TestHound Success Story: Lightening the Load for Small Testing Teams

The Challenge

Kathy Milton has over a decade of experience coordinating student assessments in both Arizona and Texas. When she left a large Texas district for the smaller, more rural Royse City ISD, Milton was thrilled to learn that she would have TestHound to help lighten the testing load. "In my former district, the team I worked with had an assistant district testing coordinator, somebody who handled accountability, and a team of programmers," she said. "Now, I was only one person, but I knew that TestHound would essentially become my team."

"Now, I was only one person, but I knew that TestHound would essentially become my team."

Milton said she’s all too familiar with the amount of time required to successfully coordinate student assessments – hours that came at the expense of her family. "When I was a campus testing coordinator, my son would sleep under my desk sometimes until 11 o’clock at night because there were things that I had to get done for test day," she shared. "I wish I knew then what I know now – that there’s a better way with TestHound."

The Solution

Milton knows that effective assessment administration requires testing coordinators to check and double-check dozens of data points housed in multiple systems. Luckily, TestHound ties together the disparate data systems so testing coordinators in Royse City ISD can access the most current information from their student information system, as well as the district’s Special Education and English Language Learner programs. TestHound reduces the effort required from testing coordinators to coordinate and enable student assessments.

"Ensuring students get the right test and the right accommodations is one of the most critical parts of this job."

TestHound also automatically generates multiple accommodations reports to ensure each student receives proper testing accommodations, a must-have feature according to Milton. "Ensuring students get the right test and the right accommodations is one of the most critical parts of this job," said Milton. "The master accommodations report in TestHound reduces the number of possible procedural irregularities resulting from incorrect tests or missing accommodations."

"The master accommodations report in TestHound reduces the number of possible procedural irregularities resulting from incorrect tests or missing accommodations."

Milton also found peace of mind with TestHound’s secure, searchable database for real-time tracking and error-free materials control. "At any time, I can login and see exactly when a booklet was scanned into inventory and even locate the UPS tracking number," she said. "This is especially helpful when we get scores over the summer and our campus coordinators are on break. If there’s a concern, I can look everything up in TestHound instead of waiting for someone to drive up to the campus."

The Results

Milton says TestHound is much more than test schedules, room rosters, and materials tracking. "It’s truly like your campus testing coordinator assistant," she said. "TestHound allows me to focus on training my campus testing coordinators and making sure they have what they need for compliance. I let the TestHound program handle all of the organization."

"The price we pay for TestHound is worth every penny given the value and benefits to our testing coordinators and even our students."

Milton’s message for districts whose testing coordinators wear multiple hats, like counselors, assistant principals and principals, is to invest in TestHound to buy back time so they can keep their primary focus on serving students. "The price we pay for TestHound is worth every penny given the value and benefits to our testing coordinators and even our students," said Milton. TestHound empowered Milton and her campus testing coordinators to better serve Royse City ISD students and reclaim time to spend with their families. "I think I might have to resign if they told me that I wasn't going to have TestHound! I truly wouldn't want to do my job without it."

"I think I might have to resign if they told me that I wasn't going to have TestHound! I truly wouldn't want to do my job without it."

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.