Assessments | News

Smarter Balanced Brings in Wireless Generation for Reporting Work

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 12/10/12

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is one of two organizations working on developing new online assessments to go along with the Common Core State Standards, has brought in Wireless Generation to help build reporting functionality. Wireless Generation develops and advises on technology for education.

For the latest contract the company will develop an online, open source application for reporting student results from the Smarter Balanced assessments. The reporting system will provide multiple users--teachers, administrators, parents, and students--with data about student progress based on the results of tests. Reports that summarize results for the entire classroom, school, district, and state will also be available to users with the appropriate security access.

"Results from student assessments are most useful when they illustrate student progress and help inform instruction," said Smarter Balanced Executive Director Joe Willhoft. "The Smarter Balanced assessment system will allow teachers and parents to see how students are progressing throughout their schooling, what skills they have mastered, and get access to additional tools to support their success."

Wireless Generation said in a statement that it will work with Educational Testing Service on the reporting system. The testing service, a non-profit organization that creates research-based assessments, will help the software company with stakeholder research and user testing. In early 2013 Wireless Generation will seek input on requirements for the reporting system. A fully functional version of the system will be provided to Smarter Balanced in summer 2014 in time to integrate it with other assessment components.