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January 15, 2002
Accountability: Meeting The Challenge With Technology (con'td)
Accountability Resources
Management Tools
Although they vary in their focus, all of the products and companies listed here are large-scale tools that help individuals, schools, and districts gather, track, and analyze student data--a key element of accountability. A number of them also include instruction or assessment components.
Chancery
Chancery is a veteran in the "student information system" business. It offers solutions for classroom, school, and district--along with training, technical help and other support services. Although its offerings focus less on standards and testing than some of the others listed here, the management tools make it easy for teachers or administrators to track student grades and scores, attendance, and other data over time, do comparative analyses, and generate reports for a variety of accountability purposes.
Classwell
This new company, founded by Houghton Mifflin and Sylvan Learning, is offering its educational management system at pilot sites during the 2001-2002 school year. In conjunction with a number of partners, Classwell has announced a growing range of standards-based tools for pre-K-12, including customizable lesson plans, online assessments, and reporting capabilities. Teachers draw from a database of resources correlated to district and state standards, then post assignments and assessments to individual student pages. The management software keeps track of standards mastered and suggests activities for remediation. Classwell also offers custom publishing for teachers who want to create their own workbooks or other print materials for student use.
EASE-e
TetraData Corp's EASE-e data management system is a tool for data storage, analysis and reporting. An Application Service Provider (ASP) option allows districts to have their data stored on servers at the TetraData site and accessed by the school district over an extranet (an intranet partially accessible to authorized external users). The Data Analyzer tool monitors performance, allowing educators to set benchmarks and generate graphs and reports of test scores broken down in a variety of ways. Districts can contract with TetraData for services including data importing, system design and the creation of online tests.
EDmin.com
EDmin.com features a number of assessment and accountability resources. The main information management application allows teachers to create standards-based assignments and tests online, and to track student performance. Another tool helps districts refine and publish curriculum frameworks on the Internet, complete with content and performance standards, exemplary assignments and resources. There is also a module for creating online portfolios, and various tools for generating reports and analyzing school and classroom performance. EDmin's latest offering is a Return on Investment Analysis tool that enables administrators to create financial reports on school district expenditures and see how they correlate with measured gains in student learning.
Encarta Class Server
Microsoft's Encarta Class Server is a solution that helps teachers find content and lesson plans, and manage student rosters and grades. It runs over the school network with additional access over the Internet, allowing parents and students to check on assignments and progress from home. Teachers post student assignments and assessment tasks on personalized home pages, drawing from a collection of learning resources--including materials from textbook publishers and other curriculum companies, as well as ones shared by colleagues. Tools are provided for computerized grading of assignments and for including performance-based assessments with rubrics.
IBM's E-Business Solutions
IBM offers two product suites focused on accountability and data management for K-12 schools. IBM Learning Village offers teachers databases of standards, benchmarks, and best practices, along with an instructional planner for creating online activities and units tied to the standards. Learning Village also provides tools to facilitate collaboration and discussion between teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members. IBM Insight at School is a district-level data warehousing solution. District administrators can choose whether to go for a predefined package--including such tools as customizable reports that address the top 20 questions most often asked by schools or districts--or have IBM customize the tools for them. In either case, training is provided, as is the option to have IBM host the data in an ASP model.
Learning Tools International
Designed with special education as its first audience, Learning Tools' Web-based GoalView system can be used to track standards-related progress for any student or teacher. Teachers assign standards and goals to individual students--or set their own professional development goals--and then use "GoalCards" to report on progress. A variety of analysis options make it possible to view the progress of an individual, class, school, or district, in a graphical format, and to generate reports in both English and Spanish. An important feature of GoalView is its ability to create Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and reports that are in compliance with local, state, and national regulations and laws.
