State of Florida Awards Questar Assessment, Inc., English Language Proficiency Assessment Contract
- Assessment will measure annual progress toward English proficiency of students classified as English language learners -
Apple Valley, MN, September 9, 2009 -- Questar Assessment, Inc. (www.QuestarAI.com), a leading educational assessment provider for states, school districts, and higher education institutions, has announced a contract award from the Florida Department of Education for the Florida Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA). This comprehensive program is designed to measure annual progress toward English proficiency of students who are classified as English language learners (ELL). An estimated 264,000 Florida students in Grades K–12 will participate in the program during the 2009–2010 school year.
Questar’s three-year contract for the English language proficiency assessment begins with the 2009–2010 school year and continues through December 2012. The contract contains a 2-year renewal option. The program represents an important step toward serving ELL students by providing a fair opportunity for them to demonstrate their skills. The assessment will address Title III program accountability requirements set forth with the No Child Left Behind Act. The exam will enable educators to review each student’s strengths and weaknesses and subsequently tailor instruction to maximize student performance.
“This program demonstrates the State of Florida’s and Questar’s dedication to the achievement of ELL students, and we are very proud to partner with Florida on this educational endeavor,” said Roy Lipner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Questar. “We are committed to continuing to provide comprehensive solutions for assessing English language proficiency for the State of Florida.”
Questar offers extensive experience in ELL assessments and scoring and currently conducts and scores state ELL programs for Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, and Utah. Questar also handscores constructed responses for the English language proficiency certification assessments produced by the University of Michigan’s English Language Institute.
About Questar Assessment, Inc.
Questar Assessment, Inc., is a leading educational assessment provider for states, schools, and school districts. Headquartered in Minnesota and New York, Questar offers comprehensive custom assessment services—from large-scale statewide assessment programs to smaller-scale alternate, modified, and English language proficiency assessments. Questar provides complete, end-to-end services designed to address all aspects of assessment from test design, development, calibration, and psychometric services to print production, distribution, scanning, scoring, reporting, and data analysis. Questar also offers customized online testing services to schools and educational entities in the K-12 market. For further information, visit www.QuestarAI.com or call 800-800-2598.