Questionmark Seizes Synchronization Process for Offline Assessments

For Immediate Release

Questionmark Seizes Synchronization Process for Offline Assessments

Questionmark Perception To Go saves people time and money by letting them download assessments, then synchronize answers with a distant server.

STAMFORD, CT – March 18, 2003 -- Testing and assessment software supplier Questionmark is providing new assessment opportunities for people on the move. The company today released Questionmark™ Perception to Go (P2G), which enables remote users to synchronize from their PCs to their web servers. They can then pull down new Perception assessments scheduled by an administrator, disconnect from the network and then answer questions, receive feedback offline, and merge results back to their web servers when they reconnect.

“Perception to Go will dramatically change the way some of our customers administer quizzes, tests, exams, and surveys,” said Questionmark President Eric Shepherd. “It will not only save connection costs but will save technicians and sales people from getting too bored when they travel. And students can now study at the park or beach but still keep their instructors informed of how they are doing when they re-synchronize!”

Many businesses, schools, universities and colleges already deliver examinations using the Internet or an Intranet. But for many the challenge of creating a robust technology infrastructure that can safely handle large numbers of examinees accessing the web server at the same time has not proved easy. The Questionmark P2G synchronization module will enable users to download data in advance, only going back online to upload their results. This dramatically reduces the load on the web server.

Perception To Go will also allow organizations to:

• Offer disconnected use of assessments while people travel or can’t gain access to the Internet or their Intranet.
• Reduce communication costs by enabling users to disconnect for the duration of the quiz, test, exam or survey. Users only need to be connected before and after the assessment while synchronizing and results.
• Eliminate network latency issues that impact the timing of high-stakes exams. As the time it takes for the round-trip of data to and from servers can vary from environment to environment, there is a concern that time-critical exams can impact candidate results. With Perception To Go, the test can be taken locally without being impacted by the delays of a network.
• Conduct massive assessments without having to run extremely powerful servers that would lie virtually idle at other times. Perception To Go allows the tests to be synchronized to hundreds of thousands of PCs, so the complete system can be more responsive and less reliant on a single computer.

Perception To Go provides an extension to Perception’s existing web server software that enables users to schedule assessments to remote participants. Test takers log in to the organization’s Perception web server using the free-of-charge P2G client software, which is installed on the local machine. This enables them to synchronize the scheduled assessment(s); when they re-synchronize, P2G uploads the answers (and downloads any new assessments). The Perception web server then automatically integrates these new results into its database so that users can access reports.

Further details about Perception To Go are available at http://www.questionmark.com/us/perception/p2g.aspx.

About Questionmark and Perception:
Questionmark has been producing testing and assessment software since 1988. Businesses, governments, schools, colleges, and universities in more than 50 countries use Questionmark software. Questionmark is committed to open standards, and Perception interoperates with many management systems. Complete information can be found at www.questionmark.com.

Questionmark Perception allows people to create question files without programming experience. Users can categorize their question banks into topics and sub-topics from which to assemble tests and surveys. They can shuffle questions and choices for each participant and preview assessments to see how they will appear post-deployment. They can present questions with videos, graphics and a wide variety of styles. Participants receive feedback at an item, topic or assessment level as specified by the author.

Perception includes an easy-to-use authoring tool that allows authors to create and build powerful questions and assessments quickly. Participants can use a run-time system or a Web browser to answer questions. They can receive instant feedback if desired. Powerful reports in a variety of formats provide valuable statistics for tracking individual and group process as well as analyzing the quality of test questions.

Questionmark Perception has been translated into Japanese, French, German, Dutch, and Spanish. More than 1,600 customers use Perception including schools, colleges and universities and such hi-tech companies as Microsoft, IBM, HP; retail organizations such as Office Depot, McDonalds; financial services companies such as Fidelity Investments, Citigroup, USAA and many branches of the government and military.

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