The Achievement Network Wins Up to $5MM Investing in Innovation Grant

Grant will enable data-driven programs in more at-risk schools to narrow the achievement gap

BOSTON, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Department of Education named The Achievement Network (ANet) as one of the highest–rated applicants for the Investing in Innovation (i3) competition on Friday. The i3 fund was established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement. ANet is one of only 30 i3 competition winners in the Development category; overall the competition received nearly 1,700 applications. Pending Department of Education verification, the i3 grant to ANet will be up to $5MM.

"We are honored that our organization, committed to using data to identify and close gaps in student achievement, was selected as a highest-rated applicant for the i3 program," said Ted Preston, ANet's Chief Executive Officer. "The i3 grant will allow us to expand our programs to serve additional high-need schools committed to closing the achievement gap."  

The i3 grants are meant to expand innovative practices around student achievement and attainment. ANet's i3 proposal, entitled "Improving the Use of Data in Schools: Expanding the Achievement Network Model," proposes to expand ANet's data-driven model over four years to additional schools in Massachusetts, Washington, DC, Louisiana and Illinois.  

ANet's proposal also details a formal evaluation by an external party to further validate the impact of ANet on student achievement and augment the body of research on interim assessments. "There is widespread belief that using data to identify and address gaps in student learning leads to improved academic achievement," commented John Maycock, ANet's founder and Chief Program Officer. "This grant provides the resources to conduct a well-designed evaluation to validate the impact of ANet's program, allowing us to expand while continuously improving our program."

About The Achievement Network (ANet)

ANet is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2005, that works to close the educational achievement gap and help all students attain academic excellence. ANet enables schools to use data to increase student achievement by combining high-quality standards-aligned assessments in English and Math for grades 3-8; educator coaching in how to analyze assessment results, identify gaps in student learning, and create action plans to address these gaps; and peer Networks of schools that collaborate to improve their use of data.

SOURCE The Achievement Network