Tag Archives: ExamSoft

AssessmentTA from ExamSoft Helps Faculty Members Give Students More than Just a Grade

Leading provider of intelligent assessments offers new way for faculty to enrich the feedback students receive, improve the way exams are created, delivered, and analyzed, saving faculty valuable time, so they can focus on instruction instead of grading

Dallas, Texas, September 24, 2013 – ExamSoft, the leading provider of intelligent embedded assessment solutions, today announced, AssessmentTA, a combination of easy-to-use software and dedicated services that will help faculty focus on teaching, provide direct-evidence of student learning, and spend less time grading. Assessment TA streamlines the creation and delivery of exams and enables faculty to track and measure performance across learning objectives. Provided at no cost to faculty or the institution, AssessmentTA includes personalized help from ExamSoft’s assessment experts to ensure faculty members are fully supported as they use the system. A software fee for students is less than most college-level textbooks and covers unlimited exams per semester.

AssessmentTA enables faculty to tag questions to various learning objectives, which are stored in a database so they can be tracked across an exam or course. This helps instructors see a blueprint of each exam broken out by learning objective, making it easier to get a full picture of student performance and reduce grading time. This means faculty members can make the most of office hours or other individual guidance sessions with students and adjust exams for use in future courses. Every exam created with the intelligent assessment platform can also be delivered securely on iPads and laptops without an internet connection or via paper (Scantron).

“We are dedicated to helping faculty help every student by providing a real-time connection to direct evidence of learning. AssessmentTA provides more than just a grade, it provides personalized, real-time feedback after every assessment,” said Daniel Muzquiz, Chief Executive Officer of ExamSoft. “Essentially this platform enables faculty to easily close feedback loops with students and administrators while proving the equivalent of a full time teaching assistant to create, deliver and grade exams, quickly and easily.”

AssessmentTA is designed to expedite a process that has traditionally been arduous. When faculty members register for AssessmentTA they will work with an assessment expert from ExamSoft who will provide support, insights, and best practices for creating and analyzing assessments. ExamSoft experts can help with uploading test questions, tagging questions to learning outcomes, creating reports with meaningful feedback for students, faculty and administrators by mapping curriculum back to course and institutional learning outcomes.

“The ExamSoft platform is definitely an upgrade from the Word documents and fill-in-the-bubble system we formerly used to create exams,” said Jenifer Van Deusen, Curriculum Director at University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Students appreciate the snapshot the ‘Strengths and Opportunities’ report provides. We use it to cover not only what topics but also what types of questions students are exceling at or struggling with, so they can understand how to prioritize their studying. Plus, the assurance of having the knowledgeable ExamSoft team only a phone call away provides me some peace of mind.”

The platform is free for institutions. The $25 per semester, per student fee is assessed similar to a textbook and is paid for by the student. AssessmentTA is transferable, meaning students do not have to pay multiple times if the platform is used in more than one of their classes, and includes unlimited exams. Faculty members at major institutions have already started signing up for AssessmentTA so they can give their students even more insight into their own path to success.

Individuals interested in registering their course for AssessmentTA or learning more can visit http://assessmentta.com.

About ExamSoft Worldwide, Inc.
ExamSoft provides scalable and flexible intelligent assessment solutions that give educators actionable outcomes data and insights to help every student. Its software puts the data back in the hands of faculty and enables clients to more efficiently and practically administer direct assessments and analyze resulting data to improve curricular design, test design, and accreditation compliance. ExamSoft has served hundreds of prominent academic, certification, and licensing institutions for more than 15 years and has successfully administered millions of exams. For more information, please visit www.examsoft.com, or follow ExamSoft on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact:
Anne Jenkins
Communication Strategy Group
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
703-624-6125
ajenkins@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Texas State Technical College West Texas Uses Outcomes Based Assessment to Revive Nursing Program

Pass Rate on Licensing Exam Jumped 77 to 100 Percent Using Direct Evidence of Student Learning through ExamSoft Technology Platform

Dallas, Texas, August 27, 2013 – The Texas State Technical College West Texas (TSTC) LVN to ADN Nursing Program was able to increase the pass rate on the National Council Licensing Exam (NCLEX) from 77 percent to 100 percent by taking a strategic and aggressive approach to assessment. TSTC-West Texas was able to improve programmatic effectiveness and student retention based on evidence and insights in student learning using ExamSoft’s intelligent assessment platform, the company announced today.

