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TEACH Educator Candidates Experience Consistently Higher Certification Pass Rates After Use of Study.com for Teacher Test Prep

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Research evaluated priority populations in North Carolina and South Carolina to assess direct impact to a diverse educator workforce, leading to an eight-percentage point increase in pass rates

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As the U.S. K-12 student population becomes more diverse, with students from historically marginalized racial and ethnic identities comprising the majority of public-school students, it is critical that the educator workforce reflect the make-up of today’s classrooms. That prompted the creation of Study.com’s “Keys to the Classroom” initiative, focused on building a more robust and representative teacher pipeline to support student outcomes.

As part of this initiative, Study.com partnered with TEACH, a national nonprofit that implements comprehensive, statewide teacher recruitment systems to identify and support prospective teachers on their path to the classroom, in North Carolina and South Carolina. Together, these two organizations examined the impact of test preparation on pass rates of priority populations, such as teachers of color, exam re-takers and teachers on conditional or temporary licenses. Certification exams are often a barrier to aspiring educators from diverse backgrounds, but research shows that intervention support leads to positive outcomes.

In a research partnership across ETS®, Study.com – an official partner of the ETS Praxis exam, and TEACH, this pilot demonstrates that teacher candidates with sufficient use of Study.com for test preparation consistently passed the Praxis exam at higher rates than candidates with less usage. Sufficient use of Study.com led to an 8-percentage point increase in pass rates overall although priority populations, which were over-represented in this study with 45% non-white and 40+% re-take candidates, were positively impacted more significantly. For example, among Black re-takers in North Carolina, there was a 34% increase in passage rates.

Key Findings

The study found a direct impact to the educator workforce that demonstrates targeted intervention and support works, especially among priority populations who historically have lower pass rates on certification exams. Only 38% of Black teacher candidates and 57% of Hispanic teacher candidates pass the Praxis exam even after multiple attempts while 75% of white candidates ultimately pass1.

Specifically:

Black teacher candidates in both N.C. and S.C. experienced a 12-percentage point increase in pass rate with sufficient use of Study.com for test prep.

In N.C., Black teacher candidates who re-took the Praxis exam following sufficient use of Study.com for test prep had a 17-percentage point increase in pass rate than for Black re-takers overall.

While Praxis exam re-takers overall tend to pass at lower rates, sufficient use of Study.com improved their scores by 12-percentage points in N.C. and by 7-percentage points in S.C.

Teacher candidates with temporary or conditional licenses in N.C. had a 10-percentage point increase in pass rate with sufficient use of Study.com than those without it.

“This partnership has enabled us to extend the support we offer to aspiring teachers by providing more necessary interventions on their preparation journey,” explained Veronica Wilson, Co-Executive Director, TEACH. “The results of this study highlight that we can reduce the barrier of licensure exam passage that future teachers face when trying to get into – or stay in – the classroom, especially among diverse educator populations. And we can do it at scale.”

Value of Diverse Teacher Pipeline

Nationwide, only 7% of teachers identify as Black while about 14% of public-school students identify as Black. That gap is even greater among Hispanic and Latine students who comprise nearly one-third of the public-school population but only 9% of educators identify as Hispanic or Latine2. These representation gaps impact students across multiple variables. For example, the likelihood that a student is seen as disruptive by a teacher of a difference race increases by 46% for students of color – that leads to disciplinary actions that are closely linked to future academic performance3. While teachers of color positively impact the outcomes for students of color, research shows they also positively impact white students across academic performance, critical thinking and creativity factors.

“Given the significant and systemic barriers that educators of color can encounter entering and advancing within the profession, it is essential for the industry to understand those barriers and address them through robust, targeted resources. This support is crucial for teachers’ entry into the profession as well as for their long-term retention and success,” said Dana Bryson, SVP, Social Impact at Study.com. “This study unequivocally reinforces the findings of other reports: when aspiring educators have access to comprehensive test preparation tools and resources, they achieve higher pass rates, directly addressing teacher shortages and creating a more equitable and representative education system that benefits all students.”

“Ensuring that teacher candidates – especially those from diverse backgrounds – are fully supported and well-prepared for the Praxis exam is crucial to building a more equitable education system,” said Paul Gollash, Senior Vice President of K-16, ETS. “By helping teacher candidates excel, we take an important step toward expanding access to opportunities that have historically been limited. Mentoring, coaching and other candidate development offerings create a teaching workforce that more accurately reflects the diverse communities they serve.”

