Positive Impact of Galileo Use in Blended Learning Described in WestEd Report to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Galileo K-12 Online provides clients with a complete educator-friendly online instructional improvement and effectiveness system. The system includes a broad range of online modules designed to promote student learning via rapid and flexible access to assessment, curriculum, reporting, instructional, intervention, and educator effectiveness tools. Galileo assists users in establishing local goals, assessing goal attainment, forecasting student performance on state assessments, and using assessment information to guide instruction, enrichment, and professional development. In addition, the fully integrated Galileo Digital Curriculum Platform makes it possible to effectively and efficiently coordinate instruction, assessment, communication, and collaboration in ways that promote student learning. 

ATI is proud to share that the positive impact of Galileo use was described  in the recently released report to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Blended Learning and Data Use in Three Technology-Infused Charter Schools. The report describes research conducted by WestEd and examines how the use of technology in the blended learning environments of three Arizona charter schools serving populations of challenged middle and high school students impacted teaching and learning activities. All three schools implement Galileo K-12 Online. Read the full report to learn more or schedule a Galileo Overview, today.  Link here to learn about WestEd's key findings.

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Galileo Item Banks are Robust, Standards-Aligned, and Frequently Updated

Our Assessment and Instructional Design staff have extensive experience aligning item banks and curricular materials to rapidly changing standards. We are well-positioned to remap items, assessments, and instructional materials to support the adoption of new state standards. This allows educators to find the items they need in Galileo® that will engage students in complex thinking to promote college and career readiness, evaluate standards mastery with high levels of rigor, and prepare students for success in responding to the types of items they will encounter on statewide tests.

Galileo item banks in total are comprised of over 70,000 items (including more than 13,000 technology-enhanced items), and are among the largest secure (district level) and community (class level) item banks in the nation for use in math, reading/English language arts (ELA), science, and writing assessments in grades K-12. ATI content specialists create new items continually (on average about 800 new items per month). 

Unlike systems delivering static item banks validated with a single student sample at a single point in time, Galileo items are developed and psychometrically validated on an ongoing basis. Item types include selected-response (e.g., multiple-choice, true/false, yes/no), constructed-response (e.g., essay with scoring rubric, short answer), and technology-enhanced (e.g., selectable text, multi-part, expanded selected-response, sequencing, interactive, customized technology-enhanced) items as well as performance-based tasks/assessments. All Galileo items and passages/texts are created, aligned to standards, placed under review, and then certified for use according to strict guidelines. Each item is classified in multiple ways (e.g., grade level, standard, Depth of Knowledge [DOK] level). 

Standards-Aligned Item Types in Galileo K-12 Online
Selected-Response	True-False	Short Answer
Essay (with scoring rubrics)	Extended Selected-Response	Multi-Part Item
Sequencing	Selectable-Text	Interactive Coordinate Planes
Interactive Linear and Volume Measurement	Interactive Classifying	Interactive Ordering
Interactive Graphing and Charts	Interactive Labeling	Maze
Drop-Down Editing	Audio and Video	Observational
Performance-Based (with scoring rubrics)

Plus, with our partnership with Key Data Systems (KDS), we are able to offer access to the KDS Inspect® item bank and a suite of over 300 pre-built assessments. The Inspect item bank is comprised of over 33,000 items for ELA (K-12) and math (K-12). In addition, science (4-HS) and history/social studies (5-HS) are also available. 

Schedule an overview to learn more about Galileo’s extensive item banks.

Use the Galileo Assessment Planner to Easily Design Customized Assessments

Galileo includes multiple easy-to-use assessment creation interfaces designed for district, school and class level users. In addition to the multiple types of pre-built assessments comprising Galileo, ATI develops more than 5,000 unique assessments each year reflecting district curriculum, district pacing guides, and/or statewide test blueprints. Customized district-wide assessments are designed for districts/charters by our Educational Management Services and Research staffs in collaboration with district/charter staff. 

Customized assessments are completed with ATI’s innovative online Assessment Planner. The Assessment Planner is an easy-to-use, point-and-click interface that enables district/charter staff to actively participate in the design of district-wide assessments aligned to standards and sequenced according to district/charter curriculum and pacing guides. The Assessment Planner dramatically reduces the time it takes for district/charter staff to create the customized assessments. For example, the Assessment Planner enables staff to easily: 

• determine the number and timing of assessments; 
• indicate the specific standards covered in instruction and targeted for inclusion on each assessment, and;
• indicate the number of items desired for each standard covered on the assessments.

The Galileo Assessment Planner saves educators time while providing the desired flexibility in assessment creation.

