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Assessment Platform Development
Recommendations
Building the Next Generation Assessment Platform – the Consortia
Opportunity
January 2011
www.assessmentgroup.org 2
Contents
Background Assessment Platform Opportunity
Potential Project Management Approach Structure Advisory Board
Potential Service Offerings / Consortia Needs Conclusion
Appendix – Advisory Board and Team Bios
January 2011
Important changes are on the way in Education
“I am calling on our nation‘s Governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don‘t simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity.” -President Barack Obama, March 10, 2009
“Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.” - National Educational Technology Plan 2010 (Draft), U.S. Department of Education
“This new generation of state assessments will be an absolute game-changer in public education . . . For the first time, many teachers will have the assessments they have longed for.” – Arne Duncan
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 3
www.assessmentgroup.org 4December 13, 2010
These changes will have significant impacts on the current “system”…
Legislation / RTTT / Federal Funding
Legislation / RTTT / Federal Funding
District / School /
Teacher / Student Trends
District / School /
Teacher / Student Trends
CCSS / Marketplace
Trends / Innovations / Technology
CCSS / Marketplace
Trends / Innovations / Technology
Children Learning
Experiences
Children Learning
Experiences
Educator / Administration Practices
Educator / Administration Practices
Curriculum /
Assessments
Curriculum /
Assessments
Technologies in
Schools
Technologies in
Schools
EducationEco-System
21st CenturyEduc.
System
Consortia will help 100% of their member states implement new assessments by 2014/2015
The leadership role of the consortia will help drive: A new generation of assessments
Aligned to the Common Core standards High quality Iterative with instruction/curriculum Test 21st century and other key skills (e.g., critical thinking, creativity) Flexibly built for tomorrow – e.g., online, interactive
A comprehensive, flexible next generation assessment platform
Transition of stakeholders to new processes and technologies Cost affordability and reliable implementation for all
stakeholders
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 5
The consortia will play a key role in driving a transformation in Education
Technology will be a central component of the Assessment transformation
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 6
Next Generation Assessment Platform
Next Generation Assessment Platform
Technology Characteristics National scale – huge trxn. volumes / storage Flexible to meet diverse state needs
Technology-enabled Capabilities Linkage between curriculum and assessment Flexible to deliver online
(multi-device/interoperability) Configurable for various assessment types/
purposes (summative, formative, adaptive) New item/content types – e.g., simulations,
graphics, games Content sharing/repurposing Scoring - near real-time; AI; distributed Enhanced reporting for all stakeholders Linkage to Education communities of interest
Next Generation Education Platform
Next Generation Education Platform
New technology trends can benefit development of the new Platform
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 7
Open system/open source approach Leverage existing “best of breed” technology solutions / vendors
(including tying into “clouds” of major software providers) Source content openly and collaborate with a broad variety of
industries and disciplines (e.g., crowd sourcing) Continual maturing/refresh of the “system” over time
“App Store” / Software as a Service (SaaS) approach (potential ongoing revenue source for the consortia)
Device independence – mobile, tablet, PC, e-blackboards Maturing of learning management systems Large-scale data management New hosting/infrastructure models (vendor, university,
consortia)
Most states still administer assessments in PPT mode
Success with online testing has been mixed State and district technology resources are very
thin Implementation costs have been unpredictable
and high A comprehensive “how to implement online
testing” set of guidelines does not exist Cost savings from similar efforts have not met
expectations
www.assessmentgroup.org 8January 2011
Change will not come easy given the current state of online assessment
Success on this complex effort can be achieved by leveraging proven methods…
December 13, 2010 www.assessmentgroup.org 9
Involve Education’s best and brightest early in the process Get clear buy-in and consensus from all stakeholders
early with respect to platform “business requirements” Learn from others’ Assessment program mistakes Leverage successes in other Education transformations
Approaches – timeframes, resources, key success factors Technologies – leverage what already exists in the market today
Stage implementation to help States be successful Share know-how/resources where possible to ensure the right
support Develop a transparent, well-understood, reliable cost model up front
Anticipate the needs of the future and build in flexibility Employ the right resources and processes to help get
there
Key Success Factors
And by following a structured approach
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 10
Strategy / Planning
Strategy / Planning DesignDesign Implementati
on / RolloutImplementation / Rollout
Next Generation Assessment Platform
Next Generation Assessment Platform
A combination of Education and Technology skillsets/expertise will be needed
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 12
Business / Tech. Expertise•Strategy / Planning•Ed Technology Trends•Technology Innovations•Software Industry experience•Program Management•Requirements / Design•Application Development•Architecture•Infrastructure
Educational Expertise•Assessment / measurement•Standards (common core, 21st century, etc.)•Education trends•Classroom experience•School system experience•Administration experience
