The University of California Riverside Extension selects OWL Testing Software

June 1, 2012 - PRLog -- OWL Testing Software, a premier provider of affordable Web-based testing and assessment systems, announced today that the University of California Riverside Extension has selected their software for all English as a second language (ESL)- related testing in their International Education Programs department.

UC Riverside Extension International Education Programs provides certificate and diploma programs designed for advanced speakers of English who wish to study a specialized area to enhance their skills and expand their educational or professional experience. The department will use OWL to deliver more than 3,500 formal and informal exams to hundreds of students and thousands of applicants each year.

With OWL, the University will replace three separate testing systems. For program placement, UC Riverside Extension will use the OWL Test Management System to schedule, administer and assess a well-known English-speaking proficiency test. The software will also be used to evaluate applicants' writing skills for placement in their Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program. For enrolled students, the OWL Test Management system will be used for learning activities, quarterly testing, and end-of-semester competency testing for program advancement.

UC Riverside Extension selected OWL based on the software's superior functionality and flexibility in the three important components of the assessment cycle – test building, test administration and test evaluation. Specific test management features such as auto-registration and dynamic end-of-test feedback enhance the efficiency of program administration. The OWL integrated rater module will allow the university’s raters to evaluate oral language assessments and written samples online and within the same software program. OWL captures the oral and written responses of each candidate digitally, controls multiple ratings, and captures the necessary data for reporting. OWL's reporting module makes it easy to analyze individual and overall program results.

“We wanted to enhance the efficiencies of a variety of programs and replace three divergent testing platforms.” according to Erin Butler, Academic Director, International Education Programs for the University of California Riverside Extension. “We were looking for one platform to use across multiple communication skills and testing applications. OWL's versatile Test Management System was an ideal solution to meet our needs. Because OWL is Web-based and hosted remotely it was easy to integrate OWL into our learning environment.”

“We are pleased that UC Riverside Extension has selected OWL to improve the efficiency of their testing center.” says Chris Dalessandri, OWL Testing Software president and CEO. “Because OWL contains item types to evaluate all four communicative modes, it can be applied to virtually any learning situation and is ideal for use in a testing center environment. OWL users have realized real gains at by having all programs integrated into one test management system. Furthermore, the OWL data warehouse makes it easy to create reports and analyze ongoing program performance.”


About OWL Testing Software
OWL Testing Software is a leading provider of online test management to academia, business, and government organizations. Built as a Web-based solution for test creation, administration, and management; the OWL Test Management System is a flexible online test builder that can be applied to any learning situation. With OWL you can easily incorporate multimedia to create items that assess all four communication skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing. OWL is available as licensed software and as a hosted solution to meet the needs of any enterprise or individual concerned with enhancing the learning process and improving outcomes. Please visit www.owlts.com or call (877) 695-3395 for more information.