TSTC-West Texas is part of a state performance-based pilot program that only reimburses the institution when graduates secure a job within their field of study. In 2011, with the NCLEX pass rate at 77 percent and retention rate near 50 percent, TSTC-West Texas was placed on conditional status by the Texas Board of Nursing and could not admit any new students. TSTC-West Texas decided to adopt an assessment platform to help completely revamp and refine their curriculum and better help their students learn, prepare for and pass the NCLEX – a barrier to employment for nurses. Since implementing ExamSoft, the NCLEX pass rate, retention rate and employment rate among graduates are all 100 percent.

“Since our state funding depends on our students graduating and getting jobs, their success is our success,” said Shawntay Sparks, Instructor and Program Chair, Texas State Technical College West Texas LVN to ADN Nursing Program. “By taking a strategic approach to assessment using ExamSoft’s platform, we can easily track and measure performance across a wide set of learning outcomes and it gives us the tools and evidence we need to remediate students on a individual basis, refine our curriculum, increase retention and help students succeed in their careers.”

TSTC-West Texas uses ExamSoft to design, manage and administer all exams, tests and quizzes in a computer-based platform and enables them to “tag” every question to learning objectives so they can track and measure student performance. With data available immediately after each exam, faculty use the learning analytics to inform targeted feedback for students and implement remediation strategies based on students’ individual needs. Longitudinal assessment data gives TSTC-West Texas the evidence they need to track students over time and map and refine their curriculum.

“We’re excited to see the kind of dramatic turn around TSTC-West Texas has seen because it shows how important a role technology and data can play in helping drive student success,” said Daniel Muzquiz, Chief Executive Officer of ExamSoft. “We thrive on helping institutions and programs succeed in their missions by giving them the technology and insights they need to help engage their students, enhance the learning experience and improve outcomes.”

In addition to being able to enhance revenue reimbursements from the state, TSTC-West Texas was taken off conditional admittance by the Texas Board of Nursing in October 2012 and anticipates being placed on full approval in January 2014. TSTC-West Texas’ accelerated online nursing program, established in 2008, includes two campuses serving 26 rural counties and trains students to become registered nurses.

“We have students scattered around the state who face and conquer challenges every day for the opportunity to achieve their degree and become better nurses, so we strive to deliver a high quality education with a non-traditional approach,” said Sparks. “In an online accelerated program, there is no time to allow a student to get behind and ExamSoft gives us the tools to find and address issues immediately and the technology is so solid that we can rely on it to support the program, and the students, in reaching this goal.”

For more information about ExamSoft, visit http://www.examsoft.com.

About ExamSoft Worldwide, Inc.
ExamSoft provides scalable and flexible intelligent assessment solutions that give educators actionable outcomes data and insights to help every student. Its software puts the data back in the hands of faculty and enables clients to more efficiently and practically administer direct assessments and analyze resulting data to improve curricular design, test design, and accreditation compliance. ExamSoft has served hundreds of prominent academic, certification, and licensing institutions for more than 15 years and has successfully administered millions of exams. For more information, please visit www.examsoft.com, or follow ExamSoft on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact:
Anne Jenkins
Communications Strategy Group
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
703-624-6125
ajenkins@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

ExamSoft Makes it Easier than Ever to Access Direct Evidence of Student Learning

Designed by faculty, ExamSoft’s latest release sets the standard for ease-of-use, when it comes to creating, delivering, and analyzing embedded assessments to help every student with direct, real-time evidence of learning.

