Skyward, Certica Partner on K-12 Assessment Tools
In a new partnership, assessment tools can be
integrated with
a student management system that allows school districts higher-level
planning
and alignment regarding Common Core testing.
Skyward,
a K-12 school administrative software provider, has
launched its Test Bank Management Solution. The platform will provide
access to
Certica's Formative Assessment
Item Bank (FAIB), which features more than
80,000 assessment items and 50,000 that are aligned with Common
Core-related math
and English language arts requirements.
As a result of the partnership, FAIB will be
integrated with
Skyward's existing student management suite to automate the process of
recording assessment scores, sharing them with parents and making
adjustments
to meet district curriculum goals.
"Until now, districts have been on their own to
purchase,
review and compile test questions for their schools," said Skyward Vice
President Ray Ackerlund.
Certica Solutions President and CEO Mark Rankovic
added, "This
combined solution allows districts to improve student outcomes despite
being
constantly asked to do more with fewer resources."
The FAIB is upgraded twice a year to guarantee its
items
adhere to best practices, are grade appropriate and are free of
potential bias.
It will be available to Skyward users for a fee.
In February, Certica
acquired the Northwest
Evaluation
Association's (NWEA) FAIB business. However, Certica had
been a distributor of the item bank since 2011 and its data validation
app was
licensed by NWEA in 2007.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.