ATI Town Hall Blog

ATI Item Development: Expertise and Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:49:00 +0000

ATI item banks, currently containing more than 80,000 items, are among the largest item banks aligned to standards in the nation. The items within these banks have been developed by experts in the field of assessment and instructional design – our content specialists are highly trained and often former educators themselves. We also value the input of those actively in the education field, thus, during the course of a single school year, ATI items are reviewed by hundreds of educators. The combination of internal processes and continuous review by educators means ATI produces assessments that meet local needs and are highly effective in forecasting student mastery of performance standards and in guiding instruction to enhance student achievement.

The following is a glimpse into ATI’s item and assessment construction process.

Item Specifications

The first step in writing a new item to be included in the ATI item banks is to review the standard to be assessed with the item. The standard is broken down into the component skills that make up the standard. These skills are the starting point for developing a list of item specifications that define the characteristics of the particular class of item to be written.

Item Construction

After specifications have been written, items are constructed corresponding to the specifications using the online Bank Builder tool. Bank Builder includes features that promote item quality, such as allowing for the use of item families, or groups of items, that refer to the same contextual material.

To ensure reliable and efficient measurement of standards, passage length is controlled to ensure that assessments are an appropriate length to fit within the time limits typically found in school settings. Reliability is a direct function of assessment length.

The item construction process also includes attention to important principles of item writing. For example, when writing selected-response items, incorrect alternatives must be plausible answers that represent common mistakes or misunderstandings. By developing constructed-response, interactive, and performance items an opportunity exists for more authentic assessment of student proficiencies. The nature of the standard being assessed is evaluated to find the best alignment for the task (e.g., using constructed-response to measure summarizing; using inclusive performance assessment items to measure a broader standard; using interactive items to practice skills like measuring and observing.)

Careful attention is paid to all text and images related to items to ensure that the material is at the appropriate reading level. One measure of readability used routinely is the Flesch-Kincaid Index, a formula based on the number of words per sentence and the number of syllables per word. Item text and images are also analyzed to ensure appropriate use of technical language and for sensitivity to diversity in backgrounds.

Item Review and Certification

The internal review process for item specifications, items, and item families occurs in three steps. Step one is an independent review using the online bank review tool in Galileo K-12 Online. Reviewers may accept the material being reviewed, reject it, or accept it with modifications. Following the initial review, the material is subjected to a final review. When consensus is reached between the two reviewers and the writer, the material under review is accepted for use. In the case of item review, the item is certified. Only certified items are provided by ATI for use by school districts.

The item review process continues once a certified item is made available for use in an assessment. Items placed in district-designed assessments are subjected to review by each member of the district’s review team during the assessment review process. The development of new items based on district suggestions is one source of the continuing expansion of ATI item banks.

Emerging Technology for Common Core State Standards

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Implementing Common Core State Standards in your district can be made easier by utilizing technology tools for testing and reporting. As the trend moves toward tailoring content to individual students, with assessment data providing educators a gauge of where students’ knowledge growth is at any given time, there is an increased need for a comprehensive assessment system.

To support Common Core State Standards implementation effectively and efficiently, a comprehensive assessment system should include a variety of standards-based assessments, each serving different but complimentary purposes. Within a Common Core State Standards comprehensive assessment system, results from a variety of standards-based assessments should be placed on a common scale – making it possible to compare results over time and create a more complete picture of standards mastery.

The next generation comprehensive assessment system within Galileo K-12 Online is capable of providing an array of Common Core State Standards-aligned assessments. These include:

Pre-built and district customized interim benchmark assessments: Inform instruction and predict student risk of not meeting standards measured by statewide tests.
Formative assessments: Provide information on student learning and the impact of intervention as a part of daily teaching and learning activities.
Standards-aligned pretests and posttests: Measure academic progress over an extended period of time and support state legislative instructional effectiveness initiatives.
Screening instruments: Help identify students at risk for learning problems.
Placement tests: Inform grade-level placements and advanced course placements.
Multi-Stage Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT): Provide efficient measures of academic proficiency and help support targeted instruction and response to intervention initiatives.
Observational assessments: Provide measures of student capabilities as they are demonstrated in the environment in which those capabilities are used.
Final course and summative assessments: Provide measures of student mastery of specific course content.
Test arrays: Small item sets administered on separate occasions and combined for reporting. Ideal when it is not convenient to administer a long test on a single occasion.
Dialogic assessments: Instruction-embedded online assessments making it possible to use assessment information to rapidly adjust instruction and to track instructional outcomes.
ASK Technology: Allows for automated importation of assessments initially built outside Galileo. Once assessment is imported, ASK offers the capability of aligning to standards, automated scoring (selected-response items), reporting, and data aggregation.

Experience Galileo K-12 Online during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address your goal of raising student achievement. To register, visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), call 1.877.442.5453, email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com, or visit us at the following events:

Colorado League of Charter Schools and Assessment Technology Incorporated free seminar, “Galileo K-12 Instructional Improvement System: Supporting Colorado Educational Initiatives with Comprehensive Assessment” May 16 at the Colorado League of Charter Schools, Conference Room, Denver, Colorado. Click here to register.
43rd Annual CASE Conference July 23 through 27 at the Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, Colorado.
Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Annual Executive Institute July 11 and 12 at the Mashpee High School, Mashpee, Massachusetts.

ATI Content Specialist Recognized in Illustrative Mathematics Task Writing Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:57:00 +0000

ATI wishes to congratulate Aaron Stidham, an ATI Content Specialist in Mathematics, for having his work selected for the Illustrative Mathematics Task Writing Contest. Illustrative Mathematics is a project of Dr. Bill McCallum, the Math Team Coordinator for Common Core State Standards. The purpose of the Illustrative Math web site is described as:

“Illustrative Mathematics will provide guidance to states, assessment consortia, testing companies, and curriculum developers by illustrating the range and types of mathematical work that students will experience in a faithful implementation of the Common Core State Standards, and by publishing other tools that support implementation of the standards.”

