Avant Assessment and the Wisconsin Center for Education Products and Services Collaborate to Disseminate ELL Standards

EUGENE, OR, December 12, 2012 (Press-News.org) Avant Assessment, a leading provider of multi-lingual language assessments, and the Wisconsin Center for Education Products and Services (WCEPS), a non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are excited to announce a licensing partnership in support of their shared vision of advancing academic language proficiency by making the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Standards available through iCAN.

The addition of WIDA resources to iCAN, Avant's flagship learning and evaluation tool for teachers and students, enables teachers in 33 states and other schools across the nation to collaborate and personalize instruction for English Language Learners.

WIDA's English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards related to WIDA CAN DO Descriptors are linked to iCAN learning statements, allowing teachers to effectively communicate expectations of each student while continuously monitoring their progress. Students provide evidence (including audio, video and text) of their achievement towards standards, building a digital language portfolio. Teachers can also apply and share WIDA rubrics with students as they complete iCAN tasks, all in a single, secure web environment.

"Avant Assessment is dedicated to the improvement of language skills in the U.S. and around the world. Our work with WIDA is a great example of high quality organizations collaborating in the 21st century to promote academic language development for education, employment, communication, and understanding. We are excited with this opportunity to work with WIDA in a practical manner that can truly impact students and teachers in a very positive way. Together, I believe we are making a difference for our kids, our society and our world," said Mike Patterson, President and CEO of Avant Assessment.

"On behalf of our partners at WIDA, the Wisconsin Center for Education Products and Services is happy to be working with a mission-driven firm such as Avant to help extend--even further--the impact of the WIDA Standards. The team at WIDA deserves to be saluted for continuing to create innovative and effective English development standards, assessment, research, and professional development," said Matt Messinger, Executive Director of WCEPS.

About Avant Assessment
Avant believes that every student can communicate and thrive in a diverse world, and that every educator can be confident in guiding student learning with data, evidence and observation. A leader in proficiency assessments, Avant provides valid, reliable tests for language learning in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. With expertise in linguistics, assessment, technology, and education at their foundation, Avant's solutions build student and teacher confidence in real-world learning and deliver accurate standards-based data to inform the learning process. Delivered via the web, Avant's tools are easily accessible, personalized and engaging. With iCAN, STAMP and Placement, every student can be ready to thrive in a diverse world.

About WCEPS
The Wisconsin Center for Education Products and Services (WCEPS) is a non-profit that distributes the educational innovations created at the UW-Madison. WCEPS's mission is to extend the impact of these innovations and return excess revenue to the UW-Madison to fund further research and development.

For more information, Avant press only, contact:
Mary Beth Saddoris, 888-718-7887, marybeth.saddoris@avantassessment.com

For more information, WCEPS press only, contact:
Matt Messinger, 608-441-2765, matt@wceps.org

Copyright 2012 Avant Assessment. All rights reserved. Avant and iCAN are registered trademarks, and Every Student Can, STAMP and Placement are trademarks of Avant Assessment. All other brands are the property of their respective owners.

WIDA CAN DO Descriptors Copyright 2007, 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. WIDA is a trademark of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. For more information on using the WIDA CAN DO Descriptors, please visit the WIDA website at www.wida.us.