IMS Global Assessment Innovation Leadership Network

Assessment ILN

Since 2017, the IMS Assessment Innovation Leadership Network (ILN) has brought together state and district assessment and technology leaders who work to make online assessment systems, resources, and tools more accessible and interoperable. The mission of the Assessment ILN is to develop and share digital assessment strategies with states, districts, and local education agencies, to support their efforts to deliver online assessments that are more accurate and reliable measures of student learning. Participants discuss digital assessment and accessibility challenges and share best practices in becoming certified to the IMS Question and Test Interoperability^® (QTI^®) standard while working with leaders in the IMS Global community to determine how assessment components can benefit from the lessons learned in the larger plug-and-play digital ecosystem.

Call for Participation

Participation in this network is open to all state and district assessment and technology leaders. Membership in IMS Global is not required.

If you are interested in being a part of this network or have questions, please complete the enrollment form below to contact us. You can also read the FAQ for more information. The group held its first meeting in fall 2017 and continues to hold monthly meetings.

Assessment ILN Chairs

Dale Cornelius, Chief Information Officer, Maryland State Department of Education
Dawn Cameron, Supervisor, Specialty and Technical Innovations, Statewide Assessment at Minnesota Department of Education

As schools, districts, and states adopt online assessment the IMS QTI 3.0 standard makes a transition to 100% online testing a reality. With QTI, traditionally underserved populations, such as students with disabilities, can test online for the first time while participating in the same assessments as the general education population, ensuring that education institutions remain in compliance with sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Today, with 100% online assessment at the school, district, and state levels, we are at an inflection point where real innovation can occur as the limitations of paper testing, and multiple-choice, are replaced with technology-enhanced test items that more effectively measure critical thinking.

Dale Cornelius

CIO, Maryland State Department of Education

These state education agencies and consortia are participating in the IMS State Assessment Innovation Leadership Network.

Arizona DoE logo

Chicago Public Schools logo

Colorado Department of Education logo

Delaware DoE logo

MD State DoE logo

South Portland (Maine) School Department

FAQs

Who can participate?
Participation in the Assessment ILN is open to all state departments of education or school district assessment and technology leaders. Vendors or suppliers do not participate so the focus remains on assessment issues impacting state and local educational agencies. Suppliers can benefit from the findings of the Assessment ILN through participation in other IMS Global groups, such as the Product Steering Committee.

What is the time commitment?
The Assessment ILN meets every month online. This schedule is flexible and will adjust to match the needs of the group. The group may also initiative more intensive collaboration activities for smaller subgroups that see the opportunity to collaborate on specific needs, such as procurement, open-source item banking, or acceptance testing.

Is there any cost?
No, there are no fees associated with your participation in the Assessment ILN. IMS membership is not required to get involved.

How can participating in this group help me?
Participation in this group connects you to other state and district assessment and technology thought leaders. It provides a forum to discuss current issues and share ideas and allows participants to take advantage of the strong IMS community in establishing best practices around accessibility and interoperability. All participants will improve their ability to procure, adopt, and deploy innovative assessment technologies that help make assessments fairer, valid, and reliable measures of student learning.

Who is IMS Global Learning Consortium?
IMS is a leading non-profit collaborative with a mission to advance technology that affordably scales and improves educational participation and attainment. To ensure that the “Learning Impact” of technology-enabled innovation is achieved around the world, IMS’s influential community of educational institutions, suppliers, and government organizations develops open interoperability standards, supports adoption with technical services, and encourages adoption through programs that highlight effective practices.