TestHound Success Story: Modernizing and Transforming the Testing Experience

The Challenge

With 32 campuses and a 50% annual turnover rate of campus testing coordinators, having an intuitive program that can be used by anyone, regardless of skill level, is imperative for continuity of assessment coordination in Comal ISD. Ricker, who spent several years as a campus testing coordinator, remembers using spreadsheets before TestHound existed. "I made do with what I had, but it was very cumbersome and took a lot of time to create everything from scratch,” she said. When Ricker became responsible for training new testing coordinators in the district, she knew firsthand how time-consuming and archaic the assessment coordination process used to be. "Every year I trained the new CTCs in Comal ISD, and thankfully they had no idea what it used to look like in the dark ages,” she said.  

Ricker also said the social emotional health of testing staff is always a concern. "Testing is very stressful and it’s one area where we are all truly held accountable,” she said. "If you look at TEA’s sections for accountability, all three deal with assessment.” Like other testing coordinators across the nation, many of Comal ISD’s testing staff wear multiple hats. "When we have testing coordinators who perform other roles within the district, they wonder how on Earth they're going to do it all,” said Ricker. "And then I introduce them to their new best friend, TestHound.”

"Testing is very stressful and it’s one area where we are all truly held accountable.”

The Solution

Ricker was a campus testing coordinator when the district adopted TestHound in 2015 and said it revolutionized the testing experience. “It was amazing how much time I could save,” she said. "TestHound came along and modernized an area of education that was in dire need of transformation for many years.” TestHound not only saved Ricker hours of tedious work as a campus testing coordinator, it also assisted her with training incoming testing staff across the district. "TestHound makes it easy for anyone walking in with no knowledge of assessment procedures or even strong technological skills,” said Ricker. "The training manual and integrated help screens make it so much easier for me, as the trainer, and for them, as the user.”

"TestHound came along and modernized an area of education that was in dire need of transformation for many years.”

The support offered by the Education Advanced team also provided Ricker and her staff with a sense of security, which she said is huge relief at both the campus and district level. "When you call for help, you talk to a human being and anyone you talk to is so personable and nice,” she said. "The level of customer service is legendary, and I only use that term for Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Nordstrom!”  

"The level of customer service is legendary, and I only use that term for Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Nordstrom!”

The Results

TestHound made a significant impact on the organization and efficiency of campus testing coordinators in Comal ISD, relieving stress and allowing them to focus on student needs. "Before TestHound, we literally had to looked at every single spreadsheet one-by-one and added student names, accommodations, and room assignments,” Ricker recalled. "With TestHound, we assigned students to testing rooms by their accommodations with just a few clicks, which helped us get organized and saved us a tremendous amount of time and labor dollars.”

"What used to take hours upon hours of tedious work be done in a matter of minutes with TestHound.”

TestHound also provided Comal ISD with a reliable checks and balances system to help the district avoid testing irregularities. TestHound’s materials tracking process automatically generates materials controls forms that allowed Ricker to manage and oversee all district inventory with confidence. Integration with the district’s existing student information system also ensured that student data and accommodations were updated nightly so Ricker always had access to information that is current and accurate.

>>> Read how TestHound helped Lubbock ISD reduce their testing irregularities by 77%.

Ricker says as far as she’s concerned, everyone should be using TestHound for assessment coordination. "It will organize you and improve efficiency, and save you hours of time and labor,” she said. "Buy it yesterday! You have no idea what it will save you!”

The Product

TestHound is a comprehensive K-12 testing software and the only test enablement solution that integrates data from disparate systems into a single platform for efficient assessment coordination. By utilizing the efficiencies provided through the platform, tasks that could take several days to accomplish using alternative methods can be done within a matter of hours. TestHound empowers overextended school staff to efficiently and accurately coordinate K-12 assessments, allowing them to spend their valuable time on other priorities.