Dallas, Texas, August 14, 2013 – As students and the accreditation bodies that regulate colleges and universities demand direct-evidence of student learning, being able to connect learning outcomes to assessments is increasingly important. ExamSoft, the leading provider of intelligent embedded assessment solutions, today announced updates to its platform that will help faculty members and institutions get information in real time and intervene earlier with students. Purpose built for faculty, the new release offers simpler navigation, streamlined question creation, the ability to blueprint exams by learning outcome, and easier student management and report creation.

“Every faculty member wants to better understand his or her students’ strengths and weaknesses and measure how well they are grasping key concepts. But, without the right support technology, using assessment to do that can be tedious,” said Patrick Chadd, Manager?of Academic Systems and Educational Technology at Rowan University’s?School of Osteopathic Medicine. “When we first started using ExamSoft our ability to provide students timely feedback greatly improved. We are excited that the updates to the platform will help us create, deliver, and evaluate assessments more easily and give us unprecedented access to assessment data to connect students to their academics in even more meaningful ways.”

Well-thought out assessments can be powerful instruments. By blueprinting assessments to match key learning objectives faculty members can determine what has or has not been mastered by students. Additionally, robust assessment data helps evaluate curriculum, instruction, and the assessment itself. The enhancements in the latest release from ExamSoft facilitate an easier implementation of these processes. Individuals interested in how the platform works can visit the ExamSoft website.

ExamSoft worked closely with faculty members throughout the entire development process including them in focus group studies, conducting hundreds of one-on-one interviews, and having faculty work directly with user design experts to create vastly simplified and streamlined process. Improvements to the assessment solution include:

* Simpler navigation
– An improved workflow that brings all system aspects to one screen;
– One-screen question creation and faster import tools to build a question database for entire courses, departments, or colleges;

* Reduction in training time
– Quicker access to help functions, like tips on hover-over and pop-up screens, support videos and easy to find reference guides, so new users can move past learning into practical use faster;

* Increased flexibility and scalability
– Enhanced system for exam building that provides pre- and post-exam management on one screen;
– Exam blueprinting for assessments to evenly cover all learning objectives and work in undergraduate- as well as graduate-level courses;

* Robust reporting and data collection
– Simple exam taker management that allows faculty members to track how well students perform and where and when tests were taken as well as provides opportunities to communicate directly with students during the exam;
– More robust reporting that provides longitudinal analysis at the student, class, course and institution levels.

Later this year, ExamSoft will release additional updates including rubric building functionality.

“Access to actionable outcomes data and insights is important to faculty members. But, the last thing they need is another cumbersome piece of technology that eats up time. The enhancements included in this release will help faculty get to the most valuable data – data that’s often buried in answer sheets that are thrown away after grades are recorded – and do so in less time,” said Daniel Muzquiz, Chief Executive Officer of ExamSoft. “Everyone is talking about big data today, but big data doesn’t mean anything if it is not relevant, timely, and a simple click away from faculty fingertips. ExamSoft gives faculty access to smart data to support data driven decisions and to help better engage students in their own learning.”

This initial round of updates is available to customers now. Current customers can upgrade at no extra cost. For more information about these updates or to learn more about ExamSoft visit http://www.examsoft.com.

About ExamSoft Worldwide, Inc.
ExamSoft provides scalable and flexible intelligent assessment solutions that give educators actionable outcomes data and insights to help every student. Its software puts the data back in the hands of faculty and enables clients to more efficiently and practically administer direct assessments and analyze resulting data to improve curricular design, test design, and accreditation compliance. ExamSoft has served hundreds of prominent academic, certification, and licensing institutions for more than 15 years and has successfully administered millions of exams. For more information, please visit www.examsoft.com, or follow ExamSoft on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact:
Anne Jenkins
Communications Strategy Group
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
703-624-6125
ajenkins@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com