Aaron submitted a task of comparing volumes of aquariums using cross-sections to determine if the volumes were equal. His task has been judged to be an effective illustration of the high school math standard G-GMD 2: Give an informal argument using Cavalieri's principle for the formulas for the volume of a sphere and other solid figures. Aaron's example is scheduled to be placed on the site soon, and a link will be posted here once it is published.

Aaron also has submitted an additional example illustrating F-BF3: Build new functions from existing functions, still under consideration for inclusion.

We are proud of Aaron's commitment to promoting educational quality through clear and illustrative examples that assist educators in implementing Common Core State Standards-aligned materials for the benefit of their students. Aaron and the other members of our math content team at ATI are committed to continuing ATI's outstanding service to our educational partners as we all transition to Common Core State Standards.

Galileo K-12 Online Categorical Growth Summary Report Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:54:00 +0000

How are your schools preparing to show data on expected student growth per teacher? You can now review expected growth rate data within Galileo K-12 Online by running the new Categorical Growth Summary Report. An educator can utilize this data to monitor their students’ growth between two assessments and an administrator can utilize this data for an educator’s evaluation.

How does Categorical Growth Analysis work?
The Categorical Growth Analysis (CGA) model provides an objective evaluation of the magnitude of student growth. ATI uses the CGA approach to evaluate student growth from the pretest to the posttest that can be applied even to individual classrooms, regardless of district/charter school size. This is how the approach works:

Cut scores for the pretest and posttest are established. The cut scores on the posttest are raised relative to those on the pretest by the amount of progress that is expected over the course of the year. The posttest cut score is based on the average expected growth across a large number of districts.
Classify students at Time 1 (the first test/pretest) with regard to whether they demonstrated mastery of the state standards.
At Time 2 (the second test/posttest), track whether each student's mastery classification stays the same as it was at Time 1, or changes.
Focus on the students who changed mastery status from Time 1 to Time 2.
The hope is that more students will have moved from non-mastery to mastery than from mastery to non-mastery.
Conduct a chi-square analysis to determine if the number of students moving in one direction is significantly greater than the number of students moving in the other direction.

To evaluate the educators’ effectiveness, the chi-square analysis yields the following outcomes:

Expected growth is not maintained. This outcome is supported in those instances in which there is a significant decrease in the relative proportion of students achieving standards mastery.
Expected growth is maintained. This outcome is supported in those instances in which there is no significant change.
Expected growth is exceeded. This outcome is supported in those instances in which there is a significant increase in the relative proportion of students achieving standards mastery.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact your Field Services Coordinator at 1.877.442.5453 or email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com.

Benchmark Assessment Options

noreply@blogger.com (Karyn White, M.A.) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Should students be assessed based on instruction provided during the benchmark period or should the majority of standards and/or skills assessed by the state-wide assessment be assessed on each benchmark? This question is asked frequently by ATI clients.

ATI recommends that school districts assess based on instruction if:
• all teachers in the school district agree to follow a pacing guide.
• the school district has a group of at least 350 students all able to follow the same pacing guide.
• the school district has a comprehensive pacing guide that includes the majority of standards and/or skills assessed by the state-wide assessment

Students seeing only material with which they are familiar and having the ability to include more items on each standard, thereby helping with differentiation of standard mastery levels, are benefits to assessing students based on instruction.

In contrast, when a school district has many different pacing guides, challenges with assessing based on instruction arise. Differing views about which standards should be assessed on which benchmarks tend to surface when teachers are not all on the same pacing guide. It is difficult to make decisions about which classrooms and pacing guides should take precedence over the others.

In addition, analyzing data and making predictions on how students will do on a test is most effective when 350 or more students take an assessment. Having fewer than 350 students taking an assessment may cause assessment data to be less stable

A further consideration when deciding between benchmark assessments based only on instruction and benchmarks based on all grade-level standards is the extent to which the district’s pacing guide covers the majority of state-tested standards/skills. If the district pacing guide does not cover the majority of standards/skills included in the state-wide assessment, the district may want to consider a broader assessment than one based solely on instruction. Two ways to accomplish this are given in the paragraph below. An example of the reason to consider an assessment broader than instruction-only items would be the situation in which a district does not include probability in sixth grade pacing guide. In this case, sixth grade students who do not already know probability are at an automatic disadvantage when taking the state-wide test if it includes probability items. Therefore the district may want to test mastery of probability even though it is not on the pacing guide.

ATI offers alternatives for school districts who struggle with one or more of these challenges. For example, a benchmark assessment that assesses all grade level standards provides relevant development level information for students no matter what pacing guide their teachers are following, allows a greater number of students to take the same assessment, and will pinpoint areas where groups of students have not mastered concepts which will be assessed on the state tests. It is also the case that when pacing guides do not cover the majority of the standards/skills measured on the state-wide assessment, customized instruction-based assessments can be built that include targeted standards/skills not part of the pacing guide but included in state-wide testing.

-Karyn White, M.A.
Educational Management Services Director

School Readiness Mini-Trainings at the NHSA Annual Training Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:27:00 +0000

With national focus on school-readiness goals, Head Start programs more reasons than ever to demonstrate program positive child outcomes. Assessment Technology Incorporated will be offering mini-trainings at the National Head Start Conference Annual Training on Wednesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 19. The trainings will discuss the path to school readiness through Galileo Progress Reports with school readiness scale and Milestone Reports with program-defined readiness skills/goals.

The mini-trainings will cover a variety of topics including how to demonstrate program-level child progress using ability scores and mastery of school readiness skills with the Progress Report, and how to focus data aggregation and data analysis on program-defined subsets of school readiness skills and goals using the Milestone Reports.

The Path to School Readiness: Galileo Progress Reports with School Readiness Scale
Wednesday, April 18, and Thursday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m.-10:20 a.m.

Learn how the Galileo Pre-K Online Progress Reports with school readiness scale data provide actionable information to help pave the way in preparing children for kindergarten. See a live demonstration of Galileo Pre-K Online showing educators how they can aggregate and analyze child assessment data at multiple points during the year. The demonstration will offer examples of Child Progress Reports that provide data, including school readiness scale data, for decision-making. These reports show program-level child progress using ability scores and achievement levels, a baseline from which growth can be measured, patterns of progress that help to establish different goals for different groups of children, and progress data to create achievement goals for the next observation period. Find out more by attending this mini-training at exhibit #323.