Using Assessment Planner, assessments may be designed to include a variety of item types including constructed-response items (e.g., essays). Once completed, assessments can be administered online or offline with plain paper or high speed scanning.  For more information on the Assessment Planner contact your dedicated Field Service Coordinator. 

Webinar: Explore New, Streamlined Enhancements in Galileo K-12 and the K-12 Student-Parent Center

We at ATI have made several enhancements to Galileo K-12 Online interfaces which provide benefits to users at all levels. Join us September 14 at 2:00 pm EDT for a complimentary webinar offering a brief overview of the robust features of Galileo focusing on new interfaces including a streamlined menu bar and an easy-to-use Teaching Dashboard. These latest enhancements were designed specifically with teacher use in mind. It is now easier than ever to build and administer curriculum materials and assessments as well as to access data which can inform next instructional steps to promote learning. Additionally, participants will view the redesigned student testing interface through the K-12 Student-Parent Center. The sleek interface is designed to easily communicate information between students and teachers and between teachers and parents. Communications to students and parents can focus on curriculum and instruction including scheduled lessons and assignments, on assessments and assessment results, and on instructional resources for home use. The enhanced K-12 Student-Parent Center Dashboard includes user-friendly icons, responsive design accommodating use on various screen sizes, search capabilities, and the integration of Google Translate.

Register for the complimentary webinar today!

Districts and charters have the option to begin using the new Teaching Dashboard now or later in the year. Learn more about making the switch during the September 14 webinar.

K-12 Online Help Files

Galileo K-12 Online help is within reach. When working in Galileo K-12, just click the User Options/Help menu and select Help. With a click of the mouse or a finger tap on a tablet you have a wealth of information to help you use Galileo effectively and efficiently.  

Whenever Galileo K-12 is enhanced, the online help files will have the most up-to-date directions. From the online help files you can quickly access links to FAQs such as:

How do I…

• analyze data?
• view a roster?
• administer a test?
• create a test?

If you prefer, you can use the Search tool to immediately access a topic. Just type the desired search words in the Search box on the right side of the page or click the magnify glass icon on the left side then press enter. The results will show you everywhere the word(s) appear in the help files.

Many industries have their jargon and abbreviations. Education is no different. ATI has included a Glossary to help you understand key words and concepts referenced throughout the application. Click the book icon located in the upper left corner and locate the term along with the definition.

Once you have accessed the desired topic, you can follow the directions, print out the directions, open quick reference guides and view videos. 

New 2015-16 ATI Research Briefs Assist Pre-K Programs to Interpret Developmental Level (DL) scores

Galileo Pre-K is a reliable and valid assessment tool that can be used to define, assess, and track learning. ATI applies procedures based in Item Response Theory (IRT) to information gained through observational assessment to estimate a measure of child learning called the DL score. The DL score indicates a child's position on a developmental path and provides information about which capabilities the child has learned and which capabilities the child is ready to learn. Each year, ATI conducts research to evaluate how a child's DL score relates to both a child's age as well as to the time a child is enrolled in a preschool program. The results of the research are summarized in the following two research briefs and can be used to gauge child growth. 

• Estimated Growth for Children Birth through 5 Years Based on 2015-16 Assessment Data: The change in the DL score over time can be used to evaluate child growth. ATI's research may be used to estimate child growth for various time periods. This information can be used by early childhood providers to evaluate whether children are demonstrating adequate growth over time. Read the full brief. See sample excerpt of data below.

• Predicted Developmental Level Scores for Children Birth through 5 Years Based on 2015-16 Assessment Data: ATI conducts annual research that can be used to predict the DL score for children at various ages. Early childhood providers can use the up-to-date information provided by this research to evaluate whether children are progressing appropriately over time relative to their peers. Read the full brief. See sample excerpt of data below.

Access more research briefs by ATI, click here. 

Ready to Use! New Galileo Menu Bar and Teaching Dashboard

Galileo's two newest interfaces are now live. ATI is excited to provide the streamlined menu bar and Teaching Dashboard each offering a fresh look and enhanced functionality. The new interfaces offer many user-friendly features such as one-click accessibility, responsive design, efficiency, integration, smart technology, and convenience. The new menu bar is being used by everyone at this time. Districts and charters have the option to begin using the new Teaching Dashboard now or later in the year. We encourage you to preview the new Dashboard and see for yourself how easy it is to both build and administer curriculum materials and assessments as well as to access data to inform next instructional steps for promoting learning.

Several resources are available to help guide you through interacting with the new interfaces including:

• Easy to follow instructions on how to preview the Dashboard, 
• A webinar demonstrating the efficiency of both interfaces, and 
• Quick reference guides (QRG) offering step-by-step illustrations of the menu bar and Teaching Dashboard. 

Teaching Dashboard user friendly interface.