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LinkIt! Launches New Platform for Next Generation Data Management

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SOURCE: AINE@SOUTHARDINC.COM

Education technology company upgraded to a fully cloud-hosted platform.

New York, New York (PRWEB) December 06, 2012

LinkIt! (http://www.linkit.com), the K-12 education technology company, announced today that they have upgraded to a fully cloud-hosted platform that allows users to access all of LinkIt!’s assessment and reporting tools under one roof.

“The new platform was designed to improve performance, enhance functionality, accelerate implementation start-up time, and set the stage for the design and delivery of next-generation assessments,” says Josh Powe, co-founder and president of LinkIt!

LinkIt!’s new platform incorporates innovative features that streamline the entire process of assessing student performance and teacher efficacy, including comprehensive and flexible item banking tools, online and offline test delivery, rapid scoring, and sophisticated analytics. “This new platform puts LinkIt! way ahead of its peers for next-generation enterprise ready deployment. As important, the user interface is intuitive, easy-to-use and fun for users,” comments Karen Winter, CIO and EVP of Special Projects for LinkIt!

The new offerings have struck a chord with users too. Jill Hanley, a third grade teacher at Hudson City’s MC Smith Intermediate School in New York explains, “Since we began utilizing LinkIt! in September, my record keeping, grade keeping, management of reading groups, Response to Intervention (RTI) groups, and parent conferences have been completely streamlined. To have all your data at your fingertips is invaluable. You are able to generate a thorough profile of each and every student. There is no subjectivity. There are no extra folders, checklists, or piles of information.”

Mark Brenneman, principal at MC Smith continues, “LinkIt has proved to be a valuable partner in the management and use of data to drive instruction and identify students in need of services. It has enhanced the instructional experience for every student in our building.”

The improved technology is only part of the story. Without a firm commitment to partnering with school systems to understand their unique needs and challenges, even the best technology may sit on the proverbial shelf. Jean Hutton, head teacher and testing coordinator at Mountain Oaks Charter School in California explains, “LinkIt! continues to actively expand and refine what is offered and is quick to respond whenever we have questions or concerns. They have been very willing to work with our unique school model to customize solutions to meet our needs.”

Enhancements and introductions include:

Test Creation (Design)

  •     Item and Test Disaggregation: The ability to create individual item sets or banks of questions so that tests can be created from multiple sources.
  •     Content Searching: Search filtering technology for both test questions and reading passages with ability to multi-select criteria by keywords, difficulty, Common Core State Standards, passage genre, word count and much more.
  •     Item Editing: Ability to change item formats, manipulate answer displays and audio files.
  •     Collaboration: Ability to share tests questions and author tests as a group.
  •     Printing Management: Upgraded printing engine creates professional PDF assessment layouts on the server with a variety of customization options.

Test Administration (Delivery & Scoring)

  •     Online Testing: Universal login for students with unique code-based access system. Ability to view test questions and reading passages on one screen. Thousands of users can simultaneously take a test with auto-save features to prevent any loss of data if Internet connectivity is lost. As PARCC assessment item formats are introduced, LinkIt! allows schools to prepare ahead for the 2014-2015 school year.
  •     Bubble Sheet: Cloud-based, auto-scaling bubble sheet creation, reading, and grading solution provides faster and more reliable test processing. Verification of bubble sheets is done automatically and can be confirmed by teachers, school, and district administrators.

Security & User Management

  •     Strong authentication and authorization controls are in place to secure data and get information into the hands of the users requiring access.
Data Utility Tools
  •     Data utility tools that can quickly upload third-party assessments such as state-level data, DRA2, SRI, DIBELS, MAP and others with a well developed notification and verification system. Years worth of student data from all subjects and grades can be uploaded and be accessible to teacher use and analysis within minutes.

Class Rosters Integration and Notification System

  •     Integration with student information systems (SIS) keeps class rosters current freeing up administrators and teachers to focus on designing tests, administering tests, and analyzing the assessment results.

LinkIt! is devoted to creating the most effective, affordable solutions for K-12 schools looking to improve student performance. By implementing one easy-to-use web based platform, the company comes one step closer to its goal. “As we begin to expand our business throughout the country, we hope client feedback will continue to help us improve our product,” added Powe. With this comprehensive platform, LinkIt! will expand its outreach beyond K-12 brick-and-mortar schools to new organizations and market segments. “With the use of data expanding, organizations that support school districts or students with products and services are reaching out to LinkIt! for help. The flexibility and modularity of our platform coupled with our unique business model enables our current and prospective partners to think and act strategically in real-time without the risk of a multi-million dollar software investment that takes 2-3 years to yield results. Looking ahead, the best is yet to come,” says Ryan Winter, senior vice president of corporate development and school partnerships.

For more information on LinkIt!, visit http://www.LinkIt.com.

About LinkIt!
Based in New York City, LinkIt! (http://www.linkit.com) was founded to develop innovative technology solutions that improve K-12 student, teacher, and district-level performance by making it easier to collect, analyze and share performance data. The company believes that combination of frequent performance assessment, robust technology, and data-driven instruction holds the key to meeting higher performance standards in an era of decreasing budgets.

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