TestHound Success Story: From Accommodation Chaos to Collaborative Clarity
For Dr. Crystal Aker, Coordinator of Assessment, Accountability, and Research at Springfield City School District in Ohio, managing student testing accommodations was once a process plagued with inefficiencies and errors.
Determined to bring order to this chaos, Dr. Aker and her team began exploring potential solutions. When they were introduced to TestHound, a tool designed to centralize assessment data points, including student accommodations, Dr. Aker saw an opportunity to address Springfield’s longstanding accommodation challenges.
The Challenge
Managing accommodations prior to TestHound was an enormous undertaking, characterized by subjective decision-making and inconsistent documentation. “We had such a mess on our hands,” Dr. Aker shared, explaining how each accommodation was handled differently across the district. Making sense of this data was not only time-consuming but also prone to critical errors, with the potential to affect student success.
"We had such a mess on our hands."
With Individualized Education Program (IEP), English Learner (EL), and 504 plans all needing to be followed, mistakes often happened, sometimes leading to students receiving incorrect or missing support. “Before TestHound, accommodations for testing were done in a very subjective manner which was inconsistent and mistake-laden, mainly because of human error,” Dr. Aker recalled.
“We had about 40 common testing accommodations, from extended time to text to speech to scribing across the three types of plans, but we had almost 7,000 variations of those accommodations in our systems!”
Dr. Aker knew the stakes were high and the district needed a consistent process to rely on. The pressure on educators to manually navigate these inconsistencies was immense, as even a small error could lead to significant consequences for a student's performance.
The Solution
TestHound brought much-needed standardization and clarity to the accommodation process. The implementation began with comprehensive training sessions, ensuring that all team members were equipped to navigate the platform effectively.
“Our trainer, Carie, did a great training for us, and we were also able to record it so people could watch it later,” Dr. Aker explained. TestHound’s onboarding process also facilitated a sense of teamwork among the staff. Through hands-on training and shared resources, team members were empowered to support one another in mastering the platform.
A key feature of TestHound was the ability to create a centralized “bank of accommodations,” eliminating subjective decision-making and reducing the districts thousands of variations of accommodations. The new system also allowed staff to generate tailored reports for upcoming test sessions, ensuring students received the precise accommodations they needed. Another key feature was the ability to set up test-specific sessions in advance to ensure staff could proactively address student needs, avoiding last-minute errors or oversights.
TestHound changed how accommodations were approached within the district. By introducing clarity and consistency, the platform encouraged educators and administrators to collaborate more effectively, ensuring that the accommodations process prioritized student success over logistical challenges. This shift marked the beginning of a new era in how Springfield supported its students, blending efficiency with compassion.
The Result
The transformation was immediate and profound. TestHound enabled Dr. Aker and her team to manage accommodations with accuracy and efficiency, fostering a culture shift in how accommodations were assigned.
“I think it's changed our culture. It's ensuring we get students exactly what they need."
The platform’s features, such as the “master accommodations report,” became indispensable tools for staff. Dr. Aker noted the ease of generating specific reports for students, a process that previously would have been labor-intensive and error-prone.
The newfound efficiency reduced the stress levels among educators, allowing them to channel their energy into what truly mattered: working directly with students. This shift not only improved operational efficiency but also strengthened the district's commitment to ensuring every student receives the supports they need to succeed.
The Product
TestHound is a comprehensive K-12 testing software designed to streamline the management of testing accommodations. By integrating data from disparate systems, TestHound provides a centralized platform that enhances accuracy, reduces administrative workloads, and ensures that students receive the support they need. With features tailored to the complexities of K-12 assessment coordination, TestHound enables educators to prioritize what matters most: student success.
