Questar Assessment Inc. (fka QUSA)

[MikeDDKing]

TASA - TASA Signs Contracts Valued at up to $9.5 Million
PR Newswire - January 8, 2007 7:00 AM (EDT)

BREWSTER, N.Y., Jan 08, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Touchstone Applied Science Associates (OTC Bulletin Board: TASA.OB) announced today that it has signed contracts worth up to $9.5 million. Included in this figure is a one- year contract to administer the Indiana Core 40 End of Course testing program that contains 2 one-year options. In addition, TASA has been awarded a five- year contract for the English as a Second Language program in Montana, and a pilot writing-assessment program for the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan.

"One of the benefits of our recent acquisition activity is that we have been able to broaden the scope of our services," said Andrew Simon, CEO. "With the June 2006 acquisition of Questar Educational Systems and the purchase of Achievement Data, Inc. in 2005, we now are able to offer the full spectrum of assessment services and to bid on contracts that were previously beyond our capability. The Indiana program, for example, calls for the delivery of assessments electronically and performance (hand-scoring) scoring of student essays, which uses the capabilities of both subsidiaries."

"The Montana contract also calls for the performance scoring of student essays. Performance scoring is a real strength of Questar's. The addition of Questar is the reason our organization was able to bid and win these contracts.

"Another new avenue for TASA is a pilot study for the English Language Institute of University of Michigan in which we will be hand-scoring writing- aptitude essays produced by foreign-country examinees. We believe our performance on this pilot study could evolve into a larger piece of business," Simon noted.

About TASA

TASA, headquartered in Brewster, N.Y., offers a comprehensive suite of educational assessment solutions to states, schools, school districts and to third parties. As one of the nation's leading providers, TASA provides products and services that range from test design, development, calibration, and psychometric services through print production, distribution, scanning, scoring, reporting, and data analysis services, as well as readability analysis of written materials. To meet the requirements in electronic assessment, TASA offers on-line testing services to schools and educational entities in the K-12 market as well as customized assessment engines for curriculum providers. For more information, visit the company's website at www.tasa.com.

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements as contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are enumerated in the company's reports filed with The Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Touchstone Applied Science Associates

Andrew L. Simon, President & CEO of Touchstone Applied Science Associates,
[phone], or [e-mail], or Mike Arneth or Tad Gage of The Investor
Relations Company, [phone], for Touchstone Applied Science Associates

http://www.tasa.com

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