• School data systems• School technology
systems•Education trends
The skills required can be effectively provided be an external partner…
Risk of failure is too high if the needed skill are not obtained and proper business requirements are not developed
Combination of skillsets and focused attention needed to manage the process is likely best procured outside the consortia due to consortia resource constraints
A neutral 3rd party (non assessment platform vendor, non technology developer) should be considered to manage the process
Key vendor characteristics Familiar with both technology and educational assessment Able to leverage technology resources as needed Able to bring the right business, management and technology skills Experience in managing similar projects with a proven methodology
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 13
… that can bring the right skills at the right time
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 14
Educational Expertise•Assessment / measurement•Standards (common core, 21st century, etc.)•Education trends•Classroom experience•School system experience•Administration experience•Education trends
Business / Tech. Expertise•Strategy / Planning•Ed Technology Trends•Technology Innovations•Software Industry experience•Program Management•Requirements / Design•Application Development•Architecture•Infrastructure
ASG recommends a dynamic Staffing Model: Core team of key staff involved throughout for oversight and continuity Individual representatives will rotate on and off the team based on the skills required for that phase Consultants hired to fill short term skill gaps
There are significant benefits to this approach Enables the consortia to get the most qualified people and expertise Minimizes overhead, reduces costs and results in the best product
Technical / Tactical / Implementation Skills
Strategic / Planning / Business AcumenStart End
• Planning• Innovatio
n
• Strategy• Stakeholder Alignment
• Design• Technical
Evaluation
• Development
• Integration
• Test / Rollout• Change
Mgmt
Key Skills Required
Key Skills Required
Role of the Advisory Board: Provide Education industry and/or technology innovation
insight and subject matter expertise Assist in aligning key stakeholders Oversee the progress / direction of the overall initiative and
provide support to the Consortia Constituents:
Senior education technology experts from world class software and hardware companies
Representatives from Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Google, Booz Allen, etc.
These companies all have focused efforts in the Education space All see the greater value in improving the current educational system in the
US
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 15
An Advisory Board of key experts will ensure the best solution is delivered
A Powerful Team
16
Advisory Board - Education Leaders from Top Software/Technology
Companies
CSCO
Booz Other
MSFT GOOG
IBM
Strategic Technologis
tsCore Technology Team
Dat
abas
e
Architectu
re
Next GenerationAssessment System
Program Management
Advisory Board members
Charles Fadel, Global Education Lead, Cisco Systems Cisco board member at Partnership for 21st Century Skills,
Innovate/Educate and Change the Equation Vice-chair of the Education committee of the Business and Industry
Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Worked on education projects with more than thirty countries and states
Visiting Scholar at Wharton/UPenn where he recently taught a class on Technologies for Learning
Co-authored 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in our Times Recently served on the Massachusetts Governor’s Readiness
Project as well as its 21st Century Skills task force Visiting Practitioner, Harvard Graduate School of Education
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 17
Advisory Board members
Hans Van Delden, VP Technology Practice, Booz and Company Specializes in the strategy, operations and technology for educational assessment
businesses Led 10+ strategy, operations and technology programs for several education
companies including: Technology Strategy / Architecture for an Online Assessment solution
(Educational Assessment Provider) – included an evaluation of the technology providers in the educational assessment market
Architecture Review (functional and technical) of custom-developed Online Assessment Platform (High-stakes State Educational Assessment Provider)
Assessment, Strategy and Roadmap for the Online Assessment Solutions (Educational Services company)
Experience working in 12 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Earned five degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after five years
of study Twice awarded Booz & Company’s Professional Excellence Award, highest award
for client service
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 18
Advisory Board members
Steve Katz, Technology Strategist and Entrepreneur Thought leader in technology innovation and strategy Management roles in advancing innovation at IBM, Apple and Sony
Pictures Entertainment Executive strategy consultant to leading technology firms including
Microsoft, Sony Corporation, SAP and AT&T Serial entrepreneur; founded a number of pioneering ventures backed by
Kleiner Perkins and other top VCs Currently, founding partner in a strategy consulting boutique, O8 Partners -
helps drive major partnerships and strategy for emerging technology companies
Currently entrepreneur-in-residence at MHS Capital, an early stage venture firm
Involved in several non-profit and philanthropic activities, including serving as a founding member of the Full Circle Fund (partners with outstanding social innovators to explore different approaches to Educational reform)
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 19
Advisory Board Members
John Behrens, Director Networking Academy Learning Systems Development, Cisco, Inc.
