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Can We Predict Third-Grade Proficiency in Kindergarten? NWEA Research Says Yes

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New study examines early indicators that can help educators better support students before achievement disparities become harder to address

BOSTON, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Starting Kindergarten is a major milestone on a student’s academic path, but not all students have an equal starting point. Those early differences can have critical implications for whether students ultimately reach proficiency by third grade — a critical academic benchmark closely tied to long-term educational success.

NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released a new study today examining Kindergarten MAP Growth test scores from more than 400,000 U.S. students and noted patterns that can predict academic success or identify students at risk of falling further behind. This early identification is key for educators, enabling them to intervene and influence learning trajectories before the next critical milestone: third grade. A body of research shows that students who are not proficient in reading and math by the end of third grade are at higher risk of dropping out of high school or struggling academically throughout their education journey.

The new study found:

Students’ reading and math skills at kindergarten entry are strongly predictive of whether they reach proficiency by 3rd grade.For students who enter kindergarten scoring in the bottom 20%, the probability of reaching proficiency by 3rd grade is low, just over 1 in 10.For struggling students, the door to proficiency closes quickly. Just 1 in 50 students scoring in the bottom 20% in the spring of 1st grade reached proficiency by the end of 3rd grade.

Unfortunately, many states don’t have systems in place to identify students who may be off track in both math and reading before third grade, missing that critical window where trajectories can be addressed for those at risk.

“What our data highlighted is that achievement at Kindergarten entry provides a meaningful signal about later academic outcomes,” said Dr. Megan Kuhfeld, Director of Growth Modeling and Data Analytics at NWEA. “But I want to caution that these results should not be interpreted as evidence that students’ academic futures are predetermined. Adjusting trajectories is possible if early intervention is provided.”

That early identification is key as the door to proficiency quickly closes. For example, the study found that students in the bottom 20% at the beginning of Kindergarten, 1 in 10 reached proficiency in math, and 1 in 7 reached proficiency in reading by the end of third grade. For those students who were in the bottom 20% at the start of first grade, their chances of reaching proficiency dropped to about 1 in 20 for math and 1 in 17 for reading. By the end of first grade, those odds are even lower, to roughly 1 in 50 students reaching that third-grade milestone.

“While this brief looks at understanding who is at risk, we must also look at what it takes to get students back on track,” said Dr. Karyn Lewis, VP of Research and Policy Partnerships at NWEA. “Understanding the ‘what’ is key in helping educators and policymakers on how to design policies and supports that help more students reach those important academic milestones.”

The report is the first in a new NWEA research series examining pathways to third-grade proficiency and the role early intervention can play in helping students stay on track academically.

Read more at: https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/behind-at-the-starting-line-what-kindergarten-test-scores-tell-us-about-reaching-proficiency-in-3rd-grade/

About NWEA

NWEA®, a division of HMH, supports educators worldwide by providing responsive, evidence-based assessment solutions that illuminate learning needs and fuel student growth. For more than 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K–12 assessments, including its flagship assessment – MAP Growth, and professional learning that helps educators strengthen their practice and improve student outcomes. As part of its commitment to bring valuable insights to the education community, NWEA engages in research that examines issues that shed light on inequities and other barriers to academic opportunities. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA partners to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Communications Director, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

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SOURCE NWEA

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Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Announces World-Renowned Expert David G. Armstrong, M.D., Ph.D., as Study Chair for Phase 2a Trial of Nu-3 in Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcers

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Leading clinician and surgeon to also serve as Scientific Advisor for Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics’ iDFU program

SARASOTA, Fla., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Inc., (NASDAQ: LABT, the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a novel class of potent, fast-acting, broad-spectrum antimicrobials for infectious diseases called the Bisphosphocin® class, today announced that David G. Armstrong, DPM, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has accepted the position of Study Chair for the Company’s Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating Nu-3 for the treatment of infected diabetic foot ulcers (iDFUs). Dr. Armstrong will also serve as a Scientific Advisor to Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics on the iDFU program.

Dr. Armstrong is internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts in diabetic foot care, including infection control, wound healing and limb preservation. Throughout his distinguished career, he has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications and has helped shape modern approaches to preventing amputations and improving outcomes for patients with diabetes-related complications.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Armstrong as Study Chair for our Phase 2a trial and as a Scientific Advisor to Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics,” said Thomas Balzer, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics. “Dr. Armstrong’s unparalleled experience as both a surgeon and investigator in national and international clinical trials brings an important perspective to the study and our advancement of Bisphosphocin® antimicrobials. We look forward to working closely with him to evaluate the potential of Nu-3 and to further our understanding of how our novel topical antimicrobial therapies may help address persistent challenges in diabetic foot infection management.”

