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Ten Things We Focused on in 2017 to Help Increase Student Success

Educational research, partnerships, technology development and more.


Tags: Education News & Policy, Thought Leadership, Learning Science, Blog Article

We share an ambitious goal with instructors, school leaders and others fortunate enough to work in education: We want to help unlock the full potential of each learner. To do so, we partner with experts, institutions and researchers to create great course materials for students and educators.

2017 was a busy year for McGraw-Hill. Here are ten key initiatives we worked on to help make education more accessible, equitable, and effective for learners from kindergarten through college and beyond:

  1. We’re helping raise awareness about the changing demographics and learning needs of K-12 classrooms. Our first-of-a-kind 2017 EL Educator Report gathered survey data from over 1,300 educators, which highlight the need for more teacher training, academic resources, and at-home support for English Learners.
  2. We played a part in creating kinder, safer schools for all students. Our efforts to support Kids for Peace & promote the Great Kindness Challenge helped them reach more than 10 million students in over 15,000 schools from more than 90 countries in 2017.
  3. We recognized inspiring innovators in education by awarding the 2017 McGraw Prize in Education. We’ve also added a new Learning Science category to the 2018 McGraw Prize to help highlight achievement in the use of research and data science to improve educational outcomes.
  4. We checked our assumptions about how today’s students make use of technology in learning. We’ve continued to monitor shifting technology habits and preferences with our third annual Digital Study Trends Survey.
  5. We strengthened our commitment to improving affordability and outcomes for college students. We increased the number of colleges we partner with on “inclusive access” programs, which provide students with deeply discounted digital materials on day 1 of class.
  6. We joined with innovators at Arizona State University on a project to rethink the college access model. Our artificial intelligence software is helping make a quality college education available and affordable for more first year students at ASU’s Global Freshman Academy.
  7. We collaborated with educators to test out new learning analytics models. We’re part of a new data analytics initiative with researchers at Colorado State University using data mining and predictive modeling to help instructors identify and support at-risk students before they fail.
  8. We expanded our work supporting interoperability standards in educational technology. By expanding our integration with leading learning management systems like D2L’s Brightspace, we’re helping create a more streamlined and standardized digital learning experience for students and instructors.
  9. We highlighted the need to focus on preparing college students for the transition to the workforce. We learned about the career preparedness, goals, and expectations of over 5,000 college students through our 2017 Future Workforce Survey.
  10. We offered global educators access to customized adaptive learning software. We’ve accomplished this with the release of Connect2, a globally-available course management and delivery solution powered by our Connect platform.

We’re excited to see what we discover and accomplish in 2018 where the science of learning meets the art of teaching. Visit our Press Releases and Media Coverage page for a complete list of our announcements, articles, and top news.