The Path to School Readiness: Galileo Milestone Reports with Program-Defined Readiness Skills/Goals
Wednesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.-2:20 p.m.

Attend this session to learn how Head Start programs are focusing data aggregation and analysis on essential school readiness goals that support children as they transition into kindergarten. Galileo Pre-K Online Milestone Reports provide critical child assessment data on subsets of school readiness skills that are of importance to the individual learning needs of children. The Galileo Milestone Reports can be run at multiple points during the year and help educators plan, assess, and demonstrate achievement of their school readiness goals for children. Gain insights on how to monitor plans toward attaining successful outcomes for specific groups of children and how to apply filters, such as age, when running the Galileo Milestone Reports. ATI offers planning suggestions to help educators select readiness goals to include in program action plans. Find out more by attending this mini-training at exhibit #323.

Experience Galileo Online during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address your goal of raising student achievement. To register, visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), call 1.877.442.5453, email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com, or visit us at the following events:

National Head Start Association (NHSA) 39th Annual National Training Conference with Galileo Pre-K Mini-Trainings “The Path to School Readiness: Galileo Progress Reports with School Readiness Scale” and “The Path to School Readiness: Galileo Milestone Reports with Program-Defined Readiness Skills/Goals" April 17 through 20 at the Gaylord Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee, exhibit #323.
Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) Annual Conference April 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Illinois exhibit #100.

The Skinny on Instructional Effectiveness System Development and Roll-Out Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:56:00 +0000

Have you ever hoped that a new service would be available as soon as it is has become someone’s dream? Have you ever wondered what occurs behind the scenes in preparation for rolling-out a new service? The material below is a very short explanation of the steps involved in bringing ATI’s most recent new service component to Galileo users.

Getting a new service to end users is a very complex process. ATI is currently rolling out the Instructional Effectiveness Assessment System – a new service component in the Galileo K-12 Instructional Improvement System. Would it surprise you to know that the planning for this new service component began over two years ago? As you would imagine, the first step in the process was the recognition that districts would benefit by having a reliable and valid method for measuring the effectiveness of instruction integrated within the context of student education. Once the initial recognition had occurred, ATI management began to flush out defining characteristics that would be important in such a service component. A few of the questions that had to be answered in this phase included: What data should the system contain? How should that data be obtained? How and to whom should the data be reported? What types of data analysis would be most effective in understanding and using the data? How do you add yet another evaluation process without interfering with the educational process? Periodically potential end users were asked to look at the plans as they were being developed and to provide feedback on the emerging plan’s characteristics.

Once the overall conceptualization of the service had begun to take shape, the ATI computer design staff was presented with the defining characteristics of the project. Their tasks included designing the interfaces that would be needed in the gathering and displaying of data in a user-friendly way and which were associated with each of the goals of the project. The computer designers not only had to figure effective ways to display the data gathering portion of the system but they also had to design the ways in which the data could be most effectively presented to those would be using it in data-driven decision making and communication.

As the computer designers moved toward basic design completion, they worked interactively with the ATI software engineers whose tasks included developing the technological solutions required to accomplish the goals of the plan. The IT department was brought into the process as it is their responsibility to ensure that the technology required for all services is available at all times. They evaluated the then current infrastructure to ensure its ability to handle each aspect of addition the new service component. Additionally at this point, the ATI communication staff was introduced to the project and charged first with developing a plan to inform Galileo users of the instructional effectiveness benefits and functionality of the instructional effectiveness system and then to develop supporting materials to communicate these benefits and functionality to Galileo users. The ATI professional development team was also involved at this point as it is their task to provide professional development sessions to assist the ATI field services staff to fully understand the new service and to assist users maximize all tools/services within the Galileo instructional improvement system including new ones.

Toward the later stages of this developmental process, 38 Arizona school districts participated in a pilot of the instructional effectiveness project. These districts are in the process of providing feedback part of which has already been incorporated into the system. ATI is grateful to these districts for piloting the system and for providing excellent feedback to make the system even more exciting.

And so the process goes each time a new service is prepared for the Galileo instructional improvement system. It is a complex set of operations and we love doing it. Hopefully, you enjoy having new service components as they are developed.

Next-Generation Data Importation: Flexibility for the Future of Your School

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon Smith) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:11:00 +0000

The Arizona Framework for Measuring Teacher Effectiveness, Colorado State Council for Educator Effectiveness, The Massachusetts Task force on the Evaluation of Teachers and Administrators… that which we call “Instructional Effectiveness” (IE) by any other name would still require accurate student enrollment and demographic information. With apologies to William Shakespeare, widespread interest in measuring the effectiveness of teachers has spawned legislation in many states outlining assessment requirements to guide the evaluation process for effectiveness of instructors and school administrators.

The need to measure progress regularly lies at the heart of instructional effectiveness initiatives, and the ability to achieve positive results. To do so, districts will need to ensure accountability for changes within the instructional improvement system (IIS) to match the student information system (SIS) regularly, throughout the annual assessment cycle. Many state education systems face the question of how to achieve measurable, positive IE results and it can be daunting. But never fear, the Galileo Data Import (GDI) module is here to help! GDI is time-tested, having imported in excess of one million student records since being introduced over ten years ago. In addition to student enrollment and demographic information, GDI can also be used to update Galileo K-12 with teacher information, class-level and student user accounts, and IE-relevant course information such as subject area and grade level.

As part of the Galileo IIS, all client districts are availed of the GDI module. The purpose of GDI is to allow districts to update student enrollment and demographic information with the frequency needed to support classroom initiatives – whether monthly or daily updates, GDI can meet the need.

Major advantages of the Galileo Data Import module include:

Cost: In the increasingly challenging financial climate many state education systems face questions about how to fund worthy initiatives like IE. Client districts are able to update student enrollment with the frequency necessary to ensure classroom success at no additional cost over the annual Galileo K-12 subscription rate.