As Study Chair, Dr. Armstrong will provide scientific leadership and oversight for the Phase 2a study, helping guide the clinical evaluation of Nu-3, Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics’ lead Bisphosphocin® antimicrobial candidate. The Phase 2a clinical trial is a proof-of-concept study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of topical Nu-3 gel in patients with infected diabetic foot ulcers. The study will evaluate three dose concentrations of Nu-3 (2%, 5% and 10%) and is intended to support advancement into a larger Phase 2b clinical study.

“Infected diabetic foot ulcers are a significant clinical challenge despite advances in wound care and limb preservation, and antibiotic resistance is a potentially grave concern in this patient population,” said Dr. Armstrong. “There remains a substantial need for new therapeutic approaches that can effectively address infection while supporting healing and minimizing the risk of developing resistance. A topical antimicrobial such as Nu-3 fits well with the ongoing evolution of diabetic foot ulcer management, and if clinical studies demonstrate its effectiveness, it has the potential to help address an important treatment gap for patients suffering from these serious infections. I look forward to working with Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics to evaluate the potential of this novel therapeutic approach.”

About David G. Armstrong, DPM, M.D., Ph.D.
David G. Armstrong, DPM, M.D., Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and a globally recognized leader in diabetic foot care, wound healing and limb preservation. His research and clinical work have focused on preventing amputations and improving outcomes for patients with diabetes-related complications. Dr. Armstrong has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications and is widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in the field of diabetic foot disease and limb preservation.

About Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Inc.
Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: LABT) is a clinical-stage biotechnology Company developing a novel class of fast-acting, broad-spectrum antimicrobials – the Bisphosphocin® class – to treat infectious diseases and reduce the threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, including MRSA, VRE, and others. For more information, please visit https://lakewoodamedex.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Inc.’s clinical development plans, regulatory strategy, anticipated trial timing, potential regulatory submissions or approvals, and the potential benefits, safety, efficacy and commercial potential of its Bisphosphocin® platform and product candidates. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks that clinical trials may not be initiated, completed or successful on expected timelines or at all; preclinical or clinical results may not be predictive of future results; product candidates may not demonstrate safety or efficacy or receive regulatory approval; and risks related to manufacturing, supply, financing and other matters described in the company’s SEC filings, including under “Risk Factors.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and the company undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.

Contact

Investor Relations
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
David Irish
(231) 632-0002
dirish@tiberend.com

Media Relations
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Casey McDonald
646-577-8520
cmcdonald@tiberend.com

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SOURCE Lakewood-Amedex Biotherapeutics Inc.

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Factor Announces Strategic Partnership with Bitsight

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Alliance brings premier risk intelligence and next-generation agentic supply chain capabilities to customers across the globe

NEW YORK, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Factor, the leading AI-powered supply chain cyber risk operations platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Bitsight, the global leader in cyber risk intelligence, making Bitsight a Premier Risk Intelligence Provider within the AI-native Factor platform.

The partnership enables organizations to seamlessly operationalize Bitsight’s world-renowned cyber risk intelligence alongside Factor’s groundbreaking agentic AI capabilities, creating a powerful combination that helps enterprises identify, prioritize and mitigate supply chain cyber risk at scale.

From its inception, Factor was built around a simple but ambitious vision: helping enterprises operationalize the rich telemetry generated by best-in-class cybersecurity technology providers. Founded by cybersecurity veteran Jason Thompson, who brings more than 20 years of experience in third-party and supply chain cyber risk management, Factor focuses on the operational layer of cyber risk management, transforming intelligence into action.

Today, Factor serves as the industry’s first and only clearinghouse for supply chain cyber risk, enabling organizations to unify disparate datasets, automate workflows, and drive measurable business outcomes from the intelligence they consume.

At the center of this vision is the Factorverse, Factor’s growing partner ecosystem designed to bring together best-in-class technologies and service providers. The Factor platform empowers customers to choose the risk intelligence, external signals, internal security telemetry and operational data sources that best align with their business requirements, creating a flexible, future-proof approach to cyber risk management.

Through this partnership, organizations can now leverage Bitsight’s industry-leading cyber risk intelligence directly within Factor’s operational framework, accelerating risk identification, remediation and supplier engagement.

Benefits of this partnership include:

Expanded reach and operational value of Bitsight’s risk intelligence data, enabling organizations to drive more actionable outcomes from the insights they already trust.A streamlined path to account expansion for resellers and channel partners, helping partners land new customers, increase platform adoption, and drive additional revenue opportunities through differentiated cybersecurity offerings.Transforms traditional labor-intensive service delivery models into highly scalable AI-driven delivery models capable of generating SaaS-like margins while improving customer outcomes.Best-in-class cyber risk intelligence combined with advanced AI-powered automation. Enterprise customers will see lower operating costs, improved supplier engagement, faster remediation cycles, and a significantly stronger supply chain security posture.

As organizations continue to face growing pressure to secure increasingly complex supply chains, Factor and Bitsight are committed to delivering the intelligence, automation, and operational capabilities needed to make cyber risk management more effective, scalable, and measurable.