NCS Pearson
The K-12 division of this giant company has produced a wide array of accountability-related tools. The SASIxp information system and the newer Web-based SchoolConnectxp both offer the ability to track student progress and other data and to generate reports. Additional products include a grade book; tools for communicating with parents; and the ABACUSxp software, which enables the creation of databases that connect a district's curriculum materials and lessons with standards taught. NCS Pearson also offers a number of options for generating and scoring tests--including scanning and grading of print tests, and a Web-based system that lets schools create, deliver and score high-stakes tests online. In addition, districts can obtain NCS tools and suggestions for implementing performance-based assessments in math and writing, as well as a package that teaches educators about the performance assessment scoring for their state exams, with help from realistic examples, rubrics, and commentary.
PowerSchool
This Web-based student information system, owned by Apple Computer, offers platform-independent tools to help districts and schools record, access, report, and manage their student data and performance records. Districts may purchase PowerSchool software to install and manage on their own servers or choose an ASP model, with Apple handling the hosting. Like Chancery, PowerSchool focuses less on standards than on the big-picture student management issues, such as enrollment, class schedules, and reporting of grades. It includes tools for communicating with parents about student assignments and achievement; grade book and report card utilities; and fundraising options.
SCHOLAR Inc.
Scholar Suite 2000 is a data management tool designed with outcomes-based education in mind. Users can access reports, charts, and graphs that are bound dynamically to the data collected from the various assessment instruments, and generate reports that are aggregated and disaggregated in a variety of ways. Scholar Suite 2000 uses an ASP model in which the application and data reside on a Scholar Inc. Web server. In addition, the company offers services in areas such as data conversion and training.
SchoolNet
SchoolNet offers districts a suite of tailored plug-and-play modules aimed at data-driven decision-making. A standards alignment application allows district personnel to select relevant standards, post lessons for students to access, and more. Another tool facilitates information sharing between students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community groups with such options as message boards, calendars, lunch menus, teacher home pages, and student portfolios. A third module offers tools for instant reports and data analysis. SchoolNet has also partnered with LearningStation.com and Homeroom.com to offer Web-hosted curriculum and testing choices.
A Focus on Testing
The list keeps growing, but here are a few of the most recent tools and services focused on the testing game--on both a large and small scale. In addition, many of the products and services described in other portions of this directory include test delivery, tracking, or reporting options.
CTB/McGraw-Hill
The publisher of the CTBS and TerraNova standardized tests offers some newer assessments as well. They include performance-based mathematics tests, developed in conjunction with the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS), and Fox in a Box, a set of tools for assessing K-12 literacy. In addition to information about their products and services, the CTB/McGraw-Hill Web site offers suggestions about effective assessment and test preparation.
ExamView
ExamView version 3.5 is the newest version of FSCreation's test generator. Although it's not linked to any standards databases, teachers can use this tool to create their own paper and online tests, along with reports that track each student's performance on these tests for teachers, parents, and students to view. The online exams, which can be taken by students from any Internet-connected computer, correct themselves automatically, offering immediate feedback.
Harcourt Educational Measurement
Visit this Web site to learn about the Stanford 9 and other standardized tests offered by Harcourt Brace. In addition to the more traditional multiple-choice tests, the company offers two types of performance-based testing--as a subsection of the Stanford 9 and, separately, with the New Standards performance assessment exams--and provides scoring services for these assessments.
Homeroom.Com
This resource from the Princeton Review offers a wide array of test-related choices--including a free database of state-by-state information on mandated tests and a variety of products to help students prepare for major state or national exams. Practice tests can be completed on paper and sent to Princeton Review, which scores them within 10 days. Other Homeroom.com tools make it possible for educators to create customized online practice tests with immediate scoring and reporting. Lesson plans, activities, and tips are also available to help remediate in problem areas.
Mindplay
In addition to publishing language software, Mindplay offers an online assessment tool that can be used to determine a student's reading level and abilities in phonics and comprehension. To supplement the free home-oriented version of the test, Mindplay now offers a school version that manages information for many students, reporting test scores and problem areas for each one, as well as creating a variety of reports for summary and comparison.