Impact and Reach

Both North Carolina and South Carolina face ongoing teacher shortages that disproportionately impact low-income students and students of color, populations that need more support. In North Carolina, the Governor’s Office of Roy Cooper invested more than $1.3 million to support nearly 8,000 future teachers with test prep, which included more than 3,800 licenses from Study.com and 5,000+ test vouchers from ETS. In South Carolina, a close partnership with Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA) enabled 2,000+ aspiring teachers to receive support, more than 1,200 of whom used a donated license from Study.com. The TeachNC and TeachSC initiatives are supported by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the South Carolina Department of Education, respectively. 

Methodology

As part of this research project, 10,053 current and future educators across North Carolina and South Carolina received support from Teach.org and Study.com. Study.com provided 4,700+ licenses while TEACH purchased at least 5,000 Praxis test prep vouchers and provided them at no cost to participants. From that pool, the research pilot examined the test results and pass rates of 2,557 teacher candidates over 18 months who took a Praxis exam after joining TeachNC or TeachSC. Of those, 1,832 were in North Carolina and 725 were in South Carolina. The study also over-indexed in key, priority population segments as it relates to the educator workforce: 30% Black / African American and 44% exam re-takers. Almost 90% of both groups reported having a temporary or no license (89% in S.C. and 88% in N.C.). 

Sources:

1 National Council on Teacher Quality: https://www.nctq.org/publications/A-Fair-Chance
2 Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/12/10/americas-public-school-teachers-are-far-less-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-than-their-students/
3 Brown University: https://www.brown.edu/news/2019-07-18/discipline

Study.com opens the door to the life-changing impact of education for more than 34 million learners and educators a month through its award-winning online learning platform for K12 curriculum, college courses and test preparation. With learners and educators in more than 11,000 school districts nationwide, Study.com is recognized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for meeting Level IV evidence standards. Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, Study.com has been honored as one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company and included in the GSV150, celebrating the world’s most transformative private companies in education, for the last two consecutive years. The company has donated $29 million across social impact programs committed to increasing educational equity. These programs include Working Scholars®, an accelerated pathway for working adults to earn a debt-free bachelor’s degree; College Saver, which has saved students more than $475 million in tuition costs, and Keys to the Classroom, which seeks to help aspiring educators prepare for and pass their teacher certification exams.

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SOURCE Study.com

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Global AI Leader and Enterprise Transformation Visionary Zeya Ottomone Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Integrow

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Author of Empowered to Execute in the Agentic Era to Lead Next Generation of AI-Powered Enterprise Innovation

ATLANTA, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Integrow announced the appointment of Zeya Ottomone as Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution as it accelerates its vision to become a global leader in Agentic AI-powered enterprise software and business transformation.

Integrow announced the appointment of Zeya Ottomone as Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution as it accelerates its vision to become a global leader in Agentic AI-powered enterprise software and business transformation.

With more than three decades of executive leadership spanning Fortune 500 enterprises, global technology organizations, and enterprise software innovation, Ottomone joins Integrow at a defining moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence.

Widely recognized for helping organizations modernize operations, simplify complex business ecosystems, and deliver measurable transformation outcomes, Ottomone has led some of the industry’s largest enterprise modernization initiatives across ERP, CRM, workforce management, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and intelligent automation. His appointment signals Integrow’s commitment to redefining how enterprises execute strategy in the era of autonomous AI.

“Artificial Intelligence is no longer about automation alone, it’s about empowering organizations to execute faster, make smarter decisions, and fundamentally rethink how work gets done,” said Zeya Ottomone, Chief Executive Officer of Integrow. “We’re entering the Agentic Era, where intelligent AI agents become trusted digital teammates capable of planning, reasoning, collaborating and executing alongside people. At Integrow, we’re building the enterprise platform that makes that future practical, secure and measurable for every organization.”

Ottomone is internationally recognized as a leader in enterprise technology, SaaS transformation, digital modernization and AI-enabled business strategy. Throughout his career he has held executive leadership and C-level positions with ABB, Honeywell, AmerisourceBergen, Cable & Wireless, Chicago Tribune and Rimini Street, leading global organizations through large-scale transformation initiatives across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. His expertise spans enterprise applications, Salesforce ecosystems, ServiceNow, ERP modernization, customer experience, intelligent operations, data strategy, and the emerging field of Agentic AI.

Before joining Integrow, Ottomone led global SaaS Centers of Excellence focused on enterprise transformation, helping organizations modernize critical business operations while reducing technology complexity and accelerating innovation. A certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and recognized executive advisor, Ottomone has consistently delivered operational excellence by combining strategic leadership with emerging technologies to create sustainable business value.

His appointment also coincides with the upcoming publication of his new book, Empowered to Execute in the Agentic Era, which explores how organizations can bridge the gap between strategy and execution by leveraging AI, empowering people, and building intelligent enterprises capable of continuous innovation. The book reflects many of the same principles that will guide Integrow’s next phase of growth: human-centered AI, intelligent automation, operational excellence, and measurable business outcomes.

