SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium Awards Architecture Contract to Measured Progress
DOVER, N.H., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) has awarded Measured Progress a contract to develop the overarching technical architecture that will serve as the foundation for SBAC's forward-looking technical solutions. This initiative represents a critical first step in the effective creation and delivery of IT systems and tools for the consortium.
SBAC is one of two multistate consortia receiving federal funding to develop assessments based on the Common Core State Standards, which were developed under the leadership of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. The majority of states have committed to adopt the standards, which aim to unify curriculum and enable students to graduate from high school well prepared for post-secondary education or the workforce.
SBAC's overriding charge is to develop a comprehensive set of assessments, each of which serves specific purposes ranging from meeting federal accountability requirements to enhancing teachers' ability to use a variety of testing instruments in the classroom.
Measured Progress and SBAC have assembled a collaborative team of subject matter experts, industry partners, association staff, public policy experts, and other key education and technical advisors to lend their expertise in shaping the requirements that will be used to define this work. Measured Progress is also working in partnership with ThoughtWorks, a premier technical consulting and delivery firm, to ensure the architecture's foundations align with the current technology landscape and emergent trends.
"Our team is pleased to be a part of this project, which represents a deliberate first step in creating an achievable and forward-looking, technology-driven, assessment and education solution," said Measured Progress Chief Information Officer Thomas Squeo.
In addition to developing the technical architecture, Measured Progress will offer ongoing IT systems architecture governance and services throughout the system development phases. Work on the contract will continue through 2014.
Measured Progress is a non-profit organization committed to improving teaching and learning in the standards-based classroom. Measured Progress has worked with more than half the states on programs that have touched millions of students. The company helps local educators through the provision of assessment products and services that help teachers understand and use assessment data to pinpoint instructional needs. At Measured Progress, it's all about student learning. Period.
SOURCE Measured Progress
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