Northwest Evaluation Association
NWEA's print and computerized assessments are designed to be administered at various times during a school year with rapid feedback to help teachers direct student learning. The computer-based MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments are adaptive, meaning the questions adjust based on the performance of the student taking the test. NWEA now offers MAP tests customized for a majority of states, and others are in development. In addition, NWEA will score its Achievement Level Tests, administered in print form, within two weeks--along with reports on progress made by individuals and groups. The organization also sells software and provides training for districts that prefer to handle the scoring and reporting in-house.
Renaissance Learning
Renaissance Learning, creators of Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Math, offer several modules that test in reading, early literacy, and math. Brief multiple-choice tests are administered and scored, with reports indicating achievement level, problem areas, and tie-ins with Renaissance products. There is also a writing skills assessment tool that evaluates student use of grammar and punctuation.
Riverdeep Assessment System
Available only in pilot versions at press time, the Riverdeep Assessment System promises a test bank with math, science, and language arts questions keyed to state standards, national examinations, and Riverdeep curriculum materials. The system will administer and score student tests immediately, create prescriptive assignments, and produce a variety of reports and analyses.
Riverside Publishing
This site provides information on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, the Ohio Off-Grade Proficiency Test, and a variety of other Riverside tests, including assessment tools for primary grade reading, writing, and math. The company also offers test preparation booklets and tools for scanning, scoring, and tracking student performance on the standardized tests.
Scantron
Known for its scanners and other tools for scoring standardized answer sheets, Scantron has added a number of new accountability options in the past year. ParSYSTEM is the company's new suite of test scoring, test generation, and grade book software for local-area networks. Scantron's new Classroom Wizard Web site features a collection of articles on assessment and accountability, and Quiz Wizard, a tool that collects quiz responses from students--using either a handheld device or a scanner--and allows scores to be instantly available. Also, through a reseller agreement with Logic eXtension Resources, Scantron is now providing Web-based testing.
Scholastic Ireach
Geared to students in grades 2-8, Scholastic's new reading assessment program assigns books to be read offline and then tests students on comprehension and vocabulary. Ireach scores the tests immediately and generates evaluative reports that serve as an indicator of how well a student is likely to perform on five major standardized tests. It's possible to produce individual, group, class, grade, and school-wide progress reports.
TestLynx
TestLynx, owned by Continental Press, offers a CD-ROM package that works with a scanner to score printed tests and generate reports on standards mastered. Tests in reading and math, correlated to standards in several different states, come as part of the package--and TestLynx is working on other states.
See Also - Online resources focused on college entrance and high school exit exams. A few examples include:
Testu.com
Achieva.com
Kaptest.com
Alternative Assessment
The following organizations and Web sites are resources for learning about and obtaining tools to help with performance-based assessment.
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
As part of this nonprofit organization's Rethinking Accountability project, it hosts two Web sites with resources for learning how to look at student work. Helpful tools include a collaborative meeting space where educators can participate in assessment discussions and the opportunity to step through "virtual protocols," such as one on collaborative assessment of student writing. The Rethinking Accountability Project is also building a tool kit with "drawers" containing practical suggestions and examples to help address a variety of accountability issues. Completed at press time were drawers with advice on creating "accountability events" for the discussion of data and goals, and surveys to learn about community perceptions and needs. Future drawers will look at equity issues, analyzing teacher assignments, creating school report cards, and more.
ETS K-12 Works
The Educational Testing Service's new, for-profit subsidiary plans to work with states, districts and other educational organizations to design tests and performance assessment tools that are developmentally appropriate and aligned with standards. The one tool offered online now is Assessment Wizard, developed jointly with Grant Wiggins of re:Learning. It provides teachers with a CD-ROM database of state standards for grades K-12, along with sample performance assessment tasks and rubrics, and a "wizard" that guides users through the process of creating their own authentic assessments.