Under Ottomone’s leadership, Integrow will accelerate investment across:

Agentic AIEnterprise AI PlatformsIntelligent ERPAI-powered CRMHuman Capital ManagementIT Service ManagementPredictive AnalyticsAutonomous WorkflowsEnterprise CopilotsIndustry-specific AI Solutions

The company’s vision is to deliver a unified enterprise platform where AI is embedded into every business process, enabling organizations to eliminate operational silos, automate decision-making, increase productivity, and create competitive advantage through intelligent execution. “Zeya represents exactly the type of visionary leader required for the next generation of enterprise software,” said Harvey Nicholson, Chair of Corporate Governance and Member of Integrow’s Board of Directors. “His global experience, deep understanding of enterprise technology, and forward-looking vision for Agentic AI position Integrow to become one of the industry’s most innovative AI-powered enterprise software companies.”

Wayne Gadson, Chair of Growth Strategy, added: “The future belongs to organizations that can execute strategy with intelligence, speed and confidence. Zeya has spent his career helping enterprises achieve exactly that. His appointment marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Integrow, our customers and our partners worldwide.” As enterprises face mounting pressure to modernize operations, reduce costs, improve workforce productivity and harness the power of artificial intelligence, Integrow is uniquely positioned to help organizations transform through a single AI-powered enterprise platform that unifies finance, operations, customer engagement, workforce management, projects and service delivery.

“Our mission is simple,” Ottomone concluded. “We don’t believe AI should replace people. We believe AI should elevate people. The organizations that will define the next decade won’t simply adopt AI—they’ll empower every employee to execute better decisions every day. That’s the future Integrow is building.”

About Integrow

Integrow is a global enterprise software company delivering next-generation AI-powered business applications built on Salesforce. The platform unifies ERP, CRM, Human Capital Management, IT Service Management, Project Management, Field Service, Finance and Operations into a single intelligent ecosystem enhanced by Agentic AI.

By embedding artificial intelligence into every workflow, Integrow enables organizations to modernize operations, accelerate innovation, improve decision-making and execute strategy with confidence.

For more information, visit www.integrow.com.

Media Contact

Media Team, Integrow, Inc., 1 855-333-4769, info@integrow.com, www.integrow.com 

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SOURCE Integrow, Inc.

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Lufax Announces Board and Management Changes

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SHANGHAI, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lufax Holding Ltd (“Lufax” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LU and HKEX: 6623), a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China, today announced changes to its board of directors and senior management, effective July 25, 2026.

Ms. Fangfang Cai (“Ms. Cai”), Mr. Shibang Guo (“Mr. Guo”) and Mr. Peifeng Li (“Mr. Li”) have resigned as non-executive directors of the Company and from their respective positions on the Board’s committees. Mr. Tongzhuan Xi (“Mr. Xi”) has resigned as an executive director, the chief financial officer and the authorised representative of the Company (“Authorised Representative”) under Rule 3.05 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“Hong Kong Listing Rules”), with effect from July 25, 2026. Each of the four directors cited personal work arrangements as the reason for their resignation and confirmed there is no disagreement with the Board and no matter relating to their departure that needs to be brought to shareholders’ attention.

The Company has begun a search for a new chief financial officer. During the transition, the CFO’s duties will be temporarily assumed by the Company’s internal team to ensure continuity of the Company’s financial functions. Mr. Xiang Ji, an executive director and the Company’s chief executive officer, has been appointed as the Authorised Representative, the Company’s designated liaison with the Stock Exchange under the Hong Kong Listing Rules, in place of Mr. Xi, with effect from July 25, 2026.

The Board has appointed Mr. Wai Kin Chim (“Mr. Chim”) as an independent non-executive director for an initial three-year term commencing July 25, 2026.

Mr. Chim, aged 65, has over 40 years of experience in international banking and extensive board experience in Asia Pacific, having worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. He specializes in risk management and internal control, with a strong emphasis on corporate governance, credit risk, market risk and capital management.

Mr. Chim served as a loan officer at Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Branch, from October 1985 to August 1988. He was then employed by Bankers Trust Company, Hong Kong Branch, as a vice president of the Asia Credit Department from September 1988 to October 1996. He subsequently served as the managing director and the chief credit officer for Deutsche Bank AG, a company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DBK, for Asia Pacific (non-Japan Asia), from October 1996 to November 2006. He joined Bank of China Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange under stock code 3988, as the chief credit officer from March 2007 to March 2015.

