Assessment
Taskstream Debuts Aqua Assessment Tool
Taskstream, a provider of
assessment and e-portfolio technology for higher education, has introduced a
new assessment tool called Aqua.
Rather than retooling one of its existing products, the company decided to
design Aqua from scratch using high-performing, scalable architecture and
user-centered design principles with the goal of developing a simple,
lightweight application. Webster Thompson, president of Taskstream, said he believes
the resulting product "will enable colleges and universities to assess student
learning more sustainably and use outcomes data to inform meaningful
change."
Key features of Aqua include:
- Multiple options for collecting student work, including bulk upload by a
coordinator, manual upload by an instructor, or student submission through
the LMS;
- Streamlined interfaces for scoring student work with rubrics;
- Visual reports for monitoring real-time student performance data; and
- Option of distributing student work to calibrated evaluators, with or
without student anonymity.
The Multi-State
Collaborative (MSC) To Advance Learning Outcomes Assessment, which is an
initiative led by the Association of American
Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), used Aqua for its pilot study of rubric-based assessment of students'
skills in quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and written communications.
According to a news release from Taskstream, "97 percent of scorers who
responded [to a post-study survey] found the technology to be 'easy' or 'very
easy' to use," and the MSC project plans to continue to use Aqua as it expands
to include more states and institutions.
Further information about Aqua can be found on Taskstream's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].