The National Center on Education and the Economy
NCEE, a not-for-profit organization, has a number of initiatives focused on standards-based reform. Emphasizing the need for clear and high-level achievement standards, the center concentrates on helping states and localities build the capacity to design and implement their own education and training systems. The center's New Standards Project has produced a comprehensive set of internationally benchmarked performance standards for schools and a set of performance assessments in mathematics and English language arts that are matched to the standards--with tests in science and applied learning in development. The National Center provides professional development programs, guidance for portfolio assessment, and technical assistance to support standards-based school reform.
Vantage Learning
Vantage Learning's IntelliMetric division uses artificial intelligence technology to administer and score open-ended essay questions over the Internet. Vantage, which has worked with such groups as the College Board, Edison Schools, and the state of Pennsylvania, contracts its services to organizations interested in piloting this new way of assessing student work.
See Also:
NCS Pearson (above)
Comprehensive Curriculum Offerings
Many of the achievement-oriented instructional systems previously known as "Integrated Learning Systems" have evolved into 21st-century versions, aligned to the latest state and national standards. All include a mix of instruction, assessment and reporting, with a growing number of them offering these features in a Web-based environment instead of (or in addition to) the older client-server model.
The American Education Corporation
The American Education Corporation's A+ý family of courseware products offers broad and in-depth K-12 standards-based content in the areas of language arts, math, writing, science and social sciences. Schools can choose the A+nyWhere Learning Systemý program with 85 available titles, which is an Internet-deliverable model or they have the option of a LAN or CD-ROM model with the A+dvanced Learning Systemý program, which has over 150 titles available. The management system of both programs includes assessment tools, the ability to edit content, detailed progress reports, and the capability to create customized lesson plans.
CompassLearning
CompassLearning, a descendant of the former Jostens Learning System, is now owned by WRC Media. It offers more than 7,000 hours of interactive standards-based curriculum for K-12 math, language arts, and ESL, and 7-12 science, all managed by software that monitors performance, directs students to appropriate reinforcement activities, and generates progress reports. A "virtual" option makes it possible to extend access to Internet-connected Windows users from home, although the complete Compass solution does require a Windows or Macintosh network. Other add-on modules include the Assessment Designer tool for creating customized assessments, and C-Pas computerized practice tests that simulate and score several of the most widely used standardized tests.
Lightspan
Lightspan's Achieve Now uses PCs and PlayStations to offer interactive curriculum, aligned to major standards, for grades K-8. It also includes a variety of support materials and assessment tools, as well as an online option that extends the Achieve Now program to students, teachers, and families from home, via the Internet. The Lightspan Network features lesson plans, Web links, assessments, and tools to help schools communicate with parents about student achievement. Lightspan's subsidiary, EduTest.com, offers a Web-based assessment system that allows educators to create and administer standards-based tests and track school, class, and student progress. It provides immediate feedback to students and follow-up reports for teachers and administrators.
NCS Learn
NCSLearn, from NCS Pearson (see above), offers a number of managed curriculum options, including SuccessMaker for pre-K-8, NovaNET for grades 6-12, Destinations for adult learners, and BoxerMath for grades 3-12. The company's management tools, which differ from one application to the other, all offer the ability to generate reports, monitor student performance, and assign new lessons based on test results. NovaNet is a Web-based application; BoxerMath offers both network and Internet options; SuccessMaker and Destinations both run primarily on a network, with an Internet option that extends some access to users from home.
PLATO Learning
Schools can opt for a Web-hosted ASP model of PLATO's curriculum, as well as LAN or CD-ROM delivery. Subjects covered include reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and job skills, with tutorials and problem-solving activities followed by review, testing, and feedback. Plato's separate Teachmaster site offers tools for generating lists of standards and associated benchmarks or accessing a variety of assessment options. Another PLATO product is the Simulated Test System, which offers Web-based assessments to determine how well prepared students are for state-mandated proficiency exams. Reports can be generated on individual students, classes, and schools. For students using PLATO courseware, a learning path is created based on identified skill gaps.
