Introduction

The Director of Technology at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville sought an alternative to specialized scanners and forms. Remark Test Grading accomplished his goals and was able to be implemented seamlessly.

The Challenge

The Episcopal School of Jacksonville is an esteemed private school in Florida whose mission is to “prepare students to make a difference in the world by focusing on effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and technical skills.” The school serves roughly 1,300 students, whose ages range from Pre-K through 12th grade. Like most schools, the Episcopal School of Jacksonville’s process for academic excellence calls for testing. In particular, the school conducts important semester exams that require prompt and accurate grading.

The school’s Office of Technology, led by Director George Terre, is tasked with the direction and management of all technology hardware, software resources, and programs in use at the institution. They sought to replace their existing test grading process where they used specialized scanners and answer sheets.

The Solution

George learned about Remark Test Grading at a tradeshow. He, along with a few teachers, began using a trial of the application as part of a pilot group. After a successful trial and has also considered several other test grading programs, George eventually chose Remark Test Grading, citing the flexibility of a cloud-based solution, the ease of use, the ability to easily import student rosters and classes, the ability to grade questions that are not solely multiple-choice, all while eliminating the need for specialized sheets and scanners.

The Technology Office was able to implement Remark Test Grading and train faculty with ease. George described the experience, saying, “We had to train our teachers to use the product and encourage them to move away from using the old preformatted testing forms. This does not sound like much today but it was very difficult to get them to give up their reliance on the sheets they had come to love and hate. We were fortunate that we started with a small focused group at the beginning of the school year and had time to work up to our end of Semester Exams. By that time our faculty were on board and using the product.” In the time since their initial implementation, their use of Remark Test Grading has grown, both in the number of teachers using it and what they are using it for. In addition to the semester exams, the Episcopal School of Jacksonville has begun to use Remark Test Grading for regular testing throughout the school year. George said, “We have been using Remark Test Grading for a few years now. We have enjoyed using it and are happy with the growth we have realized with the product.”

Favorite Features

As a busy Technology Director, George was thrilled with how easy it was to set up Remark Test Grading for the teachers. The application’s ease of use and the flexibility of the tool allowed for a relatively quick buy-in from skeptical teachers. As the teachers were used to using standard answer sheets, he found some teachers liked the ability to use a standard Remark sheet, while others really liked the way sheets can be customized to meet specific needs. Finally, George and the teachers really appreciate the quick and detailed feedback provided to students and teachers in the Remark reports. 

The Conclusion

Remark Test Grading proved to be a successful and more flexible test grading solution for the school. The setup was easy and teachers were able to get comfortable with the tool quickly. The solution accomplished its goal of improving its process for grading semester exams. They were able to use it more than initially expected, having also used it for more tests in other classes throughout the school year.

We thank the Episcopal School of Jacksonville for their continued support of Remark Test Grading. We would also like to thank George in particular for sharing feedback and details of his uses.