Dear HEAP members and friends,

We are pleased to announce that the HEAP Item Bank, available on CD-ROM, will also be available via our HEAP web-based assessment system. It works very similar to the HEAP searchable database but can provide us with more features that can advance our efforts quicker and more cost-effectively - primarily online assessment with immediate results analysis and ongoing collaborative item development.

How are we progressing the HEAP web-based assessment system, you might ask. We are going to unveil this in steps. Next week HEAP steering committee members will review the web-based system and offer suggestions for improvements. After we have made those improvements, we will send another message announcing that we are ready to set up accounts for all of you. This will give you the opportunity to “play” with the system before we go to the next HEAP meeting. We think this plan will help make our time together at the HEAP meeting more productive to advance implementation in your state.

Teachers from three states piloted this web-based system and Sara began showing us how data can be collected and analyzed. We will continue to learn more about this at the October HEAP meeting. A summary of this pilot online assessment is available: http://metacat2.com/enews-heap/projsum.html.

We are embarking on another exciting pioneering adventure together – one I know the health teachers we serve will appreciate and enthusiastically embrace. Let’s get moving!

Nancy Hudson, HEAP Coordinator

Guest access available to a sample of items from the HEAP Item bank. The members of the HEAP Steering Committee have worked to select the modules for public release so that people can see and experience the features of the web-based assessment system without having access to the entire item bank. To access, click the guest login link from our home page, http://scassheap.org.

Did you know you can deliver online assessments with the SCASS Heap Item Bank? You can also see your test results summarized by any available item descriptor, such as skill or concept, and also any available student demographic, such as gender. Click http://metacat2.com/enews/images/PANTsummary.gif to see a sample report.

Try it out. Save some items from your work window (use multiple choice for automatic grading). Then access your assessment online from http://scassheap.org/pres/. Log in with the username and password you used when you saved the items. After you have taken your online test, be sure to examine the dynamic reports available. Pam Jones referred to some of these reports in her testimonial above. Reports can be accessed via the "reports" link displayed after selecting the desired test.

Contact Sara if you are interested in trying online assessments with your class, school or district.

This function provides dynamic analysis of items in your work window to aid in test building. You can analyze your test by any available descriptor. Find this function in the Actions pull-down menu, called Item Analysis. Click http://metacat2.com/enews/images/Test_Analysis.gif to see a partial report.

It is easy to add state, district, and/or local standards to the item bank for searching, assessment construction, and test result analysis. This alignment can be entered from the web into the item bank. Sophisticated security provides access to only those with appropriate permission.