Harcourt Assessment Renews Commitment to the San Antonio Education Par

    Business Editors/Education Editors

    SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2005--Local education company Harcourt Assessment, Inc. has renewed its commitment to the San Antonio Education Partnership with a significant financial contribution to benefit San Antonio students and teachers.
    For the second year in a row, the company has contributed $25,000 in scholarship funds for eligible high school seniors who participate in the Partnership's program.
    The company also contributed $15,000 to continue the Harcourt Assessment Educators for Excellence program, which it established last year, to recognize five outstanding teachers selected from the 15 participating Partnership high schools. Honorees may use their $3,000 stipends for Advanced Placement institutes or other education-related professional development coursework this summer.
    This year's Harcourt Assessment Educators for Excellence will be honored tomorrow night at the Partnership's Eighth Annual Making a Difference Dinner at the Marriott Rivercenter. The honorees are:

-- Dean Evans, Thomas Jefferson High School, San Antonio Independent School District (ISD)

-- Susan D. Odom, Southside High School, Southside ISD

-- A. Mario Rios, Jr., Southwest High School, Southwest ISD

-- Michael B. Ussery, South San Antonio High School, South San ISD

-- Paul Wenzlaff, Memorial High School, Edgewood ISD
    "There is nothing more important than the education of our children and we are proud to give deserving San Antonio students an opportunity to attend college," said Jeff Galt, president of Harcourt Assessment. "Great students need and deserve outstanding teachers, so we are equally proud to honor and provide professional development assistance to some of San Antonio's finest educators."
    "We appreciate the scholarship support of Harcourt Assessment that will provide students the opportunity to achieve their higher education dreams," said Gilberto Ramon, Executive Director of the San Antonio Education Partnership. "We are also grateful for the opportunity to recognize the significant contributions of the teaching profession to students' success. Indeed, Harcourt's Educators for Excellence program enhances college success for Partnership students. College access and success are two key areas of focus for the Partnership, and we are pleased that Harcourt is helping with both."

    About Harcourt Assessment

    Based in San Antonio since 1985, Harcourt Assessment is a leading provider of high-quality assessment instruments and testing programs used by educators, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, human resource professionals, admissions and credentialing professionals, and businesses. Through the development of custom statewide educational testing programs, Harcourt is helping more than 20 states meet the accountability requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
    The company is affiliated with the Harcourt book publishing companies, and together they form the global education brand of Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE:RUK) (NYSE:ENL) -- a world-leading publisher and information provider operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors.

    About the San Antonio Education Partnership

    Established in 1988 to improve school completion rates and student performance, the San Antonio Education Partnership is an alliance of education, business, government and community organizations that challenges, invests in and provides hope for at-risk youth. Through scholarships and support systems, the Partnership leverages educational achievement to increase graduation rates, college enrollment and the development of young people.
    Partnership students sign an agreement to attain a B average and a 95 percent attendance rate throughout their high school career. All students who meet these commitments are guaranteed a scholarship to attend a San Antonio area public or private college or university.
    The documented impact of the Partnership is significant. Originally serving eight high schools and six school districts with large percentages of high-risk students, the Partnership now serves 25,000 high school students in 15 high schools and seven school districts. During the year prior to the establishment of the Education Partnership, only 19 percent of the graduating classes would have met the Partnership criteria. Since 1989, 57 percent of the graduating students have met the criteria.
    Since its inception, the Partnership has awarded more than $8 million in scholarships to at-risk high school students who accepted and met the Partnership challenge. Last year alone, the Partnership awarded more than $932,000 to 2,168 students. Close to $1 million will be provided to 2,300 Partnership college students in the current school year.
    The Partnership effort continues to demonstrate significant success. There are now more than 1,750 Partnership college graduates, an estimated 95 percent of whom live and work in San Antonio, thereby adding significantly to the educated workforce pool.
    A recently announced "college success" project, made possible through the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and the Lumina Foundation for Education, seeks to improve upon current Partnership success.

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CONTACT: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. San Antonio Mark Slitt, 210-339-5399

KEYWORD: TEXAS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PUBLISHING EDUCATION MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: Harcourt Assessment, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005