McGraw-Hill Education Launches Online Assessment Platform With Unique Speech Recognition Technology to Accelerate English Language Learning in China

SHANGHAI, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McGraw-Hill, a global innovator in education, together with its local partner ChinaEdu, announced it has created the English Online System (EOS), a pioneering digital platform delivering high quality, research-based assessments aligned with Chinese New English Curriculum standards that will serve China's middle school students.  The new EOS online platform will serve China's large and fast-growing education market, estimated to reach $200 billion this year.

"China's transition to a more service-oriented knowledge economy is creating substantial demand for innovative, research-based academic programs and assessments that can help students and professionals learn the English skills needed to be successful in the workplace," said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), who is in China this week meeting with government and business leaders. "We are committed to supporting China's ambitious education curriculum reform and development goals, and we are excited about expanding our English education programs across the country."

The EOS platform was created in partnership with ChinaEdu, a leading educational services provider in China, in which The McGraw-Hill Companies has an equity investment. The platform provides standardized American English language proficiency assessments and is based on a new approach, which allows teachers and students to automatically track progress. EOS is specifically designed to expand student knowledge of the English language in a real-life context by improving listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In addition, an automatic scoring engine evaluates English speaking proficiency of Chinese students compared to American English speakers.

The EOS speaking test combines state-of-the-art speech recognition technology with Artificial Intelligence English speaking scoring rubrics that mimic human raters.  EOS is the only English language assessment in China that was developed with the Chinese learner in mind.  The acoustic model was developed using both American and Chinese students' voice samples.  This approach allows accurate evaluation of Chinese learners' English pronunciation and speaking ability against native speakers.

The EOS platform has been field tested with Chinese students, and has proven to be an effective method of teaching and assessing English language skills used in educational and professional settings.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is a leading innovator in the development of teaching and learning solutions for the 21st century. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools, McGraw-Hill Education empowers and prepares professionals and students of all ages to connect, learn and succeed in the global economy. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com.

About ChinaEdu

ChinaEdu Corporation is an educational services provider in China, incorporated as an exempted limited liability company in the Cayman Islands. Established in 1999, the Company's primary business is to provide comprehensive services to the online degree programs of leading Chinese universities. These services include academic program development, technology services, enrollment marketing, student support services and finance operations. The Company's other lines of business include the operation of private primary and secondary schools, online interactive tutoring services and providing marketing and support for international curriculum programs.

The Company believes it is the largest service provider to online degree programs in China in terms of the number of higher education institutions that are served and the number of student enrollments supported. The Company currently has 17 long-term, exclusive contracts that generally vary from 10 to 50 years in length. ChinaEdu also performs recruiting services for 15 universities through our nationwide learning center network.

For more information, please contact: Company Contacts: Lily Liu, CFO ChinaEdu Corporation Phone: +86-10-8418-6655 x1002 Email: [email protected] S. Jimmy Xia, IR Manager ChinaEdu Corporation Tel: +86-10-8418-6655 x1150 Email: [email protected].

SOURCE McGraw-Hill