessment for the early learner, K–12, and adult basic education markets.^[1] CTB has published many assessments including California Achievement Tests (CAT), Tests of Basic Experiences (TOBE), and TerraNova.^[2]

History

CTB was established in 1926 in Los Angeles by Ethel Clark.^[3] Clark's husband Willis had developed the Los Angeles Diagnostic Tests in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic, which she bought the rights to sell. She sent out 25 cent postcards advertising the availability of the test to various districts around the country.^[4] One year later, she heard from her first customer: the Kansas City school district.^[5] In 1960, the company relocated to Monterey, California, where the company headquarters are currently located.^[6][7] In 1965, CTB was acquired by McGraw-Hill Education and became CTB/McGraw-Hill.^[2]

On June 30, 2015 McGraw-Hill Education announced that Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) had agreed to acquire "key assets" of the CTB/McGraw-Hill assessment business.^[8]

Today

CTB serves more than 18 million students in all 50 states and 49 countries.^[9] CTB's current president is Ellen Haley.^[10] In 2002, CTB reportedly had a 40 percent share of the test design market, ranking second of the four major companies in the industry.^[11] In 2011 CTB acquired Bookette, a privately held software company. In June 2011, CTB celebrated its 85th anniversary.^[12]

Tests

Current

• TerraNova: TerraNova is an assessment battery that was introduced in 1996.^[13] The first TerraNova assessment released in 1996 was a result of the updates of the California Achievement Tests and the California Test of Basic Skills. In 2006 CTB introduced TerraNova, Third Edition. TerraNova 3 was the first norm-referenced test (NRT).^[14]

• Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE): Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) is an adult basic education assessment.^[15] TABE was introduced in 1967.^[16] In 2007, TABE–Complete Language Assessment System–English™(TABE CLAS–E™) was introduced.^[17]

• Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC): Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) is a state-of-the-art affordable new national high school equivalency exam.^[18] TASC was introduced in 2013.^[19] It assesses five subject areas including Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. It measures examinees' levels of achievement relative to that of graduating high school seniors, and career and college readiness, as outlined by the Common Core State Standards. ^[20]

• LAS Links: LAS Links is a language proficiency assessment introduced in 1987.^[21]

• First Performances: First Performances is an assessment for early learners. It includes tests in concepts of letter and number.

Out of print

• California Achievement Tests: The California Achievement Tests (CAT) are among the most widely used tests of basic academic skills for children from kindergarten through grade 12. The most recent edition of the CAT (the sixth) is also called TerraNova, Third Edition (or alternately, TerraNova CAT ). The California Achievement Tests were introduced in 1934 as the Progressive Achievement Test.^[22] The test was renamed as the California Achievement Test in 1950 and was designed to individually diagnose student performance.^[23]

• Progressive Achievement Test: Introduced in 1933, the Progressive Achievement Test was the predecessor to the California Achievement Tests, and now TerraNova. It was authored by Drs. Ernest T. Tiegs and Willis W. Clark. The Progressive Achievement Test was considered to be one of the most reliable assessments of its time.^[24]

• The California Test of Mental Maturity: Introduced in 1936, the California Test of Mental Maturity provided insight into mental traits of individual students. Authored by Drs. Elizabeth T. Sullivan, Willis W. Clark, and Ernest T. Tiegs, scores from the California Test of Mental Maturity are still valid as a qualifier for Mensa International® membership (qualifying test score is 132.^[25] Also, the Triple Nine Society accepts CTMM test results, qualifying score of 149^[26]

See also

• Educational assessment
• McGraw-Hill Education
• Psychometrics

External links

• DRC/CTB's Official Website

References

1. Herszenhorn, David M. (5 May 2006). "As Test-Taking Grows, Test-Makers Grow Rarer". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
2. "CTB History". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
3. CTB/McGraw-Hill "About Us", accessed May 31, 2011
4. Wallace, Lane. "25-cent gamble started CTB". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
5. "CTB/McGraw-Hill Celebrates 85 Years of Innovation and Excellence in Educational Testing". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
6. "CTB". Retrieved 31 May 2011.
7. "Corporate History". About Us- Corporate History. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
8. "Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) Announces Agreement To Acquire Key Assets of the CTB Assessment Business of McGraw-Hill Education".
9. "ISTE 2011 Exhibitor Profiles". Retrieved 22 June 2011.
10. "CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC". CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
11. "The Testing Industry's Big Four". PBS. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
12. "CTB/McGraw Hill still a testing leader after 85 years". Monterey County Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
13. "CTB History". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
14. "CTB History". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
15. "Adult Education Testing and Assessment Products".
16. "CTB History". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
17. "TABE CLAS-E". CTB. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
18. "new national high school equivalency exam".
19. April 2013 "CTB News" Check |url= value (help).
20. "TASC Test".
21. "Our Heritage Timeline".
22. Swafford, Karla Lairsey. "The Use of Standardized Test Scores: A Historical Perspective" (PDF). http://ugakr.libs.uga.edu/bitstream/handle/10724/17120/swafford_karla_200712_edd.pdf?sequence=1. Retrieved 8 June 2011. External link in |work= (help)
23. Walsh, Mark. "Education Week: Quiz Biz". Edweek.org. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
24. "Our Heritage Timeline". Our Heritage. CTB.com. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
25. "Qualifying test scores — American Mensa, Ltd". Us.mensa.org. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
26. "Triple Nine Society — Admission". Triplenine.org. 1999-12-31. Retrieved 2013-10-30.