Data Pre-Validation: To start each program year, every district in need of frequent data importation will go through a validation process to ensure the export format meets their needs and the requirements of the Galileo IIS. Once this is complete, student information system export files generated using a consistent format are assured of uploading efficiently and without risk to existing Galileo data.

Extensibility: Unlike many data exchange frameworks, GDI is flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of the district SIS and data storage needs – at any point in the program year. This includes changes such as altering the format of a particular field (e.g., class name) up to, and including, the addition of new data fields at any time.

A key advantage of this flexibility with regards to IE is the ability to add course subject data to the Galileo IIS. Whether the information is stored in your SIS or you export a list of courses and update the subject manually, accurate alignment of district courses to the subject being taught is possible with the Galileo IIS and GDI.

Automation: Many student information systems are capable of scripted export. Add to these a batch FTP transfer to ATI servers and the entire import process can be “hands free” for the district once the initial pre-validation is completed.

The measurement of instructional effectiveness and student growth present the opportunity to perform timely intervention and create dynamic, customized assessments. Continuous measurement, evaluation and adaptation of the assessment system enable a district to enhance learning for all students. The Galileo Data Import module sets the table with up-to-date, accurate student data. If you would you like to learn more about frequent updates through GDI, please refer to the K-12 Importation Instructions or contact your Field Services Coordinator at (877) 358-7617.

How can teachers use student assessment data to improve student learning and target their indi-vidual needs?

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:49:00 +0000

This excerpt from Tools to Reform, discusses the challenges related to elevating student learning faced by Creighton School District and how the district overcame the challenges with the help of WestEd and ATI. Read the full story here.

At the Creighton School District in Phoenix, Arizona, educators wanted an assessment system that could guide teachers to make the best instructional decisions for each child. There was urgency for the task: In 2008, the Arizona Department of Education had designated Creighton as a failing district, slated for state takeover. Six of its nine schools had been labeled “Underperforming” and one as “Failing to Meet to Academic Standards.”

… [In that same year, Creighton] launched a reform initiative that led to a remarkable turnaround: Today, eight of its schools have been relabeled “Performing Plus” and one is “Highly Performing,” based on Ari-zona Learns achievement profiles. Creighton is no longer a failing district. How did Creighton achieve this dramatic improvement? A key ingredient for their success, say district leaders, was changing how they assessed students and, more importantly, how they analyzed results to fine-tune instruction. “This district,” says Dr. Lynne Spiller, Creighton’s Director of Research and Evaluation, “believes profoundly that there is no reason to assess a child if you are not going to use the data to determine the best instructional decisions for that child.”

Integrating assessment with instruction and curriculum was a cornerstone of the district’s reform plan. Creighton wanted to build a system that gave classroom teachers immediate data—not just a test score but assessments that were diagnostic, showing student misconceptions about learning objectives and how to address them. The system was developed in partnership with WestEd, a nonprofit research and service agency, and Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI), whose Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System (IIS) provided a powerful and innovative technological compo¬nent for the reform effort. *Dr. Jason Feld, Vice President of Corporate Projects at ATI, describes Gali¬leo as a comprehensive set of assessment, reporting, instructional, and intervention tools “designed to support educator goals to elevate student learning.” These tools, he adds, are research-based, reliable, and aligned to both state standards and the new Common Core State Standards.

*ATI began developing Galileo assessment technology in Arizona and currently provides Galileo to pre-K programs, K-12 districts, and charter schools in 35 states. In Arizona, they currently partner with 182 K-12 districts and charter schools.
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Experience Galileo K-12 Online during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address your goal of raising student achievement. To register, visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), call 1.877.442.5453, email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com, or visit us at the following events:

Common Core and School Improvement Symposium hosted by Pearson with an ATI presentation “Elevating Student Achievement: A Close-Up Look at Galileo and Common Core Assessments in Hawaii” March 5 at the Sheraton in Waikiki Oahu, Hawaii and March 6 at the Wailea Beach Marriott Maui, Hawaii.
Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP) Annual Spring Conference March 11 and 12 at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Windgate Exhibition Hall, Osage Beach, Missouri.
California Small School Districts' Association (SSDA) 29th Annual Conference March 28-30 at the Radisson Hotel Sacramento, Sacramento, California.
Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) Annual Conference April 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Illinois.

What is the DL Score… and, how can it be my Pre-K tool?

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:37:00 +0000

Firstly, what is it?

The Developmental Level (DL) Score is a path-referenced score and a summarized measure of ability. This score indicates a child’s position on the path of developmental progress. When generated for an aggregate group of children it will reveal the group’s average position on the path of development. The path is comprised of a series of empirically ordered capabilities outlining a developmental progression for each scale or developmental area.

Secondly, how is it helpful?

When we know a child’s or group’s ability, as summarized by the DL score, we know the kinds of things that have been learned and the things that the child or group is ready to learn now and in the future. The DL score is a data point for goal planning and monitoring progress towards achieving program-wide goals. For individuals, the DL score drives the identification of emerging skills.

Thirdly, how can I make use of it?

After the teacher contributes knowledge of a child’s ability by saving observations, Galileo will identify emerging capabilities as “Ready Now”/“Plan Now” goals. These readiness suggestions provide the basis for planning appropriately challenging learning opportunities. Because developmental ability progress is measured in terms of change in position on a scale, it will be helpful to know how the DL score correlates to achievement levels. Check this link to see the chart detailing each assessment scale’s DL score range and its corresponding achievement level of Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced.

-Deborah Kinzer, Field Services Coordinator

Benefits of Instructional Effectiveness Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:21:00 +0000

As mentioned in a blog last week, in the next few months ATI will release a system for evaluating instruction that integrates data on teacher and administrator proficiency with data on student academic progress. A brief summary of the benefits provided by the Galileo Instructional Effectiveness Assessment System (IEAS) is outlined below. Further details regarding benefits are available in the 2012 white paper titled Instructional Effectiveness Assessment available here.