SkillsTutor.com
This comprehensive online program offers diagnostic testing and customized instruction to prepare middle and high school students for the high-stakes state tests. The online tutorials are based on the SkillsBank curriculum, previously delivered on CD-ROM. Progress reports allow teachers, parents, and administrators to view student performance on assignments and tests. SkillsTutor also has some special programs in place, including a partnership with the National Association of State Directors for Special Education to provide free access to the Web tools for home- or hospital-bound special-needs students. They have also partnered with Milken to offer K-6 instruction in language arts and math. Home users can subscribe to a version of skillstutor.com by visiting testbuddy.com.
The Solutions Go Wireless
Companies such as the three that follow are working to bring the power and flexibility of mobile handheld devices to the world of assessment and accountability.
Mindsurf Networks
Mindsurf's wireless solution aims at improving student achievement through one-on-one computing, regular access to productivity and reference tools, and learning experiences that promote communication and higher-order thinking. The company has recently partnered with EdVISION to offer a version of Assessment Connection that makes it easy for teachers to create assessments with questions aligned to state standards and high-stakes tests. Instant reports on how each student did on the test can be used to direct students to additional resources or individualized assignments for remediation.
NetSchools
NetSchools' Orion Web site allows schools that have adopted the NetSchools hardware-software wireless solution to make online assignments based on state and national standards. Teachers select relevant standards to be taught, view a variety of prescreened Web sites and other resources that address those standards, and assign activities. A grade book tool helps teachers generate reports of student achievement on these activities, and the education services group at NetSchools will work with districts to help design tools for assessing student progress.
Wireless Generation
Wireless Generation builds applications for real-time assessment. Educators use handheld computers and the Wireless Generation software to capture information about student performance at the point of instruction. A variety of analysis and reporting options are offered to manage the data collected in this manner. The company's first product is an early reading diagnosis tool. Other assessments are in development.
Mostly the Standards
The following organizations have well-known databases that allow educators to search for matches between curriculum materials and state standards. Some offer a variety of other standards-related options as well.
Achieve Now
This nonprofit organization dedicated to standards-based reform offers a number of resources and events--including an extensive standards database that allows visitors to search by subject, grade, or category and make comparisons between different states' goals.
EdVISION
EdVISION Corporation specializes in standards-oriented curriculum management for K-12. The company has created a free standards database (also offered by AOL) with state-by-state standards, news, and some curriculum recommendations. In addition, EdVISION sells Curriculum Designer, used by educators to design lessons linked to state and national objectives. EdVISION has partnered with other companies, including Microsoft and Mindsurf Networks (see above), to offer its Assessment Connection testing tool. It also offers computer adaptive tests to assess student progress in several subject areas.
Explorasource
One of the oldest standards databases, Explorasource is now part of the bigchalk family. Teachers can enter a grade level, topic, and standards framework in order to zoom in on specific standards to be emphasized in a particular lesson. Or they can use the ExplorAsource Resource Browser to identify instructional resources--from a database of approximately 2,000 Web sites, software applications, and videos--that most closely address the standards to be covered.
McREL
In addition to offering a variety of standards-related articles, McREL has created a searchable database of standards consolidated from a number of different state and national standards lists.
Teacher Assessment
Diagnosing needs and tracking growth are just as important for teacher learning as it is for K-12 students. Here are a few examples of companies that offer assessment tools for educators.
Creating Change Inc.
Operating mostly in the Northwestern and Midwestern states, this company recently released an Internet-based employee evaluation software package that can help a teaching staff learn and improve. Supervision Assistant gathers quantitative data based on local performance criteria and instructional standards, helping identify areas of need for teacher mentoring or self-evaluation.
iAssessment
iAssessment, an ASP, offers customizable assessment tools to measure the current skills, aptitude, and professional development needs of teachers. California, Indiana, and Arizona use iAssessment's Diagnostic Learning System to determine teachers' technology skills proficiency level and recommend an appropriate professional development plan. A new module, the Teacher Technology Use Survey Module, has recently been introduced in California to gather data on how teachers use technology, the technical support they receive, the professional development they have been involved in, and so on.