Responsible for the design and development of the Networking Academy’s global on-line instructional offerings that integrate interactive curricular and assessment technologies with hands on activities. These curriculum, assessment, and gaming tools serve more than 700,000 students per semester in 165 countries across more than 10 languages. Over 100 million assessments have been delivered to date through the Cisco Networking Academy.
Dr. Behrens’ team integrates complex simulations in instruction and assessment and developed authoring tools to enable instructor-led visualization of abstract networking concepts.
John’s research interests focus on the intersection of cognitive, statistical and computing issues in instruction, assessment, and on-line learning.
Adjunct Assistant Research Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA).
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 20
Advisory Board members
Ed Roeber, Professor, College of Education, Michigan State University; Partner and Co-Founder, Assessment Solutions Group
John Olson, Partner and Co-Founder, Assessment Solutions Group
Barry Topol, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Assessment Solutions Group
(full bios on all advisory board members are located in the appendix)
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 21
Potential core technology team members
Jay Whitchurch (Program Lead/Executive) CEO and co-founder of campus2careers, an online career community that
helps college students prepare for, find, and launch their careers Senior Vice President, Educational Assessment (K-12), Pearson Education
Assessment portfolio included classroom-based (formative), skills (diagnostic/readiness), comparability (achievement), and reporting products/services
Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President at Harcourt Assessment Led a team of 150+ Technology professionals in: Strategy/ Planning, Architecture,
Applications, Infrastructure, Program Management, and Vendor Management 13 years in management consulting driving strategic business
transformations for global Healthcare, Education, Nonprofit, and Public Sector clients
Principal, Booz & Company, Strategy/Technology Practice – experience included working with a leading Education company to define an online strategy and associated business cases, priorities, required investments, and transition approach
Senior Consultant, Accenture – Led teams of client and Accenture staff on major technology change initiatives including the design and implementation of large-scale Public Sector systems
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 22
Potential core technology team members
Technology Strategist / Innovator Recognized as a thought leader on next-generation assessment systems Over 20 years of technology leadership experience and over 6 years of
experience in K-12 online assessment Currently a Technology Director for a major assessment/education co.
Responsible for developing and maintaining the strategic direction and architectural road map for PK-12 online assessment
Leads the technology development for the current employer’s primary initiative around Common Core and the Consortia
Well established relationships with multiple online assessment companies and is considered a subject matter expert on the capabilities of various providers and publishers.