Benefits include:

Valid and reliable IEAS assessments in math, reading/English language arts (ELA), science, and writing.
Analysis techniques and reports to evaluate student achievement data in the context of educator evaluation.
Support for instructional effectiveness (IE) assessment for non-state tested content areas such as music, art, and physical education.
Tools to design customized educator rating scales aligned to educator effectiveness scales such as the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Educational Leadership Policy Standards, and individual state department of education standards.
Tools to record and report on data from observations, interviews, and other data sources to rate each teacher and administrator on the elements in the rating scales.
Tools with which each school district may customize the relative weights applied to evaluation scores as recommended by individual state departments of education. These tools allow districts to adjust the weights applied to student performance data and educator/administrator rating elements to determine final effectiveness scores.
Algorithms and reporting tools that summarize student performance data and educator/administrator evaluation data from many sources to generate an Overall Evaluation Score for each teacher and administrator.

If you would like to participate in the IEAS pilot and are a current Galileo K-12 Online user, please contact your Field Services Coordinator at 1.877.442.5453 to learn more.

Teacher and Administrator Rating Scales: A new way of doing things

noreply@blogger.com (Elyse) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Ratings of teachers and administrators have long been a part of instructional evaluation. Many districts have written their own tools and rubrics to conduct such evaluations. Others have made use of rating scales devised by outside vendors. Until recent legislative initiatives such as SB 1040 in Arizona, there has been little structure or uniformity in the way ratings are implemented and how the results are used across different districts.

A large volume of research exists to guide the construction of teacher and administrator rating scales. Moreover, a number of instruments have been developed based on the extensive body of existing knowledge regarding instructional effectiveness. The existing body of research on instruction provides a useful foundation for meeting challenges associated with the rapidly growing interest and related legislation aimed at improving the quality of instruction in the nation’s schools.

The major challenge emerging from the new demand for instructional evaluation is the need to integrate information on ratings of teacher and administrator effectiveness with data on student progress. Effective integration requires continuing research evaluating the relationship between ongoing ratings of teacher and administrator proficiency and current measures of student progress. The focus of this research will be to evaluate the extent to which high quality instruction is associated with high levels of student achievement.

In the next few months we will be releasing a system for evaluating instruction that integrates data on teacher and administrator proficiency with data on student academic progress. The new system will bring many advantages that are not available with the traditional way of doing things. One of the most important advantages will be support for the development of customized tools for teacher and administrator evaluation. One size does not fit all. Customization is made possible by the application of the same sophisticated psychometric analyses that are applied to producing customized benchmark assessments for use evaluating student learning. All of this is accomplished by building a bank of rating scale items that are “all on the same scale.” This means that scores may be calculated from any set of items and compared meaningfully to a score from any other set. Progress may be followed and decisions made from the comparison. Progress may be meaningfully followed while still retaining the ability to have a focused tool that taps directly into the skills that are important at any one given time.

The new approach will also provide proficiency scale scores that can be meaningfully applied to understanding what works in the classroom with the district’s own kids. Ratings from scales constructed in this fashion may be brought to bear in analysis of student outcomes. What is truly effective and what is not may be easily identified.

We are scheduling the release of the new system this spring at which time we will be conducting pilot testing of the new approach.

John Bergan, Ph.D.
Vice President Research and Development

Common Core Standards: Integrating Local Accountability and a Comprehensive Assessment System

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:03:00 +0000

The Common Core State Standards call for a new, powerful view of education. Teaching and assessing the standards is not enough. Districts need an integration of systems and a culture of change.

More districts are looking to build a comprehensive assessment model that is driven at the local level. Register for the online webinar “Common Core Standards: Integrating Local Accountability and a Comprehensive Assessment System” hosted by WestEd SchoolsMovingUp, ATI, and Creighton Unified School District on February 29, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. P.T. This webinar serves as a continuation of the WestEd webinar, Common Core Standards: Transitioning to New Rigor.

The speakers will review how districts can think about the new rigor required in building a local comprehensive assessment system. Attendees will learn about:

Decisions faced by districts across the country when considering aligning curriculum with the Common Core State Standards and building an integrated assessment system to meet the requirements of the new rigor.
Creighton School District's (Arizona) process of thinking about how to approach assessment and working with WestEd.
Districts' use of ATI’s comprehensive assessment system in meeting the assessment and instructional challenges inherent in the Common Core State Standards.

Presenters include:

Joseph Sassone, Director, Integrated Services and the LAPDS Program, WestEd
Liz Jameyson, Senior Program Associate, WestEd
Robert Rosenfeld, Associate Director, Local Accountability Professional Series, WestEd
Jason Feld, Ph.D., Vice President Corporate Projects, ATI
Craig Mayhew, Field Services Director, ATI
Dr. Lynne Spiller, Director of Research and Evaluation, Creighton School District

To register, click here.

Experience Galileo K-12 Online during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address your goal of raising student achievement. To register, visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), call 1.877.442.5453, email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com, or visit us at the following events:

Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP) Annual Spring Conference March 11 and 12 at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Windgate Exhibition Hall, Osage Beach, Missouri.
California Small School Districts' Association (SSDA) 29th Annual Conference March 28-30 at the Radisson Hotel Sacramento, Sacramento, California.
Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) Annual Conference April 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Illinois.

Student Assessment History

noreply@blogger.com (KerridanSmith) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:54:00 +0000

What is the easiest way to access all the assessment data for one of my students?

While Galileo provides users with many reports that may be run on individual students, the most popular and most inclusive of these reports is the Student Assessment History Report.

Where do I find the Assessment History report?
The Student Assessment History may be accessed from a number of places in the Galileo application. Generally teachers find it easiest to access the Assessment History from the Class Roster on the Dashboard page.

About Assessment History
The Assessment History Report displays assessment data for all the years and tests (benchmark, formative, and external) that the student has taken. It allows the teacher to see how students did on previous tests and to what degree they have mastered other grade-articulated standards. You may access the Individual Profile report and the Student Benchmark Profile page for the selected student.