TaskStream
This online professional development program offers a number of tools that allow teachers to set professional development goals and monitor progress. TaskStream's peer mentoring model encourages ongoing, personal feedback between educators. Supervisors can view overall reports on tasks in progress or completed as well as feedback provided by mentors.
School and District Report Cards
As more and more districts and states move toward offering report cards for individual schools, three organizations are taking a big-picture view, helping observers narrow in on helpful report cards and gather additional information about school districts around the country.
Heritage Foundation's Report Card Links
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank committed to school choice, offers an extensive resource page designed to help families locate online report card information for schools in their area. A United States map features links to individual states, with listing of public and private report cards that are available for that state. There is also an evaluative look at 10 different state and national report cards and a resource page with a variety of relevant articles.
GreatSchools
GreatSchools offers a national database with test scores and demographic information for schools all over the country. More in-depth school profiles, of private as well as public schools, have been created for two states--Arizona and California--with more promised. Statistics from state departments of education and principals add descriptive info. Analysis tools allow parents to search for and compare schools with the characteristics that are most important to them.
Just for the Kids
This organization started by analyzing Texas data and reporting on school progress in a variety of ways. In addition to reporting basic test scores, for example, they compare each district with the highest-performing schools in the same socioeconomic category and narrow in on students who have been in the school for more than two years, in order to be fair about measuring progress. Just for the Kids is working with other states, including Florida, Tennessee, and Washington to apply this same analytical approach.
Resources for Learning More
AASA Resource Page
This page points to an October 2001 report by the Commission on Instructionally Supportive Assessment, focusing on how to make state tests useful to educators who want to improve instruction. AASA offers a number of other valuable links and articles related to accountability.
Center on Education Policy
The Center on Education Policy, an advocate for public education and more effective public schools, offers articles, position papers, and reports at its Web site. "It Takes More Than Testing: Closing the Achievement Gap" reviews and summarizes the research on the achievement gap between white students and black and Hispanic students, and highlights possible remedies.
Education Commission of the States
The ECS gathers, analyzes, disseminates, and serves as a repository of information on a wide range of education topics, from sources such as state legislation, research studies, reports, surveys, journals, and news articles. The Web site's Issues pages, including ones on Accountability, Standards, and Assessment, offer links to relevant resources. A state map can be used to jump directly to the sites of individual state sites or to learn about key policymakers and initiatives, some of them related to educational accountability.
FairTest
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, an advocacy organization opposed to high-stakes tests, keeps visitors updated on the testing wars and offers a number of arguments against the "misuses and flaws" of standardized testing.
The Learning First Alliance
Learning First is a permanent partnership of 12 leading educational associations (including AASA, ASCD, NASSP, NAESP, AFT, NEA) aiming to improve student learning in America's public elementary and secondary schools. Publications, created in conjunction with ASCD, include reports on achievement in reading and math. An upcoming report will examine a number of high-performing, high-poverty districts.
The National Center for Educational Accountability
This new entity is a joint venture of Just for the Kids (above), the University of Texas at Austin, and the Education Commission of the States (also above). The goal is to elevate the quality of public education in this country.
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
Based at UCLA, CRESST conducts research on topics related to K-12 educational testing. The Web site features articles and reports by a number of CRESST researchers; performance assessments and rubrics for internal assessment; and additional resources for purchase or download.
NCREL
The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory offers a variety of resources related to school reform and accountability. These include many articles and research reports on assessment and standards, plus an impressive collection of data analysis tools to help schools, districts, and states track student achievement and address other accountability challenges. Another NCREL resource, designed to help with performance-based assessment, is the Scoring Guide for Student Products referred to in the article.
MORE @ techlearning.com
Homework Helpers To the Rescue
Many of the homework resources reviewed in the October 2001 issue of T&L include test preparation components
How Well is it Working? Customizing Your Technology Assessment
This February 2001 feature included advice and resources for assessing school and district technology programs.
Playing the Testing Game
Interviews from June 2000 with a number of research experts on the pros and cons of standardized testing.
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