Led the technology due diligence process for evaluating potential online assessment partners / acquisitions for two major Education companies
Provided technology leadership to multiple, established companies and held CTO/CIO positions in various entities during his career
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 23
Potential core technology team members
Program Manager Currently a lead in a top Technology company 12+ years of experience in general management consulting
for Fortune 500 clients Focused on strategy based transformation for the Media & Technology
industries Strong experience in business / technology strategy, business case
development, financial planning, and “go-no-go” decision analysis Demonstrated track record for leading and helping with the
implementation of growth strategies and new product development Led large transformational teams – delivering against tight timelines
Entrepreneur in the education space, owns two Montessori schools that were built ground up - concept to operational
Experienced in design and development of applications Education:
MBA, Duke University, M.S. in Materials Science (Biomechanics) Michigan State University, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Robotics) VillanovaJanuary 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 24
Potential core technology team members
Milan Malkani (Architect / Technology lead) Technologist and entrepreneur Involved with the design and implementation of complex software
systems for established companies (e.g., Dell, TheKnot.com) and startups (e.g., ActiveVendors.com and campus2careers.com)
Spent 3 years travelling the US and abroad to train the software development groups of IT departments for large organizations (e.g., Wells Fargo, US Navy and Army, MD Anderson, etc)
Proven track record of bringing applications to market in record time
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 25
ASG can support the Consortia across all key phases of the initiative
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 27
Strategy / Planning
Strategy / Planning DesignDesign Implementati
on / RolloutImplementation / Rollout
Initial Key Elements
Next Generation Assessment
Platform
Requirements Definition
Requirements Definition
Functional and Technical
Design
Functional and Technical
Design
State Financial Models
State Financial Models
Technology EvaluationTechnology Evaluation Build vs. BuyBuild vs. Buy Systems
IntegrationSystems
Integration
Plan Development
Plan Development
Program ManagementProgram Management
Rollout Plan DevelopmentRollout Plan
Development
RFP Preparation / Evaluation
RFP Preparation / Evaluation
Tasks by Project Phase
The Strategy / Planning Phase will form the foundation for success
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 28
Define/Confirm Common
Core Assessment
Vision
Define/Confirm Common
Core Assessment
VisionDevelop High-level
Technology Requiremen
ts
Develop High-level
Technology Requiremen
ts
Develop Plan for Design and Implementatio
n
Develop Plan for Design and Implementatio
n
Week 0
Week 4
Week 13
Week 16
• Project launch
• Stakeholder identification
• Stakeholder interviews
• Objectives / expectations
• Constraints
• Application• Data• Infrastructure
• Stakeholder review/input sessions
• Business Requirement iterations
• Roadmap for process, people, technology rollout and transitions
• Top-down estimates on costs/timeframe
• Priorities• Resource / skills
requirements
Survey Current
Technology Marketplace
Survey Current
Technology Marketplace
• Structured capabilities/gap analysis against Requirements
Develop High-level Business
Requirements
Develop High-level Business
Requirements
• “Must haves”• “Nice to
haves”• Out-of-scope
Align Stakeholder
s
Align Stakeholder
s
Identify Process and
Change Mgmt.
Impacts
Identify Process and
Change Mgmt.
Impacts• Keep/start/
stop activities
• Transition planning
More on the requirements definition component
Key to a successful project is being able to manage the requirements development process & achieve stakeholder buy in
Experience, focus and a proven methodology for generating requirements is critical
Need to get requirements at the right level of detail/complexity Need to be able to drive out ambiguity in the defined requirements
Define what the project is Define what the project is not
Need to get all stakeholders aligned Experience in leading major technology transformations is
invaluable in managing such a project Finally, all the above must be wrapped up into a carefully thought
out plan with time, cost, technology and resource estimates Doing this right typically takes 12-16 weeks of focused effort by a
skilled, experienced team
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 29
Key considerations for the Strategy / Planning phase
End-state objectives and expectations should be determined up front and all key stakeholders aligned
Weeks of doing this up front will save years in aiming at moving targets Stakeholders almost always not aligned on even going-in assumptions Propensity to “jump to answers” without the right information is a common
source of failed projects Technology is not “the answer” – it is an enabler
Business requirements and change management implications are the key pieces to get right - technology needs are by-products
Most frequent pitfall in these efforts is undefined and/or unclear business reqs. Business requirements should be clearly defined and “approved” before
technology discussions even begin
Getting the right answers in the shortest time and at the lowest cost requires leveraging different skillsets throughout
Strategic vs. Implementation Education and business expertise vs. program management vs. technical
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 30
ASG can bring key expertise to the Strategy / Planning phase
Requirements Definition Collect and synthesize requirements from key stakeholders (structured
interviews, research) Define and support the process for aligning stakeholders Translate Business Requirements into Technical Requirements
Technology Evaluation Evaluate existing technologies and assessment platforms to gain an
understanding of current capabilities, technologies, architectures, fit with the requirements
Surface and explore existing technology options/vendors to potentially leverage as a starting point to save time and costs