The Head Start Portrait of Child Outcomes is Expanding

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Great news for all Head Start programs utilizing Galileo Pre-K Online. If not already a participant, you are invited to become a participant in the 2011-2012 expansion of the Head Start Portrait of Child Outcomes. The Portrait, initiated several years ago by Head Start programs throughout the nation, is a grass roots initiative in collaboration with Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI) in which Head Start programs join together, pool their data, and share information with the public. The portrait creates a vehicle to showcase the success of Head Start in promoting children's learning and development and thus to also showcase success in fostering their school readiness skills.

The 2011-2012 Portrait will reflect children's ongoing learning and progress in the 11 Domains and 37 Domain Elements comprising the Head Start Child Development and Learning Framework. Portrait data are automatically recorded online by Head Start programs and are available in real-time for reporting purposes. Thus, there is a unique opportunity to provide the Head Start community, researchers, policy-makers and the public with a continuous and changing portrait of outcomes reflecting the course of children's learning throughout the program year.

Register to Participate*

To participate, click here for the registration form, and return completed form to ATI. Participation in the Head Start Portrait is completely voluntary. There is no cost or additional work involved in becoming a Portrait participant.

For more information, click here, contact an ATI Field Services Coordinator at GalileoInfo@ati-online.com or call 1.877.358.7611.

*By participating, your program's Galileo Online demographic and assessment data will be included in the aggregated data for the Portrait of Child Outcomes. Your program name will be listed as a participant, but no data specific to your program, classes, or children will be shared or identified.

Benefits of a Comprehensive Assessment System

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

A well-designed comprehensive assessment system includes different types of assessments to serve the needs of students from preschool to grade 12. The Galileo K-12 Online next generation comprehensive assessment system is part of a fully integrated, standards-based instructional improvement system, offering comprehensive instructional and assessment tools.

Comprehensive assessment system benefits:

Changes the way assessments are used in education by providing increased information to guide instructional decision-making.
Places results from a variety of assessments on a common scale. The use of a common scale makes is possible to directly compare results from different assessments, offering a more complete picture of academic accomplishments.
Increases assessment efficiency. In the Galileo K-12 Online comprehensive assessment system, a technology platform common across assessment types is developed to facilitate implementation of the system. The platform includes artificial intelligence routines that guide the construction, review, publication, security, scheduling, administration, and scoring of tests, plus psychometric analyses, reporting, and the provision of actionable decision options.
Provides system monitoring tools making it possible to guide system implementation. These tools include information regarding when tests have been constructed, reviewed, revised, and delivered. Monitoring information also provides data on the extent to which different types of assessment are used. This information can be used to guide a customized assessment plan.

Galileo K-12 Online assessments and reports accurately forecast student performance on statewide assessments.

Galileo K-12 Online assessments are reliable and provide consistent estimates of student ability.

Galileo K-12 Online reports indicate whether adequate growth rates were achieved within each district, school, or classroom.

Galileo K-12 Online Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis and reports support Instructional Effectiveness initiatives.

Experience Galileo K-12 Online during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address your goal of raising student achievement. To register, visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), call 1.877.442.5453, email GalileoInfo@ati-online.com, or visit us at the following events:

Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) 12th Annual Winter Leadership Conference February 2 and 3 at the Westin Hotel, Westminster, Colorado.
Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS) 18th Annual Conference February 23 and 24 at the Omni Interlocken Resort, Broomfield, Colorado.
California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) 19th Annual Conference February 27-March 1 at the Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, California.
Watch for details about the upcoming Common Core webinar to be hosted by WestEd and Assessment Technology Incorporated on February 29.

Colorado Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Congratulations to several Galileo K-12 Online users for their recent accolades – having schools within their districts awarded the Colorado Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award for exceptional student growth.

“On the school performance framework that is used by the state to evaluate schools, these schools ‘exceed’ expectations on the indicator related to longitudinal academic growth and ‘meet or exceed' expectations on the indicator related to academic growth gaps,” said the Colorado Department of Education website.

ATI is proud to be the partner of so many schools across the nation who have worked to raise student achievement and we are pleased to see these schools being recognized for their accomplishments.

A Time Saver for K-2 Teachers: The Early Benchmark Literacy Assessment Series

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:28:00 +0000

As an experienced kindergarten teacher, searching for ways to maximize instructional teaching time with my students was one of my foremost goals. My students were formally tested three times a year and this was a very time consuming task as each child needed to be tested individually. With budget cuts, paraprofessional assistance was not offered, and that left the assessing up to me, the teacher. There was also the added dilemma of how to manage 25-30 other five year olds while testing individuals, not to mention the loss of quality instructional time. During each testing period, it generally took a minimum of 10 minutes to assess each child for language arts alone. In a classroom of 25 students, this meant over 250 quality instructional minutes lost, three times a year.

The Galileo Early Literacy Benchmark Assessment Series (ELBAS) tests offers an effective way to get literacy testing done in a short period of time. In a computer lab situation, the entire class can be tested on standards based objectives in 30-45 minutes. In a classroom environment, one or two students can be testing independently while the teacher continues to teach. The test responses are automatically recorded and scored online and are available to the teacher to help guide instruction. There is no loss of instructional time and the potential for frustrating interruptions and behavioral issues are no longer an issue. The ELBAS tests are offered for grades K-2 and inform teachers if their students are on track to pass state testing benchmarks by the end of grade 3. The ELBAS tests are a positive experience for students and teachers alike, help streamline assessment, and offer a wonderful time-saving solution for teachers during assessment periods. In addition, ATI can analyze the assessments and provide Developmental Levels to show growth over the course of the year.

Click here to see more information about the early literacy assessments.

-Laura Babcock, Educational Management Services Coordinator

Testing Activity Report

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Galileo K-12 Online includes a number of useful administrative reports designed for such tasks as checking demographic data for errors and monitoring user activity. One of the administrative reports available in Galileo K-12 Online that may be particularly useful this time of year is the Testing Activity Report. This report can be run at the district or school level and can assist administrators in monitoring the extent to which scheduled benchmark or formative assessments have been taken.

To use the Testing Activity Report, the administrator selects a timeframe for assessments he or she wishes to monitor. A key feature is that you can select whether to display all tests administered during the selected time period, only benchmark tests, or only formative tests.

