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IMS Global Consortium Accelerates the Digital Transformation of Learning through Member Commitment and Collaboration

Community-Led Innovations and Impact Drive 15th Consecutive Year of Growth for Leading EdTech Non-Profit Organization 

 

LAKE MARY, Florida, 15 June 2021 — IMS Global Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing edtech and learning impact, announced today its 15th consecutive year of growth in its fiscal and progress report for January 1 – December 31, 2020.

Forty new member organizations joined IMS in 2020, with overall membership growing to 583 organizations. IMS members are leaders in education technology—a diverse group of learning institutions, government agencies, corporate learning organizations, and technology suppliers—that work together to improve the educational experience for all from K-12 to higher education to career and beyond.

Over the last 15 years, IMS membership has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%, while revenues have increased at a CAGR of 11.6%.

In a year presenting challenges and opportunities that changed the landscape of education throughout the world, IMS members charted a path for delivering digital learning at unprecedented levels now and in the future. Highlights from IMS community achievement and tangible impact in 2020 include:

  • The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) recommends the adoption of the IMS Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR) standard to meet the objectives of an official institutional digital learner record

  • Launch of IMS Compatibility Check services for IMS OneRoster and Common Cartridge enabling districts and suppliers to ensure their products integrate reliably across the edtech ecosystem

  • The IMS TrustEd Apps program for vetting student data privacy supports institutional processes and establishes a new foundation for transparency and trust in supplier data usage and privacy policies

  • Development of the Student Learning Data Model so users can access, explore, and visualize the data across IMS specifications relevant to a student's engagement and progress

  • A series of over 30 on-demand strategic webinars providing solutions to help academic and technology leaders reimagine the educational experience and keep the learning going in response to the pivot to remote/hybrid education

  • Completion of the first phase of the Wellspring Project—including a detailed report of its findings—to improve the education-to-employment ecosystem

  • IMS Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) 3.0 enables the most advanced assessment techniques to be fully accessible, provide actionable data, and meet the full range of state and institutional testing needs

"IMS members are at the forefront of shaping the future of education," said Dr. Rob Abel, CEO, IMS Global Consortium. "We are incredibly grateful and proud of the work they do every day to support teachers and learners and the broader edtech community worldwide. The breakthroughs that IMS members have enabled over the years provided the foundation upon which edtech could support K-12 and higher education during the pandemic. Together, we are creating an integrated, scalable, and agile edtech ecosystem that is a force multiplier for every institution, every supplier, and every learner."

View the interactive 2020 IMS Annual Report at imsglobal.org/about/annual_report/2020.

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