Example options: ITS, CAL, Vantage/McAnn, RANDA, Nimble Tools, AIR
Go Forward Plan Development Develop structured plan for implementing the Next-Generation Platform
Roadmap that identifies key activities, priorities, and timing Business case that identifies estimated costs/benefits and resources required
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 31
Strategy / Planning Phase
Program and Vendor management Oversight of vendor(s) selected to develop the platform per RFP
specifications – e.g., project management, cost control and technical management
Maintain stakeholder involvement at the right points in the process Future changes to the platform are carefully managed
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 32
ASG can also provide support services for the “Design” phase
Functional and technical design and analysis Develop Functional and Technical design / architecture based on the
analysis of current platforms and guidance from the Consortia and advisory board
Basis for the Technology systems RFP Current and future requirements Open system/open source; Software as a Service/Applications store Content and data management Scalability and extensibility Initial set of features and functionality/interoperability
Build vs. Buy analysis / recommendations Provide recommendations based on business requirements, evaluation
of the existing assessment platforms, and high level technical design Explore different build alternatives (open source, university, vendor,
other) and identify pros and cons for the Consortia Findings/recommendations to be reflected in the RFP for vendor services
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 33
ASG “Design” Support Services (continued)
RFP preparation and evaluation Develop the RFP for the assessment technology system
Prepared and informed by lessons learned from previous evaluations A variety of potential bidders to be solicited based on previous analyses
Evaluate/score vendor responses, both technical and cost, against a pre-determined rubric
Provide recommendations on the go-forward plan and vendor
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 34
ASG “Implementation / Rollout” Support Services
Preparation of individual state financial models The costs of converting to online assessment may be significant for
many states. A comprehensive model and analysis detailing state-specific costs, benefits, breakeven points and return on investment in converting to OLA will help state departments of education and appropriate constituents understand the costs and issues in moving online
Systems Integration Coordinate among different vendors/applications to ensure the
development of a unified system Investigate potential new technologies and applications Develop specifications for applications interfaces Manage the overall development of the system Identify solutions for open source code management and
administration
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 35
ASG “Implementation / Rollout” Support Services (continued)
Rollout Plan Development A comprehensive roll out plan for delivering the new assessment
system should be developed well before actual completion of the system itself. Resource requirements, costs, time frames, a training plan and documentation along with a state by state implementation plan should be produced to ensure the rollout proceeds as smoothly as possible.
OLA Implementation “How To” Manual Compilation of a detailed, step by step, approach to implementing
online assessment including network, bandwidth and help desk requirements/activities
Lessons learned from previous state OLA implementations Minimum system requirements Minimum people requirements for implementation and ongoing support Networks and bandwidth requirements
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 36
Conclusions/Recommendations
Developing the next-generation assessment platform is a once in a generation opportunity and should result in a transformative change in the way assessment is thought about and delivered
To be successful, a significant and focused effort around planning, requirements, technology evaluation/design/ implementation and management of the effort is needed
ASG offers a sound approach for supporting the Consortia in successfully delivering the next-generation assessment platform
Core strategic and tactical technologists with deep expertise gained from within and outside of the Education industry
An advisory board consisting of representatives of brand name technology development companies
Skillful use of outside consultants offers a sound approach to successfully delivering the next generation assessment system
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 37
Why ASG?
While the consortia are familiar with ASG’s cost modeling and technical assessment capabilities, the team assembled for this effort (Topol, Whitchurch & Co.) has built and/or overseen the building of many complex Technology projects
ASG understands the complexities of the consortia assessment systems as well as, assessment technology requirements
The group is independent and will bring an independent perspective and analysis of competing alternatives
The management approach to the effort minimizes overhead and maximizes value. Funding will go entirely to the project
The team and structured approach to managing the platform development effort will result in a powerful next generation assessment system
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 38
Advisory Board Bios – Charles Fadel
Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems Cisco board member at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (Cisco was
a founding member), Innovate/Educate and Change the Equation (two organizations dedicated to advocacy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
Vice-chair of the Education committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and works with several teams at the OECD - PISA, AHELO, PIAAC, CELE, and TALIS
Worked with education ministries and organizations in more than thirty countries and states including Massachusetts, Canada (Federal, New Brunswick and PEI), France, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic and others