The resulting report lists all the selected assessments scheduled during the chosen time period, the number of students scheduled to take the tests, and the number who have done so.

If the Testing Activity Report is generated at the school level, another useful feature is that administrators can drill-down to get a list of classes and the percent of completion for each. With this information, administrators can identify potential problems and work with their staff toward a solution.

Producing Significant Positive Changes in Children’s Cognitive Functioning

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:06:00 +0000

*

As early as 1991, research findings from a study undertaken by John R. Bergan, founder and current President of ATI, indicated that a brief, two-month implementation of an intervention in which assessment information was gathered to guide instruction had a direct effect on the acquisition of basic math and reading skills. The acquisition of these skills had a significant effect on promotion to the first grade and on referral to and placement in special education. In the control condition, one in every 3.69 children was referred for possible placement in special education. In the intervention condition, only one out of every 17 children was referred. In the control condition, approximately one out of every five children was placed in special education. In the intervention condition, only one out of every 71 children was placed in special education. Gathering assessment information to guide instruction continues to drive the design of the Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System.

Current independent research funded by recipients of a federal grant administered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and implemented by MAGI Services demonstrated strong evidence that the benchmark pilot project was a success. The Galileo K-12 Online assessments were shown to provide teachers with a tool to inform and shape their instruction with the goal of increased student mastery of learning standards. Read Full Paper

Other success stories can be found on our website at ati-online.com. Contact your Field Services Coordinator with your success stories. We would be privileged to share them in subsequent blogs.

*J.R. Bergan, I.E. Sladeczek, R.D. Schwarz, American Educational Research Journal (Volume 28, Number 3 - Fall 1991). pp. 683-714, © 1991 by American Educational Research Association. Reprinted by Permission of SAGE Publications.

Computerized Adaptive Testing…a better way with Galileo K-12 Online

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) is a form of assessment in which administered items are selected based on the ability levels of the students. Initial item selection is typically based on the assumption that the test taker is of average ability; subsequently selected items are based on ability estimates obtained from preceding responses. This approach optimizes precision by increasing the selection of items that are neither too easy nor too difficult. CAT is efficient and quickly identifies gaps in student learning.

Even better is the fact that ATI automates the construction of computerized adaptive tests. Tests are generated by ATI from an Assessment Planner that defines the item pool to be used in selecting items for the adaptive assessment. Automated construction provides ATI the capability to generate customized computerized adaptive tests to meet unique district needs.

The Galileo Computerized Adaptive Testing Pilot is an integral part of ATI’s next generation comprehensive assessment system and is completely integrated into ATI’s Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System. Adaptive assessments serve many purposes including guiding instruction, monitoring progress, screening, and assisting in placement decisions.

Integration within Galileo ensures that teaching staff and administrators have easy and rapid access to the full range of innovative assessment, reporting, curriculum, and measurement tools provided all within one system. ATI’s comprehensive assessment system is part of our ongoing commitment to continuous innovation so that school districts and charter schools can continuously build their own capacity to lead change in ways that enhance the quality and impact of education on our nation’s children and youth.

ATI's approach to Computerized Adaptive Testing is discussed in greater depth in Composition of a Comprehensive Assessment System.

Experience Galileo during an online overview and see how it provides a better way to address the goal of raising student achievement. You can visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), participate in an online overview by registering either through the website or by calling 1.877.442.5453 to speak with a Field Services Coordinator, or visit us at the
• Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) 71st Annual Conference December 8 through 11 at the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA)/ Arizona School Administrators (ASA) 54th Annual Conference December 15 through 16 at the Biltmore Conference Center, Phoenix, Arizona.

Data Access Protection By Cloud-Based Service Providers

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon Smith) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:57:00 +0000

In an earlier post, I discussed some key benefits of cloud-based services, or Software as a Service (SaaS). While the benefits are significant, there are risks that must be considered when making decisions about SaaS.
To approach these risks and some of the questions prospective users of cloud-based services might ask, it is easiest to break the risks down into categories. In today’s post, I’ll take a look at two key questions potential SaaS users might have about data access control and protection:

How can data be kept safe from unauthorized access? Whether a cloud-based service is used for student information systems (SIS), instructional improvement systems (IIS), data warehousing or more than one, ensuring the protection of sensitive student data is taken seriously by educators and the vendors providing these services. Effective implementation of security measures in the following areas provides protection for externally-stored student data on par with the security achieved by housing data on internal servers:

Security Hardware: Security hardware includes firewalls that filter network traffic to (and from) application and data servers and inspect each packet for a threat, dropping traffic when a threat is present. Another effective type of security hardware is load balancers or cache engines that offload direct access to application servers and prevent operating system exploits.
Security Software: The baseline of any effective secure software environment includes up-to-date operating systems on all application and data servers. Microsoft revealed in the first half of 2011, less than one percent of the exploits discovered took advantage of a “zero day vulnerability” (one that had not yet been patched by the vendor). This means over 99 percent of the attacks were preventable merely by maintaining well-patched operating systems and software. Also falling in the category of security software is the antivirus and computer security software suite. Finally, effective use of change management software can help SaaS Information Technology (IT) staff informed about any attempts to alter the application server environment without their knowledge.
Secure Network Architecture: A well-designed network for any application-hosting environment includes segregation of application and data servers. This can be achieved by physically segmenting traffic or using a combination of segmentation and security hardware.
Data Encryption: Encrypting the transport of data from the service vendor to the client system is critical. The current best practice for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Level Security (TLS) is to employ a minimum of 128-bit encryption.
Physical Security: An easily overlooked security concern is the physical environment of the service provider. Are application and data servers housed within a secure environment, and is access to the environment regulated by the vendor? Physical controls include personnel monitoring, multi-factor access authentication, external monitoring and other types of surveillance.

