New schools venture fund invests in masteryconnect

The funding will help MasteryConnect offer a larger scale platform for teachers to share, collaborate, and assess around the new Common Core Standards, attempting to make it simple and easy for them to find, administer, score, and track student data from formative assessments. “MasteryConnect is a company at the leading edge of a paradigm shift in education—towards mastery of core concepts as the barometer of student success,” said Ted Mitchell, CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund. “We’re thrilled to support the MasteryConnect team as they address a challenge we’ve heard from teachers across the country: how to access real-time student data to inform their instruction.” The Common Core State Standards were released in June 2010 and adopted by 46 states along with the District of Columbia. MasteryConnect progress reports allow teachers to visualize student data in real time, being able to tailor their instruction to the individual needs of their students. “Thanks to MasteryConnect, educators can connect with colleagues throughout the nation to develop and share common assessments around the Common Core Curriculum,” said eminent education author Dr. Rick DuFour. “Educators can now extend their professional learning communities beyond their schools. This ready access to expanded expertise is exactly what we have been hoping would become available to educators.” MasteryConnect is currently being used by thousands of teachers and educators, representing more than 2,000 school districts in all 50 states, says a press release. “States that have adopted the new core are expecting teachers to make the transition from state standards to Common Core, and that presents a huge challenge to educators at all levels.  We’re excited to be providing a way to make the transition simple,” said Mick Hewitt, MasteryConnect CEO. “NewSchools brings an unmatched passion for changing education and improving technology tools for teachers.  Their support will significantly accelerate our ability to scale our organization and provide the MasteryConnect platform for teachers to share, collaborate, and assess around the new Common Core Standards.” After investing $150,000 in LearnZillion, a new web-based education tool and video library of math and literacy lessons, NewSchools Venture Fund released an interactive Ed Tech Market Map that gives a graphical, interactive representation of the technology market to help investors, donors, and entrepreneurs navigate the burgeoning landscape of education technology ventures.