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EDUTEST HELPS TEACHERS EVALUATE STUDENTS

September 9, 1999

Getting a handle on each student's strengths and weaknesses is one of a teacher's key tasks for the first days of school. A new online service from EduTest.com could make such evaluations easier for both general ed. and special ed. teachers - and until mid-October, it is free for the first 25,000 teachers who sign up at the company's web site. Selected testing services are also free for teachers in Virginia, California and Florida.

EduTest@class, one of a battery of testing programs, helps teachers assess students' readiness for the new school year and provides the teacher information on a student's specific abilities. Students receive their scores immediately following an online assessment, and teachers can view a detailed class report online a day later. EduTest.com also has testing services designed for entire schools and families.

Though the tests do not identify specific learning disabilities, EduTest Vice President of Marketing Steven Hoy says the program can be used for all types of students. "In fact, many of our school clients use it in their Special Ed. classes," Hoy says.

EduTest.com's promotional offer focuses on Virginia, California and Florida to capitalize on those teachers' needs to meet new state standardized testing requirements. When Edutest.com offered free practice exams to students in Virginia last spring, students in 71 percent of the state's school districts participated. Nearly half of Virginia school districts continue to use the subscription-based service. California's Standardized Testing and Reporting program requires mandatory statewide testing for grades 2 through 11, while Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test program tests statewide student achievement in grades 4, 8 and 10 in reading and 5, 8 and 10 in mathematics. EduTest.com's services are correlated to state testing standards to help teachers gauge whether their students meet those benchmarks.

The free testing services are available from mid-September to mid-October. EduTest.com's subscription-based services include unlimited usage and multiple assessment versions. Prices for the ongoing service are normally $29.95 per class, but teachers can subscribe during the promotional month for $19.95 per class. Entire schools can subscribe to EduTest@class for $995 to cover all of their classes.

Schools can also use a separate EduTest service to track grade level and entire school progress toward state standards. The EduTest@school service provides needs assessment and group monitoring. In addition, the program's "mind-bytes" function helps schools identify learning gaps and provides informational or instructional details to help schools meet state standards. The service costs $2995 for an individual school, or school districts can subscribe for $2495 per school.

For parents, the company offers EduTest@home, a practice testing service that enables parents to monitor their children's progress. The service costs $14.95 for 100 tests and includes skill drills with instant scoring and feedback.8