LAUSD Invests $24 Million in Assessment Platform

Los Angeles Unified School District is investing heavily in a digital assessment system designed to help boost student achievement through teacher-generated formative tests.

The district signed a five-year, $24 Million contract with Core K12 Education to use its Assessment Center platform and to receive certain other services, such as onsite professional development, progress monitoring, and content customization.

Assessment Center is an electronic platform providing tools and resources for creating assessments, collecting data, and reporting on data based on a range of criteria. It contains a bank of more than 200,000 elements to help educators create tests for delivery online or on paper, and it provides methods for selecting elements based on alignment to state standards, Lexile, p-Values, and other parameters. It also offers more than 12,000 "supplemental skill resources," which include standards-aligned lesson plans, activities, and worksheets.

This isn't the first time LAUSD has worked with Core K12. According to the company, it's been involved with the district in the past on a "dynamic, periodic assessment program," said Core K12 President Kevin Howell. "We believe that assessment drives discovery, and are very excited about continuing the good work we have started with this important client and education partner."

According to information released by the company Thursday, Core K12 works with about 2.5 million students served by districts or state agencies in California, Florida, and Texas.

LAUSD itself serves about 680,000 K-12 students, 1.07 million total students (including adult education students). It operates 1,044 K-12 campuses and 208 adult, early education, and other centers.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.