Co-authored 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in our Times (book) and frequently lectures on this topic, STEM, and Education Technology
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 40
Advisory Board Bios – Charles Fadel (continued)
Work spans the continuum of Schools, Higher Education, and Workforce Development/Lifelong Learning
Visiting Practitioner at Harvard Graduate School of Education, exploring curriculum redesign concepts
Visiting Scholar at Wharton/UPenn where he recently taught a class on Technologies for Learning (receiving highest student rating)
Distinguished Guest to the President’s Council of Olin College Incubating DigData, a non-profit addressing the convergence of 21st Century
Skills and psychology to better teach Statistics and Probabilities Creative Advisor to the Hayden planetarium of the Boston Museum of Science
on their new implementations Advising innovative school systems in Brazil (Lumiar) and Chile (Innova100) Recently served on the Massachusetts Governor’s Readiness Project as well
as its 21st Century Skills task force Contributed many articles and has been interviewed in publications
such as Technology & Learning, New Media Consortium, Massachusetts Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, eSchool News, Education Week, University Business, EETimes, and others
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 41
Advisory Board Bios – Charles Fadel (continued)
Spoke at numerous Education conferences, including the Consortium for School Networking (COSN), the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI), and the Masie Center’s learning conferences
Awarded five patents on video, content, and communication technologies
Holds a Bachelor of Science in electronics with course concentration in quantum and solid-state physics with a minor in neuroscience, and a Master of Business Administration in international marketing
An avid reader, he has auto-didactically learned disciplines such evolutionary psychology and comparative linguistics. He also enjoys the lessons of classical history
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 42
Advisory Board Bios – Hans Van Delden
Partner, Vice President, Technology Practice at Booz & Company 15 years in Management Consulting focused on the consumer products,
education services, media and retail industries Led 10+ strategy, operations and technology programs for several leading
Education companies – e.g.,: Technology Strategy / Architecture for an Online Assessment solution (Educational
Assessment Provider) – included an evaluation of the technology providers in the educational assessment market
Architecture Review (functional and technical) of custom-developed Online Assessment Platform (High-stakes State Educational Assessment Provider)
Assessment, Strategy and Roadmap for the Online Assessment Solutions (Educational Services company) – included developing a technology strategy and investment roadmap for a newly acquired online assessment platform
Information Business Strategy (Educational Services company) - evaluated several potential new information-based businesses for our client
Latin American Growth Strategy (High-stakes Educational Assessment Company) Operations Diagnostic for Puerto Rican division (High-stakes Educational
Assessment Company) - included an end-to-end assessment of the operations to identify organizational, process and automation improvements
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 43
Advisory Board Bios – Hans Van Delden (continued)
Experience working in 12 countries across North America, Europe and Asia
Twice awarded Booz & Company’s Professional Excellence Award, our highest award for client service
Earned five degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after five years of study
Holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering Holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Mathematics, Civil Engineering and
Management MIT’s sole Rhodes Scholar candidate and Texas Rhodes Scholar finalist
in 1995 Recognized for achieving the highest score in North America on the
first general actuary exam in 1993
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 44
Advisory Board Bios – Steve Katz
20+ years as a driving force and thought leader in technology innovation and strategy
Held a wide range of management roles, advancing innovation with IBM, Apple, and Sony Pictures Entertainment
Also served as an executive strategy consultant to leading technology firms including Microsoft, Sony Corporation and SAP
Serial entrepreneur and founder of a number of pioneering ventures backed by Kleiner Perkins and other top VCs
Currently, Steve is founding partner in a strategy consulting boutique called O8 Partners, based in Silicon Valley, which helps drive major partnerships and business strategy for emerging technology companies
Currently, entrepreneur-in-residence at MHS Capital, an early stage venture firm funded by prominent Silicon Valley founders and executives
Involved in non-profit and philanthropic activities, including serving as a founding member of the Full Circle Fund. The Full Circle Fund partnered with outstanding social innovators to explore different approaches to Educational reform
Holds BS an MS degrees in Computer Science from Columbia
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 45
Advisory Board Bios -John Behrens
Director, Networking Academy Learning Systems Development, Cisco, Inc. Responsible for the design and development of the Networking Academy’s
global on-line instructional offerings that integrate interactive curricular and assessment technologies with hands on activities. These curriculum, assessment, and gaming tools serve more than 700,000 students per semester in 165 countries across more than 10 languages. Over 100 million assessments have been delivered to date through the Cisco Networking Academy.
Dr. Behrens’ team integrates complex simulations in instruction and assessment and developed authoring tools to enable instructor-led visualization of abstract networking concepts.
John’s research interests focus on the intersection of cognitive, statistical and computing issues in instruction, assessment, and on-line learning. Dr. Behrens has published chapters in a number of widely used psychology reference books along with articles in a range of educational, psychological, and statistical journals.
