Avant Assessment

Education

A Pioneer in Web-based Language Assessment
Avant Assessment’s original and core purpose is designing, developing and delivering Web-based foreign language assessments for the education market. Avant has successfully delivered over 1.5 million Web-based language tests throughout the world including direct partnerships with eight state departments of education. Our foundation assessment, STAMP, is delivered at the middle-school, high-school, and higher-education levels in over 37 states and provinces of North America.

Our Approach
Avant Assessment combines sound assessment principles with linguistic expertise, and merges them with breakthrough technology to meet educators’ assessment needs in ways that were never before possible. Whether your need in education is student assessment, placement, professional development, or program review, Avant’s Education Team has a solution for you.

Experience

STAMP (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency)

STAMP is an innovative foreign language assessment based on ACTFL Performance Guidelines. STAMP is an adaptive test that reacts to the student’s level of proficiency and automatically adjusts the difficulty level of the test items for each student. STAMP is used to assess middle-school, high-school and college foreign language students, and can be used for placement and program review purposes. Avant delivers STAMP in over 37 states and provinces throughout North America and has partnered with State Departments of Education on statewide programs in NJ, WY, DE, LA, KY, SC, and HI.

DoDEA

Avant Assessment provides the STAMP test to DoDEA, the US Department of Defense agency that educates the dependents of US military personnel around the world.

STARTALK, The National Security Language Initiative

Avant Assessment provides the assessment component for STARTALK, a project of the US National Security Language Initiative, a multi-agency effort to expand foreign language education in under-taught critical languages by funding new and existing programs throughout students' learning careers, from kindergarten through university.

National Flagship Language Initiative

Avant Assessment works closely with its research partner, the Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS), a National Foreign Language Resource Center, at the University of Oregon. This partnership combines the research power of the university with the focus and resources of a market-driven business entity. In 2005 CASLS was appointed by the National Security Education Program to oversee the Chinese K-16 Flagship Language program in Oregon, under the National Flagship Language Initiative. Avant Assessment administers, scores, and reports results from the STAMP test, the Web-based summative assessment that is a central element of the Oregon Chinese Flagship program.