Mr. Chim was an independent non-executive director of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited from October 2015 to October 2017. He served as an independent non-executive director of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner and operator of the BitMEX digital asset trading platform, from February 2021 to February 2022. Mr. Chim served as a non-executive director of China Chengtong Hong Kong Company Limited from July 2022 to June 2025. Mr. Chim is currently an independent non-executive director of OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, since November 2017; an independent non-executive director of Banco OCBC (Macau), S.A., since August 2023; an independent non-executive director of China Intellogis Technology Co., Ltd., since June 2024; and a director of Hong Kong Dance Company Limited since June 2026.

Mr. Chim obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1983 and an MBA degree from Indiana State University, USA, in 1985. He also graduated from the Senior Executive Program at Columbia University in 2000.

In connection with these changes, with effect from July 25, 2026, Ms. Cai will step down from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and Mr. Koon Wing Ernest Ip has been appointed as a member to that committee. The Company’s Special Committee will comprise Mr. Dicky Peter Yip, Mr. Koon Wing Ernest Ip and Mr. Siu Hong Cheng, continuing under the chairmanship of Mr. Dicky Peter Yip, with effect from July 25, 2026.

The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Cai, Mr. Guo, Mr. Li and Mr. Xi for their service during the tenure of their office and warmly welcome Mr. Chim to the Board.

About Lufax

Lufax is a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China. The Company offers financing products designed principally to address the needs of small business owners. In doing so, the Company has established relationships with 85 financial institutions in China as funding partners, many of which have worked with the Company for over three years.

Investor Relations Contact

Lufax Holding Ltd
Email: Investor_Relations@lu.com

ICR, LLC
Robin Yang
Tel: +1 (646) 308-0546
Email: lufax.ir@icrinc.com

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lufax-announces-board-and-management-changes-302834065.html

SOURCE Lufax Holding Ltd

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UMD Smith School Researchers Warn AI Security Lapses Highlight Urgent Need for Independent Oversight

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COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A series of recent AI security lapses—including the OpenAI–Hugging Face breach—raises a fundamental question, say a pair of researchers at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business: Can tech companies safely govern the powerful AI systems they build, or is stronger outside oversight now essential?

In its incident report, OpenAI confirmed that one of its experimental AI agents exploited a weakness in its testing environment while working on a routine benchmark task. The system wasn’t instructed to behave maliciously; instead, its persistence turned a small design flaw into a real escape. Earlier tests showed similar behavior, including agents that learned to bypass security checks by manipulating authentication tokens.

This pattern echoes findings from Dean’s Professor of Information Systems Siva Viswanathan at the Smith School, who studies how large technology platforms enforce rules. His research on mobile app privacy—published in Management Science—examined Google’s rollout of Android 6.0, which gave users more control over what data apps could collect. Developers were granted a flexible window to update their apps. Many used that flexibility to delay compliance for months, continuing to gather user data until Google imposed consequences such as lower search rankings and reduced visibility in its app store.

Viswanathan’s takeaway: when companies rely on voluntary compliance, self‑interested actors often exploit the slack. Real accountability requires pairing flexibility with firm, enforceable penalties.

That lesson now reverberates across the AI sector. As companies race to build increasingly capable systems, Viswanathan says oversight must treat these AI systems as strategic actors and must include strong safeguards that can pause or reverse a system before harm occurs.

He notes that a separate study from Anthropic underscores the stakes. In controlled tests, even an AI system designed to monitor another AI inherited the same flaws it was supposed to catch. In some cases, the “judge” model failed to flag clear sabotage because it agreed with the agent’s goals, allowing dangerous behavior to pass without human review.

Balaji Padmanabhan, Dean’s Professor of Decisions, Operations and Information Technologies and director of the Smith School’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business, extends Viswanathan’s governance argument into the realm of autonomous AI agents, warning that the same structural weaknesses now carry far higher stakes.

“The fact that this breach occurred organically without the AI agent being asked to be malicious is itself notable. Imagine what someone who actually intends to do harm can do. It’s also not terribly reassuring that the same firms we depend on for AI infrastructure, who are facing these issues, are the ones assuring enterprises that their systems with guardrails are perfectly safe,” says Padmanabhan. “We have to wake up to the fact that we’ve created capabilities that let software become as powerful as we want it to be—and then some. It’s time we seriously ask what’s needed to create an infrastructure to play defense well.”

Across the independent studies, the pattern is consistent, says Viswanathan: Voluntary compliance fails when the governed actor is more capable than the regulator. And AI systems cannot be governed by trust or good intentions alone. Oversight must be preventive, independent and capable of stopping harmful behavior before it spreads.

About the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

Contact: Greg Muraski, gmuraski@umd.edu

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/umd-smith-school-researchers-warn-ai-security-lapses-highlight-urgent-need-for-independent-oversight-302834112.html

SOURCE University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business

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