Case Study: New York City Department of Education streamlines language proficiency exams with Open Assessment Technologies

New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) Adds Technology and Multimedia to Language Proficiency Exams

The New York City Department of Education, which serves 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools across 32+ community school districts, needed a more efficient way to administer its Languages Other than English exams. Its paper-based, multilingual testing process relied on live native speakers, large amounts of paper materials, and difficult scheduling for the Spanish listening exam, which is taken by about 20,000 students a year.

The New York City Department of Education used the TAO digital assessment platform from Open Assessment Technologies to pilot an online listening component for the Spanish exam. The district reported that students preferred doing the assessment online, and it plans to use TAO’s audio recording Portable Custom Interaction feature to remove the need for live speakers and move the entire Spanish LOTE exam online next year.

New York City Department of Education

Guillermo Tejeda

Director of Assessment Technology