Adjunct Assistant Research Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA).
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 46
Advisory Board Bios -John Behrens (continued)
Master’s Degree in Special Education and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Arizona State University.
B.A. Psychology and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame. Prior to joining Cisco, John was a tenured Associate Professor of
Psychology in Education, Arizona State University.
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 47
Advisory Board Bios – Barry Topol, CPA, MBA
CPA, MBA Managing Partner, Assessment Solutions Group
Designed and co-developed ASG’s assessment cost model Chief Financial Officer, Harcourt Assessment
Drove the review, analysis and ultimate restructuring/outsourcing of Harcourt Assessment’s online assessment platform
Established relationships with outside “best of breed” technology partners
Chief Financial Officer for several technology companies Served as CIO/CFO for internet based start-up of a Fortune 500
Corporation; successfully developed the company’s website. Company won a “Webby” award for best online yellow pages site.
C-Level experience in educational publishing, high technology, internet and other industries
Managed technology departments and key technology initiatives in several companies
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 48
Advisory Board Bios – Edward Roeber, Ph.D.
40 years of experience in Assessment Adjunct Professor of Education, Measurement and Quantitative
Methods, College of Education, Michigan State University Teaches courses on educational measurement Works on projects to improve the assessment skills of prospective
and current educators Provides support for faculty and students on assessment
Senior Executive Director in the Michigan Department of Education OEAA
Responsible for overseeing the assessments of general education students, students with disabilities and ELLs, as well as the accreditation and accountability programs
Conducted statewide online assessment pilot in 2006
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 49
Advisory Board Bios – John F. Olson, Ph.D.
25+ years of experience providing services, technical assistance, and support to states, the USED, CCSSO, testing companies, researchers, and others
Served as a technical advisor and independent consultant on a variety of measurement and statistical issues for international, national, state, and local assessment programs
Served in key leadership roles on several Enhanced Assessment Grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
Vice President for Psychometrics and Research Services, Harcourt Assessment, Inc.
Deep experience with online assessment including: Conducting surveys of states on their use of CBT (for TILSA SCASS) Authoring two published reports on the comparability of CBT-PPT Serving as technical advisor to states implementing an OLA.
January 2011 www.assessmentgroup.org 50
Program Lead / Executive Bio – Jay Whitchurch
CEO and co-founder of campus2careers (open source solution), an online career community that helps college students prepare for, find, and launch their careers
Extensive leadership experience as an executive with two large Education cos. Senior Vice President, Educational Assessment (K-12) at Pearson Education
Managed $80M P&L for K-12 Assessment portfolio that included classroom-based (formative), skills (diagnostic/readiness), comparability (achievement), and reporting/analysis product and services
Led the Strategy, Products, Services and Operations organizations and served on the Executive Leadership team
Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President at Harcourt Assessment Led a team of 150+ professionals in delivering on all aspects of Technology services for a
$300M Assessment business: Strategy and Planning, Architecture, Applications, Infrastructure, Program Management, and Vendor Management
Oversaw a portfolio of applications and infrastructure that supported the Catalog and Custom State Contract Assessment businesses and Back-office business needs
Directed strategy for developing online assessment and digital supply chain capabilities Orchestrated significant turnarounds on two underperforming, multi-million dollar, core
application initiatives
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Program Lead / Executive Bio – Jay Whitchurch (continued)
13 years in management consulting driving strategic business transformations for global Healthcare, Education, Nonprofit, and Public Sector clients
Principal, Booz & Company, Strategy/Technology Practice Managed executive relationships and led client engagements in defining new strategies
and planning/executing large-scale business transformation initiatives Worked with a leading Education company to define an online strategy with associated
business cases, priorities, required investments, and transition approach Led a major transformation initiative for one of the world’s largest Healthcare cos. Drove development of a customer applications strategy for a trillion dollar federal agency
Senior Consultant, Accenture Led teams of client and Accenture staff on major technology change initiatives Design and implemented large-scale, Public Sector systems
Continues to exercise his experience and passion for transforming the Education system through campus2careers and Education initiatives/speaking engagements
Holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the McCombs School of Business (The University of Texas at Austin)
Currently serves on the Boards of The Money Academy (a K-8 Financial Literacy curriculum) and Circular Energy (an alternative energy company)
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