ATI Town Hall Blog

 


ATI In the News


Southern Arizona Schools Choose Online Assessment in Responding to NCLB


TUCSON, AZ/Sept. 2003 – Assessment Technology, Inc. (ATI) announces today that it will provide online assessments to Marana Unified School District, one of southern Arizona’s largest school districts. The focus will be to provide educators with real-time data on student performance, helping educators target instruction where it is needed most and meeting requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Galileo K-12 Online is powerful tool for school systems looking for a way to develop, administer and use customized standards-based tests as part of an effective district achievement plan.


“The Marana School District was looking for a method to give instant feedback to students, teachers and parents regarding how students are progressing on the Arizona Academic Standards. Assessing students online allows us to do that,” says Dr. Ron Rickel, Marana Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction. “Our online assessment system is making available to teachers, accurate, reliable and valid data to aide them in making instructional decisions. With online assessment, teachers are able to have easy access to extensive information and reports as to how their students are doing as soon as the student finishes a test.”


Galileo K-12, with online testing encourages data driven instruction aligned with requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation. This technology presents meaningful data for decision-making, built-in local flexibility and communication between schools and families--all with rapid access and flexible reporting formats. For example, in just one class period a teacher administers a test online, the test is automatically scored as soon as the student is finished, results are posted online and test data can then be aggregated or disaggregated right away for different reporting needs. With Galileo K-12 a parent can promptly see test scores, a teacher can adjust instruction to meet students needs during the school year and an administrator can review reports and make timely data-driven decisions to promote district learning goals.


“We are proud to continue our work with Marana and to have been chosen as the provider of Marana School District’s online assessment and reporting system serving over 12,000 students,” says Dr. Jason Feld, Vice President of Assessment Technology, Inc. “This fall, Galileo K-12 Online will also be implemented in the Flowing Wells District and Vail School District serving 8,000 more students in southern Arizona.”


“In Flowing Wells School District, we have always used paper and pencil assessments as a tool to measure academic achievement. These assessments were extremely labor intensive. An online assessment allows me as the administrator to collect data in a more powerful way because it can be aggregated in several different reporting formats,” says Dr. David Baker, Assistant Superintendent of Flowing Wells School District. “In addition, it (Galileo K-12 Online) allows me to develop more consistent administration of the assessment.”


Rapid access to information is proving to be important for all thirty-six schools in the Flowing Wells, Marana and Vail School Districts using the online approach this fall. “Having data available quickly at a teacher, school, and district level facilitates working with building principals to ensure that our children are mastering the Arizona Academic Standards,” explains Dr. Rickel.


Dr. Jason Feld has been working with school districts in southern Arizona addressing their individual needs. “Most schools are looking for fast access to information which can best be provided through web-based assessment tools. We found that when addressing accountability initiatives a priority for schools is building partnerships and getting the right information at the right time to the right people. It takes everyone involved in an eLearning Community to interact and become a part of the learning process,” says Dr. Feld.


With Galileo K-12 Online administrators, teachers, parents and students can access real time data on academic progress throughout the school year. The assessment data can target areas for instructional improvement and can be used to make decisions crucial for student achievement.


Galileo assessment is helping to engage parents in their children’s education. “Educating children is most effective when there is a partnership between the teacher and parent. Online assessment makes it easy for both to have a common understanding as to what areas a child needs to improve and in what areas the child is doing well. Having access to this information makes it easier for a parent to communicate with the teacher and together devise strategies to help the student,” says Dr. Rickel.


About ATI

Galileo technology is currently used in several hundred educational programs across 31 states representing over 145,000 children. ATI’s mission to create, distribute and support the use of technology to promote learning is accomplished through a powerful line of technology products. Galileo K-12 Online includes Assessment, Reporting, Curriculum and web-based Gradebook/Report Cards. Galileo Online early childhood products include Galileo Preschool, Merlin (family and child information management) and Storyteller (computer-based language and literacy instruction and assessment). Software updates are available through the Internet, meaning users don’t need to install or maintain on-site software and database systems. To learn more about ATI products and services, please visit our web site at www.ati-online.com.


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Contact:
Jody E. Jepson
Public Relations Specialist, ATI
1-877-358-7615
Fax: 520-323-9139
jody@assessmenttech.com