How can SaaS vendors prevent authorized users from accessing data they shouldn’t? It’s an easy problem to develop. Energy is focused on keeping the bad guys out, but once credentials are provided to trusted users, controls over proper access are overlooked. Even with proper physical and network controls, IT personnel are often leery of relinquishing data access control to an external system. This is because the outsourced services often effectively bypass the security controls implemented internally, at least to some degree. Two primary types of external security models may be implemented:
- Hierarchical - Such as the user account structure employed by Galileo Online IIS. Users are allowed access to increasing levels of information dependent upon the scope of the user account.
- Access-based - A flatter model such as that employed by Google Documents. Discrete permissions are assigned to individual data objects on a per-user, or per-group, basis.
User privileges can be managed effectively and in some cases there is even benefit to a separate permissions structure because individual changes can be managed by the users of the system instead of having to rely on technical staff to implement changes.

Do you have other concerns about data access protection that haven’t been covered? In a future post I’ll consider another risk area presented by use of cloud-based services and address how vendors are overcoming those challenges to create safe, effective environments for their clients.

A powerful and often overlooked tool....

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Nested within the Aggregate Multi-Test Report and the Benchmark Results Report is one of Galileo’s most powerful tools for intervention: The Benchmark Profile.

The goal of the Benchmark Profile is to provide a detailed plan for moving an individual student or entire risk group to the next level of risk assessment.

There are two versions of the Benchmark Profile:
• Group Benchmark Profile

• Student Benchmark Profile

Features:
• Each standard will appear along with the probability that the student has mastered that standard, and their average score on questions covering that standard (Student Benchmark Profile only).
• Every student’s Developmental Level Score (or average for the group) as well as the cut score for each benchmark is displayed at the top of the profile.
• Profiles will continuously update after each assessment to give you a current view of student progress.
• Links to schedule Assignments and Quizzes directly from the report (Group Benchmark Profile only).

The Group Benchmark Profile can be accessed by going through the Benchmark Results Report:
• From the Reports Tab → Test Sets → Benchmark Results
• From the Dashboard → Benchmark Result (Under Recent Events)

From the Benchmark Results page you can simply select which risk category you would like to see a detailed plan for:

The Student Benchmark Profile can be accessed from within the Aggregate-Multi Test Report:
• From the Reports Tab → Multi Test → Aggregate Multi-Test
• Next Select the “View Detail Link”

• Despite the fact that it may not look like it, everything on the next page will be linked. You can select the School/Class or Risk Category to see a list of students contained in your selection.

• By selecting a student you will bring up that individual’s customized benchmark profile.

-Denny Armstrong, Field Services Coordinator

Supporting National Head Start Association Accomplishments

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:03:00 +0000

As a long-time supporter of the National Head Start Association (NHSA), we would like to share a portion of a recent email from the Association that provided information on current media attention regarding their achievements.

Right now, there is a growing realization among business leaders and policy makers that investment in early childhood is key to the future success of our nation. There is also a greater understanding of the importance in the development of character of the first five years of life and a greater appreciation of the long term benefits to society from investing in high quality programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start. In recent weeks, national media coverage has made mention of Head Start repeatedly. We have always seen the value of the work we do, but it’s exciting to see others sit up and take note! We wanted to share some stories with you that you may enjoy and that may be useful to you in educating others in your community about Head Start.

The following are a selection of links to articles provided in the Head Start email.

Occupy the Classroom - Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times

From Kindergarten to College Completion - Judith Scott-Clayton for the New York Times’ Economix Blog

It Takes a Village - Charles M. Blow for the New York Times

ATI supports NHSA in several ways. One is the development of the Galileo Pre-K Online Portrait of Child Outcomes. This is a broad array of Head Start programs representing several states that have joined together for several years to create and share important stories about themselves and about children's accomplishments. The Portrait of Child Outcomes has been used by NHSA in making presentations nationwide documenting the contributions of Head Start to early childhood learning. We are privileged to have the opportunity to bring their story to you, click here.

We also support Head Start by continuously enhancing the tools offered to meet the changing needs of the program . For example, we have recently designed our new Galileo G3 Assessment Scales to align with the 2011 Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, representing the developmental building blocks that are most important for a child’s school and long-term success. To learn more, click here.

Are you Searching for A Better Way to Raise Student Achievement?

noreply@blogger.com (Assessment Technology Incorporated) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:29:00 +0000

As you look for a technology solution for educational management, we encourage you to experience Galileo K-12 Online. Galileo K-12 Online from Assessment Technology Incorporated is a fully integrated, research-based instructional improvement system, providing next generation comprehensive assessment and instructional tools. State standards are built in and ready for use, as are Common Core State Standards. Galileo K-12 Online management tools assist educators in establishing instructional goals reflecting the district’s curriculum, assessing goal attainment, forecasting standards mastery on statewide tests, and using assessment information to guide classroom instruction, enrichment, and reteaching interventions. ATI’s patented technology is uniquely qualified to address a district’s goals when implementing standards-based strategies to raise student achievement.

With ATI’s cutting-edge technology and flexible innovations, users can:
• Administer a full range of assessments using ATI’s next generation comprehensive assessment system, including benchmark, formative, screening and placement tests, plus interim and final course examinations, pretests and posttests, early literacy benchmarks, computerized adaptive tests, and instruments documenting instructional effectiveness.
• Import, schedule, deliver, administer (online or offline), automatically score and report on assessments created outside of Galileo K-12 Online using ASK Technology.
• Increase measurement precision using Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), providing high levels of efficiency in several types of assessment situations.
• Use Item Response Theory generated assessment information to guide classroom instruction, enrichment, and reteaching interventions.
• Evaluate instruction based on reliable and valid assessment information including continuously updated forecasts of student achievement on statewide tests.
• Access the Dashboard, designed to provide immediately available, actionable information relevant in the teacher’s role of enhancing student achievement.

Experience Galileo during an online overview and see how it is the better way to raise student achievement. You can visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com), participate in an online overview by registering either through the website or by calling 1.877.442.5453 to speak with a Field Services Coordinator, or visit us at the
• Arizona Educational Research Organization (AERO) 24th Annual Conference November 3 at the University of Phoenix, Southern Arizona Campus, Tucson, Arizona.
• Arizona Charter School Association (ACSA) 16th Annual Conference November 10 and 11 at the Westin La Paloma Resort, Tucson, Arizona.
• Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), and Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) Joint Annual Conference November 18 through 20 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.