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ETS Launches Online Item Bank of K-12 Test Questions Aligned to Ohio State Standards

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 July 2005, 09:01 CDT

ETS announced today the publication of more than 11,000 math and language arts test questions specifically aligned to Ohio's K-12 state curriculum standards. The items are part of the ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank, an online bank of standards-based test questions for K-12 educators to use in the classroom to help improve learning.

The ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank enables Ohio educators to use items that are aligned to state curriculum standards to create custom formative assessments that may be given throughout the year to assist teachers with improving and adjusting instruction and developing personalized learning strategies for students struggling with a particular standard. Districts can also use the Item Bank to create standards-aligned benchmark assessments to assess students consistently districtwide. ETS assessment specialists develop and add new questions to the Item Bank on a frequent basis.

Teachers access the ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank online through ETS's data management software, Instructional Data Management System (IDMS). Through IDMS, teachers can identify critical state standards and then pace their instruction over the school year. IDMS allows teachers to easily create from the Item Bank custom formative assessments aligned to state standards, and then electronically scan student answer sheets. Educators can view district, school, class and student results and generate reports from IDMS.

"A key to improved student learning is tailoring instruction to each student's needs, which change continuously throughout the school year," says John Oswald, Senior Vice President & General Manager of ETS Elementary and Secondary Education. "Formative assessments are a necessary part of the process of tailoring instruction. The ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank, used with IDMS, provides teachers with a valuable tool for targeted intervention."

The ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank and IDMS are essential components of ETS's Focus on Standards(TM) (FOS), an instructional improvement model that partners ETS consultants with teachers to help plan focused standards-based lessons, alter instruction based on formative assessment results, and determine intervention programs for specific students who may need additional instruction. FOS is being used throughout the California, Nevada, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Hawaii school systems.

Items are currently available in Ohio, Florida and Texas. Test questions aligned to the standards of additional states are scheduled to be available in the coming months. For more information about the ETS Formative Assessment Item Bank, IDMS and FOS, visit http://www.ets.org/k12learn2/datadriven.html.

About ETS:

ETS is a nonprofit institution with the mission to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. In serving individuals, educational institutions and government agencies around the world, ETS customizes solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools. Founded in 1947, ETS today develops, administers and scores more than 24 million tests annually, in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. Additional information is available at www.ets.org.

Source: Business Wire

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