Jul 31, 2010  Welcome, Guest [ login  English US [ change ]  

SEARCH
Advanced search

SITE OPTIONS
Print this page
E-mail this page
Newsletter sign-up
Add to Learning List

STAY CONNECTED
Blog
Blog
Twitter
Twitter
Facebook
Facebook
YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Flickr
Flickr

CERTIFICATIONS
Microsoft Certified Partner
SAP Certified - Integration with SAP Applications
Oracle Certified Partner
HR-XML Consortium Certified
AICC Certified
what this means...

  Case Studies Questionmark Case Study - Bradesco Foundation

Questionmark Case Study

Bradesco Foundation in Brazil improves quality of vocational assessments for 100,000 learners


Background
Bradesco Foundation is a non-profit institution founded in 1956 by Mr. Amador Aguiar to provide education and vocational training for 100,000 children, teenagers and adults in underserved communities throughout Brazil. The activities of 40 schools are complemented by digital learning centers in the vicinity of each campus and by a virtual school, “Escol@ Virtual,” which offers technical distance learning and support for face-to-face learning.


Streamlining Workflow
Bradesco Foundation began using Questionmark™ Perception™ in 2001 to streamline the work-flow of the evaluation process, a time consuming operation in a large institution. Along the learning curve, many Perception applications were explored and added to the Foundation’s regular practices, resulting in a significant improvement in the quality and efficiency of its assessments. The assessment process, by providing valuable statistical information and analysis, is helping to further the organization’s mission of promoting social inclusion and helping disadvantaged socioeconomic groups through education and training.

Before adopting Perception, the Foundation conducted locally produced tests on 40 campuses, with supervisors travelling all over the country to administer them. Today, participants access Perception surveys, quizzes and tests via the Foundation’s internet portals. In addition to helping the foundation work far more efficiently. The switch to online assessments has helped teachers develop a new attitude to the concept and practice of assessment. Teachers write all the assessments that are then formatted by the centralized Perception team. Once stored in the central repository, the assessments can be reutilized by teachers directly.
Students -- whether digital natives or newcomers –appreciate the ease of taking tests and the availability of instant feedback.


Diverse Applications
The flexibility of Perception stimulates teachers, instructors and administrators to use it for different purposes and in diversified situations. The foundation uses Perception not only for summative and formative evaluation within courses but also for evaluating the performance of teachers, instructors and support materials. Reaction evaluations, opinion surveys and cross-section sampling face-to-face learning groups] are also used. Staff members appreciate the variety of question types they can use within the assessments they deliver to more than 100,000 students in several categories. These include 45,000 in K-12 schools, 15,000 in adult education and 40,000 in professional education.

SumTotal Integration
The Bradesco Foundation uses Perception together with the SumTotal learning management system. Tests are launched from within the LMS and results are sent directly back to it, providing a comprehensive record for each learner.

Reporting Results
The Foundation appreciates not only the speed with which Perception processes results but also the ability to analyze them. Statistics and reporting allow the Foundation to engage in meta-assessment and “evaluate the evaluation in itself.” Staff members look at learning outcomes as proofs of concept of the educational theories and practices they have adopted. Assessment results, viewed in the context of the Foundation’s goals, targets and strategic plans, help administrators identify needed adjustments to learning programs.

Bradesco Foundation Supervisor Olímpia Valéria V. B. Teixeira values the statistical information that helps the Foundation promote conceptual changes and practices in its schools. “Perception can also be used as an instrument of verification to validate moments of continuous training of employees and students,” adds Teixeira. “The numbers always showed us the level of quality of the actions planned, which led us to reflect on the various adjustments that needed to be made.”


PDF document

This case study as an Adobe .PDF file (1 page PDF)



Top of page

How useful is the information on this page?
Not at all useful
Very useful

Copyright © 1995-2010 Questionmark Corporation and/or Questionmark Computing Limited, known collectively as Questionmark. All rights reserved.
Questionmark is a registered trademark of Questionmark Computing Limited. All other trademarks are acknowledged.
Legal information and Conditions of Use - Privacy Policy