Jason Thompson, founder and CEO of Factor, said: “Factor has partnered with Bitsight because delivering the best outcomes for our customers and their suppliers requires access to the highest quality risk intelligence available. Bitsight has established itself as the gold standard in cyber risk intelligence, and by combining its market-leading data with Factor’s AI-powered operational capabilities, we’re helping organizations move beyond simply understanding risk to actively reducing it.”

About Factor

Factor is the AI-powered operational platform for supply chain cyber risk management. Designed to help enterprises operationalize risk intelligence from best-in-class technology providers, Factor enables organizations to automate workflows, improve supplier engagement, reduce operational costs, and strengthen cyber resilience across their extended enterprise ecosystem. Through its growing Factorverse partner ecosystem, Factor provides customers with the flexibility to integrate the data, intelligence, and services that best meet their needs. Website: https://factorcyber.com/

Media Contact
Shannon Van Every
Force4 Technology Communications
Shannon@force4.co

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SOURCE Factor Cybersecurity

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Spektrum Labs Names Mark Cravotta Chief Operating Officer to Scale Cyber Resilience Offerings

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Cybersecurity growth veteran Cravotta bets on cyber resilience as the new benchmark, on the only platform built to prove it continuously

CARMEL, Ind., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Spektrum Labs, the leader in AI-first cyber resilience, today announced the appointment of Mark Cravotta as chief operating officer (COO). A 25-year industry veteran, he is known for building scalable operating models and for applying data-driven and AI-enabled approaches to growth and execution. Cravotta joins Spektrum to fuel the company’s launch of cyber resilience as the definitive future of the cybersecurity market.

Cravotta’s appointment arrives at a critical juncture for the industry. In its Predicts 2026: Cybersecurity Program Rebrands to Cyber Resilience1 report, Gartner estimates that “By 2028, half of CISOs will formally rebrand their cybersecurity program as cyber resilience programs.” Spektrum is positioned as the foundational infrastructure for this transition, moving organizations beyond checkboxes to cryptographic proof of their operational state.

Cravotta brings a deep track record of scaling high-growth technology and security companies. He joins Spektrum Labs after serving as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at CoreView, an Insight Partners’ portfolio company, where he drove revenue execution across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Prior to that, he was CRO at Keeper Security, another Insight Partners company specializing in password and privileged access management. There, he headed up global revenue, managed service partner (MSP) and partner channels. He also served as CRO at Crypsis Digital Security, a digital forensics and incident response consultancy that he helped lead through acquisition by Palo Alto Networks.

As COO, Cravotta will oversee Spektrum’s operational execution and global go-to-market strategy, ensuring the company’s Fusion platform remains the single source of proof for cyber resilience across enterprises, private equity firms, and insurance partners.

Cravotta joins a power-packed leadership team with deep experience covering all stakeholders and channels in the cyber resilience ecosystem, including enterprise CISOs, cybersecurity product and service providers, insurers, private equity (PE) firms, and auditors. 

J.J. Thompson, CEO and founder, Spektrum Labs, said: “Mark’s expertise in scaling high-growth, PE-backed companies through channel-first go-to-market is exactly what Spektrum needs right now. We invented the provable cyber resilience category and launched a platform that unifies the siloed pillars of cybersecurity, continuity, and insurance into one ecosystem built for the agentic era. We didn’t go to market—the market pulled us out of stealth: private equity firms protecting their portfolios, cybersecurity vendors, brokers, and insurers. Mark will lead our ability to scale into that demand through national channel partners while building the internal engine to support it.”

Mark Cravotta, COO, Spektrum Labs, said: “I’ve spent my career helping grow larger, later-stage SaaS companies, so joining Spektrum was a deliberate choice. The market doesn’t need another security tool with AI bolted on as an afterthought and many existing companies will not be able to adapt. Cyber resilience is the new benchmark—and in a landscape where entire security models can be infiltrated within minutes using AI, continuous measurement isn’t just critical; it’s essential. Spektrum Labs is uniquely positioned to proactively drive and validate true resilience. The platform is built from the ground up to address today’s unique security challenges. I am excited to work with the team on GTM market strategy and execution with the goal of getting this mission-critical platform deployed globally at scale.”

About Spektrum Labs
Spektrum Labs is an AI-first cyber resilience company building the infrastructure for provable protection. By unifying security, backup, and insurance, Spektrum provides cryptographic proof that safeguards are working as intended, before, during, and after a breach. Enterprises use the Spektrum Fusion platform to streamline board reporting, accelerate insurance approvals, and turn resilience into verifiable reality. To learn more, visit spektrum.ai

Spektrum Labs, Spektrum Fusion, Cyber Resilience Tokens are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spektrum Labs. 

1 Gartner, Predicts 2026: Cybersecurity Program Rebrands to Cyber Resilience, Arthur Sivanathan, Charlie Winckless, Will Candrick, 11 December 2025.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact.

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SOURCE Spektrum Labs

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