Vantage Learning Shatters Online Assessment Record
Online Test Volumes Reach New Levels As Students Return To K-12 Schools And Colleges For The Fall Semester
Newtown, PA, September 7, 2004 - Students entering school this fall, both in K-12 and higher education, are facing some challenging questions-in fact they faced about 14 million in August alone, according to Vantage Learning. The August 2004 testing volumes exceed Vantage's record setting 2003 monthly volume totals by more than 15%."We delivered an astounding 14 million test questions online in reading, writing, and mathematics to evaluate students' academic skills," said Harry Barfoot, VP of Sales of Marketing for Vantage Learning. The record volumes solidify the company's position as the world's largest provider of online testing services. Vantage attributes the growth to increased numbers of students attending college and continued growth in market share.
"We are very excited about reaching this milestone," said Barfoot. "We would never reach this volume without the delivery of quality products and services to our customers, including our major partners that imbed our powerful Vantage Learning Platform™ (VLP) technology."
"We also are pleased to see schools embracing Internet delivery of assessment, and we have fulfilled the promise of anytime-anywhere delivery with immediate test results reporting for schools. Most importantly, we have been able to achieve this at less than half the cost of traditional paper and pencil assessment."
Vantage's technology leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to provide essay assessment capabilities via the Web. The Vantage Learning Platform (VLP) is the most widely used online assessment platform in the world, providing test registration, delivery, and reporting services as well as item banking and test creation services. The VLP includes the award-winning IntelliMetric , an open-ended assessment delivery and scoring engine that uses a rich blend of AI and the digitization of human expertise to accurately score and assess a student's competency in a range of subjects. Its inherent flexibilities allow schools to consistently evaluate students' progress and provide immediate feedback on how they can improve their skills.
Vantage annually delivers more than 18 million online assessments to students throughout all 50 states, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Recent increases in both K-12 summer school programs, combined with significant growth in higher education placement programs, have been major contributors to the expanded popularity of online testing. As the world's leading provider of online testing solutions for education, Vantage's highly sophisticated testing options better assess and challenge test-takers in all subject areas, helping students and teachers to meet the stringent requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
About Vantage Learning
Vantage Learning, an affiliate of Vantage Laboratories and the leading provider of online assessment and automated essay scoring, developed IntelliMetric® (www.vantagelearning.com) to meet the needs of business, education, and government agencies needing a comprehensive Internet-based test authoring, delivery, scoring and reporting platform. IntelliMetric administers and scores responses to open-ended questions over the Internet using advanced artificial intelligence technology. An individual can enter a response to a question posed, submit the response, and receive an immediate score with feedback within seconds.
Eduventures recently selected Vantage Learning as one of the eight most innovative educational technology companies. Vantage provides services in all 50 states and provides services to educational leaders such as The College Board, ACT, CTB/McGraw Hill, and Thomson Learning and industry giants such as Microsoft, Apple Computer, AOL, and Sun Microsystems.