Classtime vs. Illuminate Data & Assessment (DnA)

Suitable:

• Distance learning for formative assessment
• In-class quizzes
• Tickets out the door to check on the day's understanding
• Homework
• Grade-level common assessments
• High-stakes test prep

I think it is well suited for K-12 schools, especially for tracking student growth over time. The ability to easily upload state assessment results and produce pre-built reports provides teachers actionable data. The online assessment system is more appropriate for secondary (grades 6-12) students in our district due to the types of assessments our elementary (K-5) students complete. I have some experience with other systems and think that the illuminate software offers more flexibility in the types of data that can be stored.

Incentivized

• It has three different types of engagement activities for students as they are answering questions.
• It gives immediate data that can be acted upon.
• It is easy to find materials to use in their library with their search engine.
• It is very easy to include multimedia material like images, gifs, videos, and audio files.
• The test-making interface is extremely easy to use.
• It is easy to print out data that can be used to analyze with a grade-level team or with parents.
• It has a Google, Microsoft, and Clever interface, making it easy for students to access.

• Easy to use
• Item banks
• Outstanding customer service.
• Reasonable pricing models.
• Integrates well with student info systems.

Incentivized

• Tech support seemed good but our main issue was never resolved. We received attention and someone was working on our issue, but they could never figure out why our student count was off for 1 grade level even though they said our data looked great.
• The customized reports were powerful, but there was so much to learn for the average administrative user, like a principal, to get the detailed data they need. You would have to have a dedicated person to create customized reports.
• At some point, our representative just stopped calling and there was no further contact. Then our rep left the company and the new rep only sent one email notifying us of the change. That was almost a year ago.

Incentivized

Illuminate DnA is a very usable system. A few items to learn and set up can be a bit time-consuming. However, once set up it is easy to use and powerful for a school that staff can master quickly. It has more features then we actually use but I hope we will over time.

Incentivized

Our issue was never resolved so that we could use the software to produce accurate reports. Their tech department looked into the issue several times and could never figure out why our student was off and then they just closed the case. They confirmed we were performing the correct steps to load the data and they confirmed our data looked accurate. Great, but again why was our student count off?

Incentivized

I have used Edpuzzle, Quizizz, Kahoot, Khan Academy, and Edcite. I use all of them at varying times, depending on my needs. I use Classtime more than any of them because of its versatility of question types and its engagement tools. I also appreciate the ease of making and giving out tests.

Illuminate DnA offers more flexibility and additional features that our previous Data Director system offered. We were looking for a system that offered an online assessment portal and the ability to create elementary standard-based report cards when we selected the illuminate DnA software. We were impressed with the ability to easily create custom reports and liked the comprehensive student profile page.

Incentivized

• It has helped us during in-classroom demonstration lessons.
• It has helped us with our training on strategic thinking in math.
• It has given us an outlet to share our test creation skills, which we can model to districts.

• Better handle on student achievement.
• Clarity around achievements on specific standards.

Incentivized